Newsletter: Bird poop to the rescue: Using bird perches for forest regeneration

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: Dr. Jelaine L. Gan

Reforestation activities typically involve planting trees in degraded areas. However, tree planting is resource-intensive, requiring labor for the planting and more importantly nurturing of the seedlings, and may be expensive and limited by seedling supply. Moreover, there is always a question of whether the right plant species (i.e., native rather than non-native economically important species) are being planted to benefit biodiversity. 

Newsletter: Recent UP Study Finds Social Media a Valuable Tool for Understanding Philippine Tarsiers

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: Eunice Jean C. Patron

The world of social media has become an increasingly important source of data for biodiversity and conservation, especially for rare or little-known species such as the Philippine tarsier. However, despite its popularity, there is still limited information about where it lives and how it behaves in the wild.

Distribution of Philippine tarsiers within the Greater Mindanao Faunal Region based on Facebook data between 2006 and 2024. (Photo credit: Tabeta & Bejar, 2025).

Maria Sabrina Tabeta and Simeon Gabriel Bejar of the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science’s Institute of Biology (UPD-CS IB) explored public posts and group posts on Facebook that mentioned Philippine tarsiers.

Newsletter: UP Biologists Help Discover New Philippine Forest Mice Species in Mindoro

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: Rio Constantino

Mouse A: A. gracilirostris; mouse B: A. veluzi; mouse C: A. crinitus; mouse D: A. minor (Photo credit: Heaney et. al 2025)

Mindoro is home to a unique bounty of endemic mammalian wildlife found nowhere else on Earth. This includes the famous tamaraw, the Mindoro warty pig, and the humble Mindoro shrew. Now, three more species are added to the list, thanks to the recent discovery of Philippine forest mice—all belonging to the Apomys genus.

Newsletter: The Hidden Crisis - Groundwater Quality in the Philippines and Why It Matters

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: John Kenneth R. Fraga

PGHI Project staff measuring onsite groundwater quality using a multimeter in one of the forested sites in Ilocos Sur. (Photo credit: Jacquilyn L. Estrada)

Groundwater—water trapped beneath the Earth's surface—is a resource that may be out of sight, but it is certainly not out of mind for many Filipinos. This invisible resource is vital for everyday life, especially in agriculture, where it provides the lifeblood for irrigation. However, as our demand for food grows and technology allows us to tap deeper into the Earth, groundwater faces an urgent crisis of over-extraction and contamination that demands immediate attention.

Newsletter: UP Biologists Investigate Multidrug-resistant Salmonella in Chicken

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: Eunice Jean C. Patron

Biologists from the University of the Philippines Diliman – College of Science, Institute of Biology (UPD-CS IB) call for further and more in-depth surveillance of foodborne pathogens like the bacterium Salmonella in poultry products. Infections caused by Salmonella typically result in symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and sometimes vomiting, which usually appear 6 to 72 hours after ingestion of Salmonella, and can last 2-7 days.

Newsletter: UP Biologists Develop an Aptamer-based Test for Trichomoniasis Detection

[THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE]

By: Eunice Jean C. Patron

Schematic representation of the assay. (Photo credit: Justo et al., 2024)

The World Health Organization (WHO) aims to eliminate sexually transmitted infection (STI) epidemics as significant public health threats by 2030. One of the four main non-viral and curable STIs, trichomoniasis, stays persistent, affecting 156 million out of 376 million individuals aged 15–49 in     . About 70–85% of persons with trichomoniasis show no signs of infection, highlighting the urgent need for accurate, fast, and accessible detection of Trichomonas vaginalis, the parasite that causes the infection.