By Izah Morales

Was there a time that you wish to spend class outside the classroom?

Now, you don’t have to sit and feel sleepy while listening to an hour and a half lecture of ecology in class. The Eco-Academy at the La Mesa Ecopark brings learning outside the classroom.

“Nature is your classroom. You’re involved in the activities not only in lectures. You learn from your surroundings. What you learn is how nature works,” said Antonio de Castro, environmental advocate and one of the members of the Eco-Academy Project Development team.

Elizabeth Protacio-De Castro, associate professor of the Department of Psychology at the University of the Philippines Diliman, described learning in the Eco-Academy as interactive and hands-on. Each activity is accompanied by a module.

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By Izah Morales

MALUNGGAY is often known as one of the ingredients of “Tinolang Manok,” which makes this Filipino specialty’s soup green and nutritious.

But did you know that malunggay contains seven times more vitamin C than orange, four times more calcium than milk, four times more vitamin A than carrots, three times more potassium than banana and more iron than pechay.

Hence the name “power gulay,” says the Department of Agriculture-Biotech Program Office (DA-BPO).

Malunggay is key in government’s current strategy to reduce malnutrition in the country.

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By Anna Valmero

Exposing the youth to interactive exhibits can inspire their curiosity in science and some concepts work.

“Learning can take place with just 2 minutes of exposure to science exhibits,” says Philippine Foundation for Science and Technology (PFST) executive director May Pagsinohin.

The Philippine Science Centrum is a flagship program of the PFST.

By interacting with the exhibits, students and adults can play with the devices and explore how they work, Pagsinohin says.

The Science Centrum houses about 150 interactive and integrative exhibits that students can explore to discover the science behind them.

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Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — Partnership with private sectors will answer the commercialization problems in research and development (R&D) institutions, the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) said.

Universities and institutions should partner with private sector to help commercialize technology that will benefit the people, DoST Secretary Estrella Alabastro at the opening of the National Biotechnology Week.

Research and development in biotechnology, for one, has yet to attract more investments from private sector, Alabastro said.

Senator Edgardo Angara agreed, as he pointed out the lack of incentives for investors to pour resources in biotechnology research and development.

“Biotech will not be successful if support system is not in place,” Angara added.

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By Anna Valmero
INQUIRER.net

Can used oil be recycled as fuel for vehicles?

“Yes,” according to Teodorico Badua, the inventor of a so-called “fuel energy saving device.”

This device, he says, transforms used oil and other combustible liquid waste into flammable gas that can be added to the engine fuel, which can translate to fuel savings of up to 30 percent.

This La Union-based inventor says the device harnesses the energy from used oil by heating the combustible liquid waste into a gas generator. This process then generates fuel vapor that can be used for gasoline-based engines.

The device has been tested to work with used cooking oil, engine oil and washing fuel, the Filipino inventor says.

“The device promotes safe disposal of combustible liquid waste into the combustion chamber of the engine, which burns it as fuel,” says Badua.

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