Behind The Science Podcast

Reuploading this lecture about the rapid mangrove colonization in Iloilo City because of high sedimentation from a flood control project. I also shared how this study developed from a class project to 2 publications. 📚References: [1] Flores, P. C. M., & Siringan, F. P. (2020). Shoreline change in response to the construction of a flood canal in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines . IEEE India Geos...

In this episode, we talk with John Albert M. Caraan about his study on Sporesight — an AI-powered computer vision tool that can automatically identify pollen developmental stages in eggplant in real time. Knowing the exact developmental stage of pollen is critical in doubled haploid technology, where microspores at the right stage are cultured in vitro to rapidly produce purebred plant lines. 📚Re...

In this episode, we are joined by Mikael Angelo Francisco — an award-winning science journalist, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of FlipScience.ph, host of the Ask Theory Podcast, and a leading voice in Philippine science media — for an in-depth conversation on the evolving landscape of science communication in the Philippines. We discussed the strategic value of podcasting, the common errors s...

Dr. Lyndon Olaguera discusses their study challenging the existing four-type Philippine climate classification by incorporating temperature alongside rainfall data from 1979 to 2015. 📚Reference: Olaguera LMP, Badua EK, Llorin AGA, Cruz FAT, Villarin JRT, Manalo JA, Villafuerte MQ II, Matsumoto J. 2025. Rainfall and temperature-based Philippine climate zones using Self-Organizing Maps . Scientific...

To cap off our March episode and celebrate Women’s Month, Ms. Gemmalyn Trespalacio shares their study examining women’s roles in Philippine agriculture in the context of climate change through a meta-synthesis using a gender analysis framework. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist...

Dr. Angel Encarnacion discusses their study assessing the fisheries resources of the Babuyan Channel in Northern Philippines, uncovering fluctuating fish production trends and high fishing pressure on commercially important species like shortfin scad, mahi-mahi, and largehead hairtail from 2009 to 2013. 📚Reference: Calicdan MA, Gumiran E, Encarnacion AB, Ayson JP. 2018. Assessment of fisheries re...

Mr. Gerardo Ilagan investigated the presence and fate of seven veterinary antibiotics, namely, amoxicillin, ampicillin, penicillin G, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, sulfamethazine, and sulfamethoxazole in the surface waters of the Upper Pampanga River and its tributaries in Nueva Ecija. 📚Reference: Ilagan G, Dimzon IK, Guidote Jr. A. 2026. Occurrence and stability of veterinary antibiotics in Upp...

Mr. Sean Manalo shares a low-cost method to measure the carbon dioxide efflux in Philippine mangrove forests. 📚Reference: Manalo SP, Salmo SI. 2025. Exploring the potential of low-cost portable CO2 meter in the assessment of soil CO2 efflux in Philippine mangroves . SciEnggJ. 18(2):347–355. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience...

Dr. John Manalo discussed their study on how urbanization has driven temperature changes across the Philippines from 1951 to 2018 using 34 meteorological stations. 📚Reference: Manalo JA, Matsumoto J, Takahashi HG, Villafuerte MQ, Olaguera LMP, Ren G, Cinco TA. 2022. The effect of urbanization on temperature indices in the Philippines . International Journal of Climatology. 42(2):850–867. 🤝Behind...

Engr. Angela Bauzon discusses her Master's thesis on ground deformation in Bohol following the devastating 2013 Mw 7.2 earthquake. Her study analyzes post-earthquake land movement along the coastal areas of Loon and Maribojoc using Sentinel-1 satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques like shoreline change analysis and persistent scatterer interferometric synthetic aperture radar 📚Refere...

Reuploading this old lecture I made... Numerical modeling of tsunamis from the Manila Trench provides startling insights into the many countries and people who would be affected by such a catastrophic event. This video explains the modeling results and demonstrates just how devastating the effects of a powerful tsunami from the Manila Trench could be. 📚References: Megawati K, Shaw F, Sieh K, Huan...

In this episode, Dr. Ballad discussed her study on Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (PIPLS) where she explores how ecotourism serves as an alternative livelihood for local communities and how it influences their participation in coastal resource management. 📚Reference: Ballad E, Morooka Y, Shinbo T. 2021. Impact of ecotourism on local community's participation in coastal resourc...

Reuploading this old lecture I made... Tsunami or typhoon? Which one built the mysterious island off the coast of Lumaniag village in Batangas? That's the question researchers from UP Diliman set out to answer. In this episode, we dive into how researchers from UP Diliman solved this coastal detective story. By combining field measurements, uranium-thorium dating of coral boulders, historical...

What does a livable city really look like and who gets to decide? In this episode, Enzo Campomanes explains how he developed AI models called "AI-voters" trained on satellite imagery and community input to map urban livability. 📚Reference: Campomanes V, F., Abascal, A., Oliveira, L.T. et al. Whose city is it? Mapping perceived urban livability with citizen-guided AI . npj Urban Sustain...

How can a fungus help control one of the Philippines’ most destructive crop pests? In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, Marcela M. Navasero and Melissa P. Montecalvo of UPLB’s National Crop Protection Center share how Metarhizium rileyi is being studied as a biological control agent against fall armyworm, along with the real-world challenges of turning lab research into sustainable pest...

I talked with Engr. Raymond Lagria about his study on classifying and ranking social media posts to prioritize disaster response. 📚Reference: Lagria, R., et. al. “A Text Mining Framework for the Classification and Prioritization of Disaster-Related Tweets for Disaster Response”. Philippine Engineering Journal 2022 Vol. 43, No.: 65-88 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine &amp...

I talked with Ms. Cielo Luz C. Mondejar about practical, low-cost ways to improve rice seed quality using organic fertilizers. 📚Reference: Mondejar CL. 2025. Comparative Effects of Organic-Based Seed Treatments on Seed Viability and Vigor of Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) Varieties . The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 108(4):305–312. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & E...

What happens when you drop 2 quantum particles of different sizes at the same time? 📚Reference: Flores PCM, Galapon EA. 2019. Quantum free-fall motion and quantum violation of the weak equivalence principle . Physical Review A. 99(4). ‌ 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The P...

Kwento ko lang paano ito nagsimula hanggang sa kung ano na ito ngayon.

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Rafaela Jane Delfino about her research on how climate change influences super typhoons in the Philippines. Using high-resolution climate models, her study examines how Super Typhoons Goni (2020) and Rai (2021) respond to past and future climate conditions. 📚Reference: Delfino RJP, Bagtasa G. 2025. Response of super typhoons Goni (2020) and Rai (2021) to past an...

I talked with Dr. Cherrie May Olaya, a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics in Japan. She explains her work on how light behaves at metal surfaces, focusing on a phenomenon known as the photonic spin Hall effect. Using surface plasmon resonance, her study demonstrates a new way to directly measure tiny light shifts that are usually difficult to detect. We discuss why...

Dr. Mary Joy Abit shares their research that examines how nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations can influence the growth of water hyacinths. 📚Reference: Abit MJ, Pilar RF, Ramirez AH. 2025. Influence of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Rates on the Growth of Water Hyacinth ( Pontederia crassipes Mart.) . The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 108(1):7–12.‌ 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you...

Dr. Gerry Bagtasa shares their study on developing an AI-based model for forecasting tropical cyclone rainfall in the Philippines using historical data from 1951 to 2015 to train the model. 📚Reference: Mesias CG, Bagtasa G. 2025. AI‐Based Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Forecasting in the Philippines Using Machine Learning . Meteorological Applications. 32(4). ‌ 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presente...

In this episode, I talk with Ms. Alexandra Hulog about a new microfluidic method that creates uniform alginate microbeads for cell encapsulation. Traditional batch emulsion techniques often produce beads of uneven sizes, which affects how much medicine, nutrients, or cells each bead can carry. Their microfluidic platform solves this problem by controlling droplet size during formation, resulting i...

Dr. Edison Macusi discusses the most pressing issues facing the small pelagic fisheries and milkfish aquaculture industries in the Philippines over the next 30 years, and the solutions to these problems. 📚Reference: Macusi ED, Nallos IM, Santos MD, Geronimo RC. 2025. Climate and Non-climate Related Hazards in Small Pelagic Fisheries and Milkfish Aquaculture: Expert Opinion Survey in the Philippin...