Philippine Biotechnology

Biotechnology is the fusion of biology and technology. It is the application of biological techniques to product research and development. In particular, biotechnology involves the use by industry of recombinant DNA, cell fusion, and new bioprocessing techniques.

The Philippines is the first ASEAN country to initiate a biotechnology regulatory system with the issuance of Executive Order No. 430 in 1990, which established the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines (NCBP). The countries biosafety regulatory system follows strict scientific standards and has become a model for member-countries of the ASEAN seeking to become producers of agricultural biotechnology crops.


Food and Agricultural Organization listed the pros of biotechnology, which are stated below:

• Better resistance to stress,
• More nutritious staple foods,
• More productive farm animals for the environment,
• More food from less land,
• GMOs might reduce the environmental impact of food production and industrial processes,
• Rehabilitation of damaged or less-fertile land,
• Bioremediation,
• Longer shelf lives,
• Biofuels.
• Investigation of diseases with genetic fingerprinting,
• Vaccines and medicines,
• Identification of allergenic genes.

However, there are also cons on biotechnology:

• Genes can end up in unexpected places,
• Genes can mutate with harmful effect,
• "Sleeper"genes could be accidentally switched on and active genes could become "silent",
• Interaction with wild and native populations,
• Impact on birds, insects and soil biota
• Transfer of allergenic genes,
• Mixing of GM products in the food chain,
• Transfer of antibiotic resistance
• Loss of farmers' access to plant material,
• Intellectual property rights could slow research,
• Impact of "terminator"technologies.

References:
Biotechnology Philippines (2008). Retrieved on October 7, 2010 from http://www.biotech.da.gov.ph/
 FAO (2003). FAO Lists Biotech Pros and Cons. Retrieved on October 7, 2010 from http://www.monsanto.co.uk/news/ukshowlib.phtml?uid=7120
 MedicineNet, Inc. (2010). Definition of Biotechnology. Retrieved on October 7, 2010 from http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2467

Sustainable Development

Sustainable development has been defined in various ways, but the most frequently quoted definition is from Our Common Future:

"Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two key concepts:

• the concept of needs, in particular the essential needs of the world's poor, to which overriding priority should be given; and
• the idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the environment's ability to meet present and future needs."

All definitions of sustainable development require that we see the world as a system—a system that connects space; and a system that connects time.

______________________________________________________

     There are 15 principles which address the three major aspects of Sustainable Development: environment, economy and community which in turn will generally be for ecological, human and social development.

As years pass, the degradation of sustainable system increases and the environment has transited to a severe level affecting the natural resources. There have been freshwater shortages, tropical forest destruction, species extinction, urban air pollution and climate change.

We can help through these actions:

• Revive growth
• Change the quality of growth
• Meet essential needs and aspirations for jobs, food, energy, water and sanitation
• Ensure sustainable level of population
• Conserve and enhance the resource base
• Re-orient technology and manage risk
• Include and combine environment and economics considerations in decision-making 

These seven actions are needed to ensure a good quality of life for people. Moreover, we can do more by changing. Produce, consume and organize ourselves differently. This can help us to be on the track toward a sustainable development. It will continue to change over time but emphasizes the need for concern for equity and fairness, long-term view and systems thinking. To fully achieve the sustainable development, the need for cooperation between the sectors is needed. The success of acquiring this is depending on how we act on it and the effort we make to change and help.

*WILL BE UPDATED

References:

United Nations Under-Secretary General and the United Nations Environment Programme (1999). "Overview: Outlook and recommendations,"Global Environment Outlook 2000, London: Earthscan. Retrieved on September 30, 2010 from http://sdgateway.net/introsd/criticalactions.htm also: http://grid.cr.usgs.gov/geo2000/ov-e/0012.htm

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 43. Retrieved on September 30, 2010 from http://www.iisd.org/sd/

References:

World Commission on Environment and Development (1987). Our common future. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Pp. 43. Retrieved on September 30, 2010 from http://www.iisd.org/sd/

Evolution of Philosophy of Science: Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein

  

     Sir Isaac Newton lived a fairly long and productive life. Born on 1642 and died on 1727. He is an English natural philosopher who contributed the new theory of light and color and the principle of calculus. He is also the proponent of the three laws of motion, law of universal gravitation and that made him as a revolutionist during the 17th century.

   Isaac Newton’s interest in mathematics sprung from his undergraduate days at Cambridge University. There he became acquainted with Descartes’ Géométrie, John Wallis’ Arithmetica infinitorum and other works by great mathematicians. Also, he made his contributions to analytical geometry, algebra, and calculus. Newton discovered the binomial theorem, new methods for infinite series and “direct and indirect methods of fluxions”. Still during his days at the Cambridge University he studied optics. His discoveries and experiments involved light, prisms, colors and degree of refrangibility. His most famous experiment, experimentum crucis, demonstrated his theory of light. Newton also is the proponent of Corpuscular Theory, researched mechanics and published several literary works. 

”If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” - Isaac Newton

_____________________________________________________

     Albert Einstein is a famous German/Swiss/American physicist renowned all over the world. Born on the year 1879 and died on 1955. He is famous for his work on Theory of Relativity and mass-energy equivalence: E=mc². The compass was the first expression of Einstein’s curiosity on science at the age of five. On 1889, he started his quest for facts and information on science through the inspiration of a family friend. Albert Einstein graduated at The Federal Polytechnic with a degree in physics. 

   1905 is the year known as Einstein’s “Wonderful Year”, it is the year when his Theory of Relativity was created and he applies it to mass and energy and formulated the famous equation E=mc². Also at the same year, he has published four papers in the Annalen der Physik, the leading German physics journal. He became a privatdozent at the University of Bern and was appointed professorship of theoretical physics at Zurich University, German University of Prague, and at University of Berlin. He wrote papers on critical opalescence, cosmology. In 1917, he was appointed Director of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics in Berlin. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1921. 

   His various works involved: Quantum mechanics and unified field theory was founded and publication of The World As I See It and The Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen Paradox, recommended nuclear research and worked with the Research and Development of the U.S. Navy on Ammunition and Explosives. He was appointed Chancellor of Germany by Adolf Hitler on January 1933 and Chairman of the Emergency Committee for Atomic Scientists and was offered presidency of the State of Israel. And he died on April 17, 1955 due to internal bleeding at Princeton Hospital.

_____________________________________________________

Both scientific philosophers revolutionized the field of science and the community in their own respective ways. They both contributed through their various researches, experiments, discoveries and scholarly publications. Physics and mathematics are the common interests of these scientists.

References: 

Albert Einstein Timeline (n.d). Retrieved on September 28, 2010 from http://www.history-timelines.org.uk/people-timelines/26-albert-einstein-timeline.htm 

BBC (n.d). Isaac Newton. Historic Figures. Retrieved on September 28, 2010 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/newton_isaac.shtml 

Hatch, R. (2002). Sir Isaac Newton. The Scientific Revolution Homepage. University of Florida. Retrieved on September 28, 2010 from http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/ufhatch/pages/01-Courses/current-courses/08sr-newton.htm

Philippine Speciation and Biodiversity: Tridacna gigas

Click to answer Endangered Animals Quiz

Philippines is an archipelagic area comprised of islands that encloses marine areas that serves as a habitat to marine fauna. Its terrestrial flora and fauna and marine fauna are highly diverse as a result of the construction of the islands. The process which formed these islands together also made the seas around these islands. Ergo, flora and fauna in the older islands are more endemic than those of new islands formed. Flora may be difficult to be reproduced in another island if this specific flora is not eaten either by human or transporting animals that could transfer seeds from place to place. Moreover, mollusks endemic to a certain area are only found in there because larva of these mollusks could hardly swim from a marine area to another and different species of mollusks need different depth of water habitat. This isolation results to diversity and endemicity of Philippine flora and fauna.

This premise is very feasible and accountable. Philippines is indeed a place abundant of diverse organisms. It is true to the fact that these islands that comprise the archipelago made the country bountiful of various species that are also endemic as well. The formation of these islands is mainly the amazing factor that resulted to this archipelagic beauty.

Differences in spawning time, mate recognition, environmental tolerance, and gamete compatibility have been all implicated in marine speciation events (Palumbi, 1994). Speciation is an adaptive process which involves intrinsic barriers to gene flow between closely related populations by development of reproductive isolating mechanisms (Bush, 1975). Reproductive barriers which involve the initial reduction of gene flow between populations and some evolutionary forces that produced these barriers may be a problem in speciation (Coyne & Orr, 2004). Speciation is characterized by gene separation and morphological differentiation (Stearns, & Hoekstra, 2000).

Geographic isolation may be the cause of speciation in the Philippines (UCMP, 2006). The location of the species may prevent them to interbreed with another type if for instance they were secluded in another place. This diversity within the Philippine archipelago is a result of the collision of Australian plate with the Eurasian plate (Whitmore, 1981 as cited by Vallejo). Speciation is more likely to occur in isolated islands and would result to higher levels of endemicity of species.

Philippines is a crucial hotspot for both terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity and endemicity because of its geographic and geologic history of the islands. The most isolated islands have the highest number of endemic plants and animals (Heaney, 1986, as cited by Vallejo). In this case, Philippines is an archipelagic area that allows biodiversity and endemicity to arise. To quote Oosterzee, 1997, “The Philippines is, therefore, an elegant natural experiment in speciation.

____________________________________________________________

Among the diverse marine species in the Philippine setting, Tridacna gigas, is the largest bivalve mollusk and is capable of reaching 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length and weighing more than 500 pounds (227 kg). Its average life span in the wild is 100 years or more. This marine giant lives in the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans. It consumes the sugars and proteins produced by the billions of algae that live in its tissues. The giant clam uses a siphon to draw in water to filter and consume passing plankton.

Giant clams reproduce sexually through broadcast spawning. These mollusks expel sperm and eggs into the sea. Fertilization takes place in the open water and is followed by larval stage. The larvae must swim and feed in the water column until they are sufficiently developed to settle on a suitable substrate and begin their adult life as a sessile clam. These giant clams are said to be killers for they are suspected of trapping people and drowning them. Tridacna species are lethargic and closes slowly, only when it is disturbed, which negates the accusation.

The adductor muscle of Tridacna gigas is considered a delicacy of some people and overharvesting it for food, shells and the aquarium trade has led it on to be listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a vulnerable species.

References:

Bush, G.L., (1975). Modes of animal speciation. Retrieved on September 21, 2010 from http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.es.06.110175.002011

Coyne, J. A., & Orr, H. A., (2004). “The problem of speciation”, in Speciation.

Heaney, L. R., (1998) as cited by Vallejo, (2005). The biogeography of philippine marine mollusks.

National Geographic (2010). Giant Clam. Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from   http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/giant-clam.html

Oosterzee, P. v., (1997) as cited by Vallejo, (2005). The biogeography of philippine marine mollusks.

Palumbi, S.R., (1994).  Genetic divergence, reproductive isolation, and marine speciation. Retrieved on September 21, 2010 from http://arjournals.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.es.25.110194.002555

Stearns, S. C., & Hoekstra, R. F. (2000). Evolution: an introduction.

Tervo, K. and R. Csomos (2001).Tridacna gigas. Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved on September 23, 2010 from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Tridacna_gigas.html.

The University of California Museum of Paleontology (2006). Modes of speciation. Retrieved on August 15 2009 from http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evosite/evo101/VCCausesSpeciation.shtml

Whitmore, T. C., (1981) as cited by Vallejo, (2005). The biogeography of philippine marine mollusks.