Behind The Science Podcast
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© Paul Flores
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Every research paper holds more than just data. It carries years of dedication, sleepless nights, and setbacks. Behind The Science Podcast takes you beyond the published pages and into the real stories of discovery.
In partnership with the UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
New episode every Thursday at 7:00 PM.
Hosted by: Paul Caesar M. Flores, DSc
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6QCdWywAAAAJ&hl=en
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/btspodcastph
In partnership with the UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
New episode every Thursday at 7:00 PM.
Hosted by: Paul Caesar M. Flores, DSc
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6QCdWywAAAAJ&hl=en
Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/btspodcastph
113 Episodes
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Reuploading this old lecture I made...Numerical modeling of tsunamis from the Manila Trench provides startling insights into the many countries and people who would be affected by such a catastrophic event. This video explains the modeling results and demonstrates just how devastating the effects of a powerful tsunami from the Manila Trench could be.📚References: Megawati K, Shaw F, Sieh K, Huang Z, Wu T-R, Lin Y, Tan SK, Pan T-C. 2009. Tsunami hazard from the subduction megathrust of the South China Sea: Part I. Source characterization and the resulting tsunami. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 36(1):13–20. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2008.11.012.Qiu Q, Li L, Hsu Y-J, Wang Y, Chan C-H, Switzer AD. 2019. Revised earthquake sources along the Manila trench for tsunami hazard assessment in the South China Sea. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 19(7):1565–1583. doi:10.5194/nhess-19-1565-2019.
In this episode, Dr. Ballad discussed her study on Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (PIPLS) where she explores how ecotourism serves as an alternative livelihood for local communities and how it influences their participation in coastal resource management. 📚Reference: Ballad E, Morooka Y, Shinbo T. 2021. Impact of ecotourism on local community's participation in coastal resource management: case of Palaui Island Protected Landscape and Seascape (PIPLS) in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries. 28(2):168–180. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Reuploading this old lecture I made...Tsunami or typhoon? Which one built the mysterious island off the coast of Lumaniag village in Batangas? That's the question researchers from UP Diliman set out to answer.In this episode, we dive into how researchers from UP Diliman solved this coastal detective story. By combining field measurements, uranium-thorium dating of coral boulders, historical typhoon records, and interviews with village elders to piece together how typhoons in the 1960s and 70s built an entire island from scratch. Here's the twist: that storm-built island is now protecting the very community it once threatened.📚Reference: Gallentes AT, Manglicmot MT, Gong SY, Hu HM, Shen CC, Siringan FP. 2021. Coral boulder transport and gravel bar formation by storms in Lumaniag village, Batangas, northwestern Philippines. Geomorphology. 376:107554. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107554.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
What does a livable city really look like and who gets to decide? In this episode, Enzo Campomanes explains how he developed AI models called "AI-voters" trained on satellite imagery and community input to map urban livability. 📚Reference: Campomanes V, F., Abascal, A., Oliveira, L.T. et al. Whose city is it? Mapping perceived urban livability with citizen-guided AI. npj Urban Sustain 6, 16 (2026).🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
How can a fungus help control one of the Philippines’ most destructive crop pests? In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, Marcela M. Navasero and Melissa P. Montecalvo of UPLB’s National Crop Protection Center share how Metarhizium rileyi is being studied as a biological control agent against fall armyworm, along with the real-world challenges of turning lab research into sustainable pest management solutions.📚Reference: Valeros JME, Garcia TAP, Sabino NG, Navasero MM, and Montecalvo MP. 2025. Effect of Successive Subculturing on Virulence, Growth, and Germination of Fungus Metarhizium rileyi for Biological Control of Fall Armyworm. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 108(4):406–412. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Engr. Raymond Lagria about his study on classifying and ranking social media posts to prioritize disaster response.📚Reference: Lagria, R., et. al. “A Text Mining Framework for the Classification and Prioritization of Disaster-Related Tweets for Disaster Response”. Philippine Engineering Journal 2022 Vol. 43, No.: 65-88🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Ms. Cielo Luz C. Mondejar about practical, low-cost ways to improve rice seed quality using organic fertilizers.📚Reference: Mondejar CL. 2025. Comparative Effects of Organic-Based Seed Treatments on Seed Viability and Vigor of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Varieties. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 108(4):305–312.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
What happens when you drop 2 quantum particles of different sizes at the same time?📚Reference: Flores PCM, Galapon EA. 2019. Quantum free-fall motion and quantum violation of the weak equivalence principle. Physical Review A. 99(4). 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Kwento ko lang paano ito nagsimula hanggang sa kung ano na ito ngayon.
In this episode, I talked with Dr. Rafaela Jane Delfino about her research on how climate change influences super typhoons in the Philippines. Using high-resolution climate models, her study examines how Super Typhoons Goni (2020) and Rai (2021) respond to past and future climate conditions.📚Reference: Delfino RJP, Bagtasa G. 2025. Response of super typhoons Goni (2020) and Rai (2021) to past and future climate conditions in convection-permitting model experiments. Environmental Research Communications. 7(9):091013.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Dr. Cherrie May Olaya, a postdoctoral researcher at the RIKEN Center for Advanced Photonics in Japan. She explains her work on how light behaves at metal surfaces, focusing on a phenomenon known as the photonic spin Hall effect. Using surface plasmon resonance, her study demonstrates a new way to directly measure tiny light shifts that are usually difficult to detect. We discuss why these effects matter, how they can improve optical sensing and imaging technologies, and what it is like to conduct advanced photonics research as a Filipino scientist working abroad.📚Reference: Olaya CM, Hayazawa N, Balgos MH, Tanaka T. 2025. Enhancing angular photonic spin Hall effect at surface plasmon resonance. Nanophotonics. 14(19):3115–3124. 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Dr. Mary Joy Abit shares their research that examines how nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations can influence the growth of water hyacinths.📚Reference: Abit MJ, Pilar RF, Ramirez AH. 2025. Influence of Nitrogen and Phosphorus Rates on the Growth of Water Hyacinth (Pontederia crassipes Mart.). The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 108(1):7–12.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Dr. Gerry Bagtasa shares their study on developing an AI-based model for forecasting tropical cyclone rainfall in the Philippines using historical data from 1951 to 2015 to train the model.📚Reference: Mesias CG, Bagtasa G. 2025. AI‐Based Tropical Cyclone Rainfall Forecasting in the Philippines Using Machine Learning. Meteorological Applications. 32(4). 🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
In this episode, I talk with Ms. Alexandra Hulog about a new microfluidic method that creates uniform alginate microbeads for cell encapsulation. Traditional batch emulsion techniques often produce beads of uneven sizes, which affects how much medicine, nutrients, or cells each bead can carry. Their microfluidic platform solves this problem by controlling droplet size during formation, resulting in more consistent microbeads that can be used for broader biological and biotechnological applications.📚Reference: Hulog AM, Francisco M, Oquendo N, Mariane Desiree Avendaño, Kaw J, Dagdag AD, Guerrero RJ. 2025. Development of a microfluidic platform for the encapsulation of baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae in alginate hydrogel microparticles. SciEnggJ. 18:256–269.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Dr. Edison Macusi discusses the most pressing issues facing the small pelagic fisheries and milkfish aquaculture industries in the Philippines over the next 30 years, and the solutions to these problems.📚Reference: Macusi ED, Nallos IM, Santos MD, Geronimo RC. 2025. Climate and Non-climate Related Hazards in Small Pelagic Fisheries and Milkfish Aquaculture: Expert Opinion Survey in the Philippines. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries. 32(1).🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Mr. Marco Ibañez shares what it takes to become a storm chaser for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and his experience chasing Super Typhoon Uwan.📚 Check out Marco's research papers: [1] Ibañez MP, Pura AG, Sajulga RA, David SJ. 2023. Raindrop Size Distribution (RSD) Characteristics during the Southwest Monsoon Period in Western Luzon, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science. 152(S1).► https://doi.org/10.56899/152.s1.01[2] Ibañez MPA, Capuli GH, Pura AG, Villafuerte MQ. 2025. Establishment of kinetic energy – Rainfall intensity (KE-I) relationships for soil erosion studies using raindrop size distribution (DSD) measurements in the mountainous region of Tanay, Rizal. Geomorphology. 488:109968.► https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2025.109968🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Dr. Arah Narida about a breakthrough in coral conservation. Their team achieved the world's first successful production of adult corals grown from cryopreserved larvae.📚Reference: Arah Narida, Tsai S-Y, Hsieh W-C, Wen Z, Wang L-H, Huang Cc, Lin C. 2023. First successful production of adult corals derived from cryopreserved larvae. Frontiers in Marine Science. 10.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Ms. Angelyn Marmeto about her study on the genetic interaction between BT corn and traditional maize varieties in the Philippines. Their team discovered the first evidence of natural cross-pollination, where insect-resistant traits from genetically modified corn were transferred to a native variety known as Silangan. We discuss how this gene flow happened, what it means for insect resistance, and the broader implications for agricultural biotechnology and biosafety in the country.📚Reference: Caasi-Lit, Merdelyn & Ocampo, Eureka & Salazar, Artemio & Paril, Jefferson & Novio, Bryan & Panabang, Bernard & Marmeto, Angelyn Marta. (2021). First Detection of Naturally Introgressed BT Cry1Ab in Asian Corn Borer [Ostrinia furnacalis (Guenée)]-Resistant Traditional Maize (Silangan) in the Philippines. Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 104. 340-350.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
I talked with Mr. Gifford Jay Agudo about his study on land cover change and flood exposure in Quinali A Watershed, Albay. Using satellite remote sensing and flood modeling, his research tracks three decades of landscape transformation — from the loss of forests and brushlands to the rapid expansion of croplands and urban areas. The results reveal that urban growth is encroaching into flood-prone zones, nearly doubling exposure to flooding since 1990.📚Reference: Agudo GJ, Garcia J, Pulhin J, Mendoza J, Singson KV, Lagmay AMF, Cruz RV, Santiago J, Moises MA, Esquivel ALJ, et al. 2025. Land Cover Change and Its Associated Impacts on Landscape Fragmentation and Flood Exposure in Quinali A Watershed, Albay, the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science. 154(2): 287-300.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
Scab diseases make fruits like mango, citrus, and sweet potato unappealing and unmarketable, but what if we could decode the fungus behind them down to its DNA? In this episode of Behind The Science Podcast, Dr. Leilani Sumabat-Dacones talked about her team’s discovery of the genes that make the fungus Elsinoë such an effective plant pathogen. Using bioinformatics, they analyzed fungal genomes to identify effectors and toxins like elsinochrome and melanin that trigger scab formation.📚Reference: Cequeña RC, Sumabat-Dacones L. 2024. Presence of elsinochrome and other putative effectors in select genomes of the plant pathogen Elsinoë spp. based on in silico analysis. SciEnggJ. 17(1):59–70.🤝Behind The Science Podcast is presented to you by Marine & Earth Science Learning Hub, UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.
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