I talked with Mr. Gifford Jay Agudo about his study on land cover change and flood exposure in Quinali A Watershed, Albay. Using satellite remote sensing and flood modeling, his research tracks three decades of landscape transformation — from the loss of forests and brushlands to the rapid expansion of croplands and urban areas. The results reveal that urban growth is encroaching into flood-prone zones, nearly doubling exposure to flooding since 1990.

📚Reference: Agudo GJ, Garcia J, Pulhin J, Mendoza J, Singson KV, Lagmay AMF, Cruz RV, Santiago J, Moises MA, Esquivel ALJ, et al. 2025. Land Cover Change and Its Associated Impacts on Landscape Fragmentation and Flood Exposure in Quinali A Watershed, Albay, the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science. 154(2): 287-300.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

Scab diseases make fruits like mango, citrus, and sweet potato unappealing and unmarketable, but what if we could decode the fungus behind them down to its DNA? In this episode of Behind The Science Podcast, Dr. Leilani Sumabat-Dacones talked about her team’s discovery of the genes that make the fungus Elsinoë such an effective plant pathogen. Using bioinformatics, they analyzed fungal genomes to identify effectors and toxins like elsinochrome and melanin that trigger scab formation.

📚Reference: Cequeña RC, Sumabat-Dacones L. 2024. Presence of elsinochrome and other putative effectors in select genomes of the plant pathogen Elsinoë spp. based on in silico analysis. SciEnggJ. 17(1):59–70.‌

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

Dr. Reginald Bernardo shares how his recent study uses the hunting behavior of the Philippine Eagle as inspiration for optimizing cosmological models that describe the expansion of the universe.

📚Reference: Bernardo RC, Enriquez EA, Mendoza R, Reyes R, Velasco AC. 2025 May 15. Nature-inspired optimization, the Philippine Eagle, and cosmological parameter estimation. arXiv (Cornell University). ‌

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

Dr. Evelyn Ame evaluates how the Gentleman’s Agreement — an informal management agreement among fishers — is holding up in practice for managing the stocks of aramang in Aparri, Cagayan. Using catch data, gear analysis, and participatory appraisal, Dr. Ame reveals that fishing mortality rates are much higher than natural mortality, and the current exploitation level (E = 0.66) already exceeds sustainable thresholds.

📚Reference: Ame E, Laeno F, Villarao M. 2025. Status of Nematopalaemon tenuipes, Spider Prawn (Family: Palaemonidae) Stocks Caught in Aparri, Cagayan: A case of Gentleman’s Agreement Management Strategy. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries 32(1):69–80.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

In this episode, I talked with Prof. Floirendo Flores about his research on fortifying rice with vitamin A. His study looked at how β-carotene can be better preserved and released using β-cyclodextrin microencapsulation. By testing different methods, the research shows how rice can be made more nutritious. This study also received the NAST PHL Outstanding Scientific Paper Award. Prof. Flores also shares his journey from chemical engineering to food science, the challenges of doing research during the pandemic, and his advice for young scientists in the Philippines.

📚Reference: Cruz, J. D., & Flores, F. (2020). Evaluation of Physicochemical Characteristics, In Vitro Release and Antioxidant Properties of β-carotene and β-cyclodextrin Inclusion Complexes with Rice as Food Matrix. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 103(4), 337–348.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Angelo Macario about his study on how fishhook size affects catch variation, size selectivity, and bycatch in bottom-set longline fisheries targeting nemipterid fishes in the Philippines. His research shows that the choice of hook size plays a crucial role in determining the sustainability of fish stocks and the livelihood of small-scale fishers. Angelo also shares his journey as a researcher, the challenges of doing fieldwork in fisheries science, and his advice for aspiring scientists who want to make an impact in the field.

📚Reference: Macario, A.C., Islam, T., Babaran, R.P. et al. Effects of hook size on the catch variation, size selectivity, and bycatch of the bottom set longline fisheries targeting nemipterid fishes in the Philippines. Sci Rep 15, 1379 (2025).

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, I sat down with Dr. Carlos Primero Gundran to talk about disaster preparedness and response in the Philippines. He shares insights on the role of simulation training in preparing agencies for emergencies, the challenges of limited resources, and overlapping mandates. Drawing from his background in emergency medicine, Dr. Gundran highlights practical solutions and lessons learned that can help agencies and researchers strengthen disaster preparedness and save lives.

📚Reference: Gundran CPD, Lam HY, Tuazon ACA, Cleofas JV, Garcia FB, Puli TEM. 2023. Simulation Training Needs Assessment for Disaster Preparedness and Disaster Response among selected agencies in National Capital Region, Philippines. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 94(2023):103824. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2023.103824.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

In this episode, I talked with Dr. Edjohn Aaron Macauyag about his research on developing a low-cost technique to synthesize Bst DNA polymerase —an enzyme for detecting diseases like COVID-19— and reducing costs by over 90% using home ingredients like egg whites and powdered milk.

📚Reference: San Pedro VM, Cañas VA, Garcia JR, Lopez C, Zulueta M, Macauyag EA. 2025. A low-cost production method for Bst DNA polymerase (large fragment). SciEnggJ. 18(1):20–27.‌

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.