Wednesday, November 13, 2024

Tag: April 30, 2007

A bite of malaria-free mosquitoes

THANKS to new developments in genetic engineering, a new breed of genetically modified mosquitoes (GMMs) may be able to save thousands of lives from one of the world’s most deadly diseases—malaria.

Malaria, a disease common in the tropics, infects an estimated 500 million people worldwide and kills around 2.7 million each year, according to the 2005 World Malaria Report by the World Health Organization.

Of tiles, strips, and noses

CAN YOU turn breakable spoons into hard floor? Can you track bacteria in minutes? Can you tell a plant just from its scent? Sure you can, especially with some of this year’s best scientific theses that signed the technological gadgets and health gizmos of tomorrow. Here’s a Varsitarian rundown.

Faculty of Engineering: Tiles from spoons and forks

Quick survey of election rules

KNOW your rights and duties to secure an honest and peaceful election. Here’s a rundown of election laws

• Registering as a voter twice is illegal based on the Omnibus Election Code.

• The election period begins 90 days before the day of the election and ends 30 days after. In this period, election laws are implemented.

• Vote-buying and selling include offering or promising employments, franchise and grants for an individual or a community.

More DOST scholarships offered at Graduate School

GRADUATES who wish to take Master of Science (MS) in Medical Physics and MS Microbiology can now apply for scholarships from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

“Last year, MS Chemistry was the only Science program in UST open for scholarships sinsce it was the only one approved as a priority field,” Alicia Asuncion, director of the Accelerated Science and Technology Human Resource Development Program of DOST, told the Varsitarian.

Biology researches presented

TWO THOMASIAN researchers led the series of lectures of the 42nd Annual National Convention and Scientific Sessions of the Biology Teachers Association of the Philippines (BIOTA) last April 12 to 14 at the Thomas Aquinas Research Complex.

Hospital seeks to publish all researches by 2011

SIXTY MONTHS. Sixty reviewed studies. One vision. One hospital.

The Hospital Research Unit (HRU) of the UST Hospital (USTH) envisions that by 2011, all of their 60 and counting clinical studies will have published, locally and internationally.

The Institutional Review Board (IRB) of HRU, which reviews and approves studies, said that there are a total of 60 (32 in-house and 28 pharmaceutical company-funded) studies under their department. The studies were reviewed and approved based on the ethical and legal standards mandated by the Declaration of Helsinki.

Engineering launches diagnostic test for board takers

ELECTRONICS and Communication Engineering professors (ECE) have found a way to benefit both students and faculty with the online ECE diagnostic exam.

Given to fifth-year students before the ECE board exam review, the test covered three ECE core subjects: electronics, mathematics and communication. It was given at the Faculty of Engineering’s computer laboratories and utilized the assessment engine of the UST e-Learning Access Program. Individual and group assessments of the scores were viewed immediately after the test.

Electoral violence on

IF YOU can’t beat them, kill them.

A Thomasian political analyst believes that the high cost of campaigning for election makes some politicians resort to violence to boot out opponents.

“These incidents of violence are the results of the war-like dynastic competition for political power,” Prof. Jimmy Jimenez, Social Research Center political analyst, told the Varsitarian. “It is also a manifestation of medieval politics where politicians use force and violence just to put oneself in position.”

UST commemorates war internment camp

AN EXHIBIT commemorating civilians who were interned in the UST campus during World War II was mounted again at the UST Museum of Arts and Sciences last April 4 to honor visiting former American internees of UST and remind Thomasians of the horrors of the war.

Campaign reaches Friendster, online blogs

IN THIS age of Friendster, Myspace, and Multipy, it is not surprising to see political candidates get wired to the information superhighway to increase their reach to potential voters.

Candidates have launched their own websites and blogsites, and have joined networking sites that reach a broader and younger audience online— for the cost of almost nothing.

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