PMS ICBG researchers participated in the analysis and annotation of the genome sequence of a bacterial symbiont of shipworms (bivalve mollusks that eat wood) published in July in PLoS One. The genome reveals a wealth of enzymes tuned for wood digestion, and a surprisingly large number of genes predicted to be involved in the production of bioactive (drug-like) molecules. These findings show that shipworm symbionts are good candidates for bioenergy and biomedical technology development. Go to the article
The Marine Science Institute of the University of the Philippines-Diliman (UP MSI) has been awarded, ex-aequo with the Global Footprint Network from the US, the Calouste Gulbenkian International Prize 2008 for its "thoughts or actions that have made a decisive contribution to and have significant impact on understanding, defending or fostering the universal values of the human condition, with particular reference to respect for biodiversity and defence of the environment in man's relationship with nature"
Science 5 December 2008: Vol. 322. no. 5907, p. 1459 DOI: 10.1126/science.322.5907.1459
News Focus
SCIENCE POLICY: Philippines Plans Research Revival
Dennis Normile
The Philippines government is hoping to reinvigorate its science base by improving science education, expanding scholarship programs, and raising research spending. But will it be enough to lure back expatriate scientists?
A Philly scientist wants to turn mollusks into fuel.
Remember collecting shells at the beach, holding them to your ear, and then taking them home and wondering what used to crawl around inside them? Dr. Gary Rosenberg remembers. As chair of the Malacology Department at the Academy of Natural Sciences, Gary gets to play with shells to his heart's content. But thanks to a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, he will soon get to play on a whole new beach.
Gary and his team will be exploring areas in the Philippine archipelago, considered the most diverse center for marine biodiversity on Earth. The waters they will explore are inhabited by over 10,000 different species of mollusks.
News Archive