Science News

Collaborations with various media allow us to create a bank of science news of relevance to the Puerto Rican and Hispanic communities and give a venue that our scientific members can use to keep their communities informed and engaged with science.

Also, the news archive can be used as a resource for students and educators

In this section you can find: news written by members of the CienciaPR team and written by other news media and which are reproduced with permission from the original source.

If you want to collaborate with CienciaPR in writing an article, please read this writing and editorial guide and then contact us.

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Sirenia fossils in Puerto Rico

Submitted on 5 April 2007 - 12:00pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

In Puerto Rico we have Sirenia fossils in Oligocene (33.7 to 23.8 million years ago) and Miocene (23.8 to 5.3 million years ago) rocks. Sirenia is an Order of aquatic mammals related to elephants and with the less known hyraxes of Africa. This Order includes three kinds of manatees and on class of dugongs (of which there is only one species left after the extinction of the Steller sea cow in the 18th century).

Cleaning of Vieques questioned

Submitted on 5 April 2007 - 11:27am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Arturo Massol, a professor that lead one of the first research groups that studied the effects of contamination on Vieques vegetation, questioned the Navy’s cleaning efforts on removing live bombs in Vieques. A report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to Democrat congressman Charles Rangel, indicates that the cleaning started by the Navy in Vieques, which includes removing live bombs, could extend to 2010 and that $210 million would be needed to manage the contamination caused by ammunition and toxic materials product of the more than 60 years of usage as a firing range. Massol says that “the cleaning they have announced is unsatisfying; there are thousands of live bombs in the seabed.” According to him the Navy’s plan is “concentrating in those live bombs that are localized within a foot of the surface,” he insisted. “What about the rest?” he asked.

Understanding the brain's mysteries

Submitted on 5 April 2007 - 10:51am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

CienciaPR Contribution: 

The Professional is a member of CienciaPR
Learning and Memory are fascinating brain phenomena that go hand in hand. Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge through experience; it produces memory, which is defined as the brain’s ability to retain and retrieve information. Recently three groups of Puerto Rican investigators publish back-to-back papers on their studies related to learning and memory in the December issue of the scientific peer reviewed journal, Learning & Memory. This article is part of our successful collaboration with El Nuevo Dia. For more information about the investigators that did these studies, visit this month’s spotlight in our main page or visit their CienciaPR profiles.

The Puerto Rican Screech Owl: King of the night

Submitted on 4 April 2007 - 12:05pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

CienciaPR Contribution: 

No
The Puerto Rican Screech Owl (Megascops nudipes) is the only endemic owl and the most common one in Puerto Rico. This nocturnal bird, that we all have probably heard at least once, eats crickets, grasshoppers, roaches, beetles, butterflies and caterpillars. Sometimes, it hunts small birds, lizards, coquies and small rodents. It has a sturdy body and a big head. Its feathers are dark brown and white and has big red eyes and white eyebrows.

The biotechnology plant of the future

Submitted on 4 April 2007 - 11:47am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Abbot Biotechnology Ltd. new and modern plant in Barceloneta will be inaugurated on April 10, 2007. This plant, developed with a $400 million investment, has the latest technology, ideal illumination, first class organization and controlled temperature and environment. From now on, the Barceloneta plant will manufacture the active ingredient of Humira, Abbott’s star product, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, for global export. It also contribution to Puerto Rico’s aspirations to establish a knowledge based economy.

The Bio-Island

Submitted on 3 April 2007 - 12:11pm

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

Biotechnology is the use of living organisms –live cells or biological molecules- to create drugs or products. Is a biology-based technology, mostly used in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, food science, forestry sciences and medicine. Puerto Rico aspires to become the Bio-Island –world leader not only in pharmaceutical manufacturing, but in research and development. Some pharmaceutical companies already established in the Island have started to bring their biotechnology activities to the country. Some of them are Abbot in Barceloneta, Amgen in Juncos, Eli Lilly in Carolina y Ortho Biologics in Manatí.

Students teach about physics

Submitted on 3 April 2007 - 11:56am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

The Society of Physics Students of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, recently had their Physics Week, celebrating an event where more than 700 students, from fourth to twelfth grade, visited the University and enjoyed talks, workshops and demonstrations to learn about physics. The activity included visits to the electromagnetic and thermodynamics’ laboratories as well as the illustration of concepts through experiments. The students also participated of talks in the Planetarium and lectures about mechanics and waves.

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National rainforest is now officially El Yunque

Submitted on 3 April 2007 - 11:43am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

From now on the National Forest of the Caribbean will be known as El Yunque National Forest. This tropical rainforest –that receives around one million visitants a year- is commonly known as El Yunque, which made the United States Forest Service recommend a name change in 2005.

Ponce School of Medicine grows

Submitted on 3 April 2007 - 11:28am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

In its 30th anniversary, Ponce School of Medicine hopes that in the next six years it can become a health sciences school, including a school of psychology and public health, additional to its medicine and biomedical sciences programs.

Pluto visits a psychologist

Submitted on 2 April 2007 - 11:39am

This article is reproduced by CienciaPR with permission from the original source.

CienciaPR Contribution: 

The Professional is a member of CienciaPR
Pluto’s recent demotion to a dwarf planet has caused it an identity crisis. At least the scientific scrutiny that made it go from a planet to a dwarf planet lead scientists to discover Pluto has two other moons… Wilson González Espada, Assistant Professor at Arkansas Tech University and CienciaPR member presents Pluto’s story –about how an intense scientific debate took him out of the list of planets in our Solar System- in a fun way.

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