In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, we talked with Dr. Maria Victoria M. Sumagang about her study, “A P-graph Approach for Planning Sustainable Rice Straw Management Networks”, which received the 2025 Outstanding Scientific Paper Award by the National Academy of Science and Technology. The Philippines generates over 15 million tons of rice straw annually, much of which is still burned in fields or left to decompose—both major sources of greenhouse gas emissions. Dr. Sumagang discusses how she applied the P-graph decision support framework to evaluate sustainable and profitable alternatives for rice straw utilization, including mushroom production, pellets, and fodder.

📚Reference:

Migo-Sumagang MV, Promentilla MA. 2024. A P-graph Approach for Planning Sustainable Rice Straw Management Networks. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist. 107(3):253–265.

🤝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 talked with my twin brother Dr. Philip Flores about his research on developing a method to discriminate chiral molecules by shining a laser to the molecule and measuring the ejected electron's spin.

📚Reference: Flores, P. C. M., Carlström, S., Patchkovskii, S., Ivanov, M., Mujica, V., Ordonez, A. F., & Smirnova, O. (2025). Enantiosensitive locking of photoelectron spin and cation orientation. arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.22433.

⚛️ Learn physics with Pinoy Physicists at Liknayan Podcast

🤝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.

This episode of Behind The Science Podcast features Engr. Harold Aquino and his research on quantifying the impacts of earthquake disasters on the building construction sector using a SARIMA-based counterfactual analysis.

📚Reference: Aquino DHM, Domingo N, Atapattu C. 2025. Evaluating the impacts of earthquake disasters on the building construction sector: a SARIMA-based counterfactual analysis. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 127:105695. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2025.105695.

🤝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, we talk with Mr. Erlo Matorres about the realities of coral reef restoration in the Philippines. We discussed the challenges practitioners face, such as the limited understanding of the guidelines and necessary permits before implementing a restoration project.

📚Reference: Matorres DE, Fabinyi M, Horigue V, Novilla CT, Baria-Rodriguez MV. 2024. Institutional dimensions of coral reef restoration in the Philippines. Environmental Science & Policy. 156:103734.

🤝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, we speak with Dr. Justine Domingo about the pressing need to balance the Philippines’ rich mineral potential with the protection of its ecosystems in the context of climate change and natural hazards. The episode explores critical environmental research challenges in the mining sector, including the lack of baseline data and the limitations of current monitoring frameworks. We highlight potential research pathways such as catchment-scale characterisation, sediment transport modeling, water quality monitoring, and many more.

📚Reference: Domingo JPT, Jenkin GRT, Quick L, Williams RD, Hudson-Edwards KA, Tortajada C, et al. Sustainable mining in tropical, biodiverse landscapes: environmental challenges and opportunities in the archipelagic Philippines. Journal of Cleaner Production. 468:143114–143114.

🤝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, Dr. Mudjekeewis Santos shares his journey as a fisheries scientist, the importance of scientific publishing, how to publish in The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and the challenges faced by local journals in reaching global recognition.

📚How to publish in The Philippine Journal of Fisheries: ► https://nfrdi.da.gov.ph/tpjf/

🤝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 long can rabbit meat stay safe without refrigeration? 🐇

In this episode of Behind the Science Podcast, we talk with Ms. Marielle Vergara about the changes in the bacterial load, pH, color, and other quality parameters of rabbit meat over time without refrigeration. The study determined how long the rabbit meat can be exposed to ambient conditions from the time of slaughtering until it is sold in the market. The findings provide critical insights for food safety, storage guidelines, and quality control, especially for farmers and processors in the Philippines.

📚Reference: Gamboa M, Santiago DM, Sulabo AS, Torio MA. 2024. Microbiological and Physicochemical Changes in Rabbit Meat During Ambient Storage. The Philippine Agricultural Scientist 107(2):89–101.‌

🤝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, we talk with Dr. Leonila Bautista about her study that estimated the epicenters and magnitudes of 485 earthquakes that occurred in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial period by analyzing more than 6,000 historical accounts.📚Reference: Bautista, M. L. P., & Oike, K. (2000). Estimation of the magnitudes and epicenters of Philippine historical earthquakes. Tectonophysics, 317(1-2), 137-169. 🤝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.