The Caribbean region lost nearly half of its coral reefs between 1980 and 2024 due to factors such as rising ocean temperatures, the presence of invasive species, and human activities—a problem that has been documented in Puerto Rico for years and will not be reversed without immediate action, according to a new report that involved more than 300 scientists and data collected from 14,000 ocean sites.

Bayamón — Amanda C. Saliceti Galarza is 15 years old and still wears a school uniform, but with a disarming confidence she affirms that she wants to “be a mechanical engineer.” She understands that “women can do any job they want,” regardless of the stereotypes and gender barriers that still persist in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

On a monitor, a brightly colored microscope image shows part of the cerebral cortex of a person with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. For a blind young student, studying the universe hidden within that image would be practically impossible, limiting their access to the sciences. But that is about to change, thanks to a technology—developed in part by Puerto Rican minds—that promises to bring inclusion for this population to levels previously unimaginable.