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"NuLab" Mobile Science Facility Rolled Out at 2019 NSTW

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Published: 29 August 2019

"NuLab" Mobile Science Facility Rolled Out at 2019 NSTW

Students from San Francisco High School and researchers from the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) were among the first to experience one of DOST's newest mobile science facility - the "nuLab" bus.

NuLab is a bus designed to enable secondary school students to discover their potentials in various disciplines in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), including nuclear science and technology, and eventually consider careers along these lines. It is equipped with audio-visual and educational tools and equipment useful in introducing concepts and developing skills among the students relevant to building the future human resource of an IR 4.0-ready Philippines.

Among the modules being used in the nuLab are nuclear science-related experiments, including detection of radiation in the environment using survey meters.

The facility also includes a strategic campaign called “#Push4Science: Maging DOST Scholar Ka!” at the end of every session, to persuade the student participants to apply to the DOST-SEI undergraduate scholarship programs.

The nuLab was rolled-out by the DOST-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) as part of the students' activity during the 2019 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW) from July 17-21, 2019 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.

See more photos at https://www.facebook.com/PNRIDOST/posts/901033333575406

Original Post: July 15, 2019

Filipino Scientists to use Radiation to Sterilize, Reduce Dengue Mosquito Population

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Published: 30 July 2019

PNRI researchers conducting experiments on an Aedes mosquito colony at the PNRI laboratory

Filipino Scientists to use Radiation to Sterilize, Reduce Dengue Mosquito Population 

With the Department of Health declaring a national dengue alert due to the increasing number of dengue cases in several regions, the Department of Science and Technology - Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI) continues to harness nuclear S&T to help mitigate the perennial dengue problem in the Philippines.

Using radiation to sterilize mosquitoes, PNRI scientists are starting to develop the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) to reduce the population of Aedes aegypti, which serves as the vector for dengue, chikungunya and zika virus.

Male mosquitoes are reared in the laboratories to be exposed to gamma radiation which sterilizes the insects, after which they will be released to partner with females in the target areas.

Under natural conditions, female mosquitoes mate only once in their lifetime, and, unlike male mosquitoes, are the ones which transmit the dengue virus by biting a person since it feeds on human blood. Mating with sterilized male mosquitoes produces no offspring, and when sterile males are continuously released in the target area, the population of mosquitoes can be reduced.

Researchers aim to use the SIT along with other conventional methods of pest control. But unlike pesticides, sterilizing male mosquitoes does not pollute the environment and affects only the target insect while sparing many other natural mosquito predators. Moreover, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the mosquitoes to become resistant against radiation.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an international organization within the United Nations system, also supports the development of SIT in many countries for use against pests as well as vectors of various diseases.

More recently, the SIT was successfully able to help suppress the mosquito populations in a pilot trial in Guangzhou, China, according to the IAEA.

PNRI has previously used the SIT to help control the population of fruit flies in Guimaras Island, famed for its export-quality mangoes.

As the SIT for Aedes mosquitoes is still being developed in the Philippines, researchers are focusing on the improvement of rearing protocols, studying various radiation doses at which sterilized male mosquitoes are still capable of competing for mates with mosquitoes in the wild, mosquito fertility and population dynamics, among others.

Statement on the Passing of IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

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Published: 24 July 2019

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano during the 3rd Philippine Nuclear Congress in December 2015

Statement on the Passing of IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Director General Yukiya Amano of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

His leadership of the IAEA has seen the further strengthening of the Philippines' cooperation with the IAEA as well as its fellow Member States.

The Director General personifies the Agency's unceasing support for the development of nuclear science and technology in the country, as shown by his visits to the Philippines - first in 2010, twice in 2015, including the historic 3rd Philippine Nuclear Congress, and more recently in 2018.

Yet, meeting him both in the Philippines as well as in the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria showed that beyond being one of the world's foremost diplomats and the face of the world's nuclear watchdog, DG Amano as a person demonstrated such warmth and cordiality that never fails to leave an impression.

His legacy will live on through the IAEA's continued thrust towards Atoms for Peace and Development, and the continuous struggle to meet the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to which the Philippines commits its full support.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano (middle), Ambassador Maria Cleofe Natividad, Permanent Representative of the Philippines to the IAEA (left) and DOST-PNRI Director Dr. Carlo Arcilla (right) during the roundtable discussion (photo below) with members of the academe at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria on February 9, 2018.

IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano during the 3rd Philippine Nuclear Congress in December 2015