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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Quick tsunami prediction

Submitted on 20 November 2006 - 11:59am

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

A new database has been created to predict the altitude of potential Tsunamis along the Purto Rican coast. These data has been generated using computer simulations, and together with information collected from DART buoys, allows scientists to estimate where the event was originated and its magnitude. These tsunami simulations are done using 3 nested computational nets that are made at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez, and allow to simulate the propagation and flooding of the tsunami in less than 10 minutes for several municipalities of the Island.

Tsunami detectors close to the Puerto Rican coast

Submitted on 20 November 2006 - 11:12am

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

After December 2004 catastrophic tsunami, the United Status Congress assigned $37 million to the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), to improve the tsunami detection system in various oceans and seas around the world, including the Atlantic and the Caribbean Sea. This project includes buoys called DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis) capable of detecting tsunamis while they propagate in the deep sea, five of which have already been installed in the Atlantic and the Caribbean. The closest buoys to the Island will be no more than 30 minutes of propagation time, which once the buoy detects a tsunami, will allow us enough time to evacuate coastal areas. The Center of Coastal Risks of the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez is in charge of part of this project, that will be implemented in Mayaguez and the San Juan area first.

Botanical treasure of the 1900

Submitted on 20 November 2006 - 10:53am

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

The Puerto Rican flora is the title of a magnificent scientific-artistic project done in the Island at the beginning of the XX century. This project was done under the direction of the married couple of botanists Nathaniel and Elizabeth Britton in collaboration with painter Frances Horne. This collection, available at New York’s Botanic Garden, contains information of the use in Puerto Rico of each of the specimens, and was put together by Nilda González and José García Luiña, from the University of Puerto Rico’s Agricultural Extension Service.

"Dream Team" to build biotechnology installations

Submitted on 20 November 2006 - 10:27am

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

The Puerto Rican Conglomerate of Construction presented the main executives of biosciences industries with a model o fan entrepreneurial consortium aimed to supply the development and expansion necessities of the biosciences industry. The Conglomerate includes architects and engineers, experts in environmental planning and permits; project managers; automation, commissioning and validation resources; installation and maintenance technicians and equipment investment.

Defenders of a natural system

Submitted on 17 November 2006 - 4:24pm

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

Five years ago a group of neighbors in the municipality of Barranquitas formed the Committee Pro Canyon Las Bocas Natural Reserve, to plead for the conservation of this natural system that comprises almost 1,000 acres and is a sanctuary for flora and fauna species.

House approves the Ecological Corridor

Submitted on 14 November 2006 - 3:30pm

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

The House of Representatives approved a law that World create the Ecological Corridor of The Northeast and World declare a natural reserve lands between the coast of Luquillo and Fajardo. The natural reserve would include more than 3,000 acres along the coast of Luquillo and Fajardo and would be integrated mainly by San Miguel I and II, Las Paulinas, El Convento Norte and Sur y and Seven Seas.

Luminosity goes to the mountains and beyond

Submitted on 14 November 2006 - 12:11pm

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

The excess of light, due to luminic pollution, in Puerto Rico could affect our health chronically, and disturb interaction among species because of the changed light cycles, with serious implications for the ecosystem. Luminic pollution could be increasing sea turtle mortality and collisions between migratory birds, because the excess light disorients this species. Moreover, this kind of pollution avoids our enjoyment of our beautiful starry skies.

Luminic pollution floods the Island

Submitted on 14 November 2006 - 11:44am

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

Puerto Rico separates itself from the rest of the Caribbean by the huge amount of Light it emits, associated to a big energy consumption and widespread urban development. Luminic pollution is the alteration of the natural nocturnal luminosity that impacts negatively the environment and health of human beings. In our Island this is a serious problem; so dramatic that the artificial light emitted by the Island reaches the coast extending to the open sea.

Accelerated coral reef destruction

Submitted on 9 November 2006 - 3:26pm

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

Coral reefs in Puerto Rico are in disadvantage. Climatologic phenomena, pollution, competition from opportunistic species like algae and sponges that colonize the reefs and other stress factors have caused coral reefs in Cabo Rojo and other parts of the Island an irreparable damage. Unfortunately, a lot of this damage is irreversible; coral grow and recuperate at a rate of one centimeter per year. Used water discharges into the sea, inappropriate land use, deforestation, the increase in population density, uncontrolled urbanization of hydrographic basins and sedimentation that ends up at the reefs, are some of the factors responsible for this damage.

Corals stop reproducing

Submitted on 9 November 2006 - 1:42pm

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

For the first time in decades, the coral ref. of the northeastern and southeastern coast of Puerto Rico did not have their reproduction, a natural event known as synchronous spawning. This event usually occurs between the fifth and eighth night after the full moon of August or September, when millions of coral eggs and sperm are released into the water to fertilize and form larvae. According to scientists from the University of Puerto Rico, the warming of the seas in Puerto Rico passed the monthly maximum temperature limits and could have contributed to the phenomenon. The excessive warmth of the waters brought with it diseases that have affected the corals, exterminating old and fragile coral reefs and in the worst cases eliminating some species from specific areas.

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