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.

Showing 3751 - 3760 of 4051
To prevent automated spam submissions leave this field empty.

In search of our natural history

Submitted on 13 February 2007 - 4:38pm

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

Puerto Rican botanist Pedro Acevedo Rodríguez has taken on the hard task of publishing the paintings from the plant collection made by Agustin Stahl, an outstanding Puerto Rican scientist and naturalist. With the financial help of the Smithsonian Institute, Acevedo was able to publish on the Internet, at least 720 of these paintings. To see these paintings you can access the Smithsonian Institute's webpage.

To the final the best in arts and sciences

Submitted on 13 February 2007 - 4:28pm

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

Nineteen of the best students in sciences and arts faced each other in the 4th Operation Success (Operación Éxito) competition, held at Puerto Rico’s Museum of Art. The winners of this edition were David Acevedo, of the José Santos Alegría school in Dorado; Kenny Ng, of the José Collado Colón school in Juncos; and Félix Rodríguez, of the Francisco García Boyrie school in Guayama. Operation Success is an interactive competition developed by the Casa Grande organization. It has the support of the Department of Education and sponsors like Banco Popular and El Nuevo Dia.

Tags: 

Urgent to eliminate trans fat

Submitted on 6 February 2007 - 3:53pm

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

CienciaPR Contribution: 

The Professional is a member of CienciaPR
A recent study published in Harvard University’s Nutrition Journal suggests that eliminating trans fats from food reduces the risk of a heart attack. According to epidemiological studies, consuming this kind of fat, even in small amounts (2 to 7 grams a day, or 20 to 60 calories a day) increases significantly the risk of a having a heart attack. Moreover, consuming this fat is associated with neurological disorders, risk of type II diabetes and developmental problems of the fetus during pregnancy, among other things currently under investigation. In spite of the overwhelming scientific evidence, and that it has been confirmed that trans fat can be eliminated from food without largely altering the flavor or price of food, not a lot has been accomplished. *This article is part of our collaboration with El Nuevo Dia.

Steady the Bio-Island

Submitted on 6 February 2007 - 3:31pm

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

Puerto Rico’s governor presented the first annual report on the negotiations and results accomplished by his administration in biotechnology, which was prepared by the Puerto Rico Industrial Development Company (PRIDCO), and that was titled “Puerto Rico is the Bio-island”. This report summarizes the main initiatives, public policy, investments and achievements, and “communicates our interests, success and competitive advantages.” Acevedo Vilá explained that more than 20 biotechnology companies will establish or expand their operations in the Island this year, which will generate around 5,000 new jobs and an investment of more than $610 millions.

Serious global warming predictions

Submitted on 30 January 2007 - 9:47am

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

Global warming is going to be greater than what was predicted in 2001, between 2 and 4.5 degrees Celsius warmer than what was predicted by scientists. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a global warming greater than what they had predicted in 2001, when they expected a global temperature rise of 1.4 to 5.8 degrees for 2100. Numbers about the rise of the sea level, due to the melting of the polar caps and the increase in the water’s volume due to the warming, have narrowed from a range of 9 to 88 centimeters to a range of 28 to 43 centimeters.

MIT students visit Hamilton Sundstrand in Santa Isabel

Submitted on 30 January 2007 - 9:30am

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

More than 50 graduate students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) visited the Hamilton Sundstrand plant in Santa Isabel, where generators, fans and electrical pieces for aeronautics and electrical companies are manufactured. The first year students of the master’s degree program “Leaders for Manufacturing” and their professors, visited the plant as part of an annual tour through the US plants of the MIT program’s sponsoring companies.

New discovery about learned fear

Submitted on 29 January 2007 - 1:12pm

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

A study developed by two neuroscientists of the Ponce School of Medicine found that the prelimbic cortex of the brain regulates learned fear in animals. This discovery could widen the treatment options for people who suffer of Post-traumatic Stress Disorders and other anxiety disorders, because it suggests that with the manipulation of that part of the brain, learned fears could be controlled without affecting innate reflexes, necessary for the survival of any organism, explain the neuroscientist that directs the project, Gregory J. Quirk.

Islands exceed continents in the number of endemic species

Submitted on 29 January 2007 - 9:43am

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

In spite of their small size, islands like Puerto Rico have more endemic species than the bigger continents. For example, United States has 11 endemic bird species, while Puerto Rico has 17. Jamaica and the Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti) have 28 endemic bird species each, and Cuba has 26. According to what Puerto Rican biologists Miguel Acevedo and Luis Villanueva explained this phenomenon is due to the evolution of the species. “The islands in general were isolated from the continents and, because of this, bird species evolved through time without having any contact with other species; there was a geographic isolation,” said Acevedo.

Pages

Subscribe to Noticias