News

EVEN trees have their “hair” done.

Called “tree pruning,” the lower branches of the trees in Benavides Park have been cut to achieve their natural form and to improve growth.

Fr. Roberto Pinto, O.P., head of the Facilities and Management Office, explained that every species of trees spread their branches toward a distinct direction, giving them their overall shape.

For instance, acacias have an umbrella-shaped top; mahoganies have branches sticking out of the trunk diagonally; narras have an elongated crown shape; and flame trees have branches slightly bowing at the end.

“When you prune trees, you have to cut them in such a way that they can achieve their forms when they grow again. You don’t just cut and cut. You have to follow the trees’ natural growth,” Pinto told the Varsitarian.

POOR REP. Edcel Lagman (Albay), principal author of the Reproductive Health Bill No. 5043 (RH Bill). While he tries to avoid having his masterpiece pigeonholed as a “population control measure,” protesting that the label is misleading since it obscures its “health-care” dimensions, he can’t control its supporters from exposing its real nature.

We are referring to the statement of the economists of the University of the Philippines that basically supports the bill.

YOU KNOW España, Dapitan, Lacson, and P. Noval. But how well do you know streets inside UST?

Most of the time, Thomasians base their sense of direction on campus according to landmarks and buildings such as the Santisimo Rosario Church and the Main Building.

It’s probably reflective of the general Filipino attitude toward directions.

“It’s actually part of our culture because before the Spaniards came, the streets had no names for Filipinos to base their direction,” sociologist Precious Velasquez of the Philippine Association for Sociology of Religion explained.

The 19 streets in UST make up a large part of the University’s history graced by national heroes and other illustrious alumni.

THE UST Hospital (USTH) failed to rush to the rescue of a woman suffering from birth pangs when the public hospital ambulance she was riding in got stalled on campus last September 11.

Hospital officials said that medical protocol barred them from helping the woman.

The Ospital ng Sampaloc ambulance carrying Agnes Feliza had entered the campus because of the floods around the district when its engine konked out at around 10 p.m. in front of the St. Raymund’s Building. The ambulance was supposed to bring Feliza to the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

THE UST Publishing House is more than halfway in completing its quadricentennial project, “400 Books at 400!” after launching 20 new titles, including a book authored by a former Varsitarian editor.

Journalism professor Nestor Cuartero, a former Varsitarian managing editor, published his first book titled, “At Large, At Leisure,” a collection of feature stories he had written for the Panorama and other publications.

“I have a simple goal in writing these articles: to touch, enlighten, and maybe inspire the readers. The book is intended to be read at leisure,” Cuartero said.

Sisters Mikee, Mai-Mai, and China Cojuangco also published “Sisters Act, Mom Reacts” together with their mother Tingting, a UST alumna.

WHILE oil prices have eased in the world market, anxiety continues as to how long the world’s petroleum reserves would cater to oil-dependent countries. But with the advent of studies geared toward harnessing biofuel from non-food sources, the surging global demand for oil may finally meet its end through “unconventional” and “renewable” measures.

At present, the UST Research Center for the Natural Sciences (RCNS) is conducting researches on new alternative fuel sources like plant seeds, microalgae, and thermophilic bacteria.

“Biofuel is one of our key research areas, together with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST). We saw its importance because it is a global concern affecting practically everyone,” RCNS Director Christina Binag said.

Alternative fuel research dates back to 1885 when Rudolf Diesel built the first diesel engine fueled by vegetable oil. But locally, biofuel research is still a budding enterprise.

FOR JENINABETH Imperial, a graduate of the Faculty of Pharmacy, working on a thesis involving laboratory animals was wearisome. She had to rent an apartment just to house all test animals, provide the prescribed environmental conditions, and conduct constant monitoring.

But with the efforts of the Research Center for the Natural Sciences (RCNS), students no longer have to go through all of that.

Last June 13, the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) granted UST a certification and license to maintain an animal laboratory and to operate an Animal Care and Use Program (ACUP) inside the University.

ALONG with Faculty of Engineering professor Carmela Centeno and Assistant to the Rector for Research and Development Fortunato Sevilla III, the late Thomasian journalist Jose “Joe” Burgos was hailed by the Department of Science and Technology as one of the 50 great men and women of science last June 9.

Burgos was posthumously awarded for raising national consciousness on the importance of rice and food security through science-based farm methods and environmental conservation.

Burgos’s wife Edith said her husband’s advocacy stemmed from his desire to improve the lives of farmers through journalism.

WHAT do you call a bottle of energy drink and a packet of coffee rolled into one?

The answer is a small candy ball called Go! Go! Extreme Energy Candy, a brainchild of Basic Food Science Corporation, and the first of its kind in the country. It mixes the effects of an energy boosting chemical with a sweet icy flavor.

One piece of this concentrated mint packs in 30 mg of caffeine and 18 kcal of energy. That’s like drinking half a cup of coffee with every piece!

People who are always on-the-go would be glad to know that caffeine and peppermint can increase wakefulness, improve concentration and memory retention, and decrease fatigue arising from late-night school or office work.

Hanging his scrub suit should have been the last thing to cross his mind. And he had, at one point in his life, every reason to do so.

Fidel Perez had just lost a sister, who had been very kind and supportive of him. Add to that the pressure of looking – and keeping – a well-paying job to raise a growing family.

From the outset, Perez, a Medical Technology graduate and a licensed professional, didn’t have to worry. After all, the 50-year-old Batangas native who had worked in Germany with his sister for quite some time, was raking in hefty bundles as a laboratory scientist at a hospital in Saudi Arabia.

Three years later, however, Fidel unceremoniously did what few Filipinos of his ken and stature would dare do – leave the stables of diaspora for good and start all over again. As what?