ISI data shows lethargic progress of science in the Philippines
Posted by Joemar | Filed under science
Until the mid-seventies, the scientific productivity of the Philippines was comparable to that of Thailand and Malaysia and a little better over Indonesia. More than 40 years later, the overall productivity of Filipino scientists (i.e. those working in the Philippines) has gone far below the remarkable outputs of Thailand and Malaysia. As of the last [...]
Tags: philippines, science
Inhibitors of Bacterial Communication in Green Tea
Posted by Joemar | Filed under science
Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) – the primary component of Green Tea – was shown to have an ability to block the communication system of a bacterial test strain, Chromobacterium violaceum.
The ability of bacteria to sense their population density is a recently discovered phenomenon. Many studies have shown that this “quorum sensing” ability of bacteria enable them to coordinate their behavior. Individual bacterium does not produce the necessary weapons of host destruction until such time that their population is large enough to cause invasion. Blocking quorum sensing is now considered to be a viable target to control bacterial infections.
Tags: bacteria, egcg, green tea, quorum sensing
Top 10 lessons I learned from my graduate thesis
Posted by Joemar | Filed under Studies, science
After two and a half years of graduate study for my MS degree in microbiology, I can say that I learned a lot of things, not only on academics but also about life in general. I know the deepest struggles of graduate students, especially those who are currently doing their thesis. In addition to logistic and theoretical burdens, internal negative forces like depressions, frustrations and even (maybe) hatred have to be faced and defeated in order to emerge victorious. For those who are about to do their thesis and even for those who are doing it now, I’d like to share the top 10 lessons that I learned from doing my thesis, which I hope can help you to be better equipped.