Behind The Science Podcast

In this episode, we talk with Madeleine Santos about her study on how sea ice in the Canadian Arctic has changed over the past 13,000 years and what it tells us about where the Arctic is headed. By analyzing lipid biomarkers — chemical compounds preserved in seafloor sediments that serve as fingerprints of past environmental conditions — from two sediment cores collected from the Beaufort Sea, the study reconstructed sea ice cover, sea surface temperatures, salinity, and terrestrial input throughout the Holocene.

📚Reference: Santos M, Bröder L, O'Regan M, Hernández-Almeida I, Tesi T, Bigler L, Haghipour N, Nelson DB, Fritz M, Lattaud J. 2026. Holocene sea ice and paleoenvironment conditions in the Beaufort Sea (Canadian Arctic) reconstructed with lipid biomarkers. Climate of the Past. 22:187–203.

In this episode, we talk with Elisha Jane M. Maglalang about her study on the possible occurrence of gas hydrates in offshore western Luzon — the first of its kind in the Philippines. Gas hydrates are ice-like substances that trap methane gas within their molecular structure and form naturally on the seafloor under high pressure and low temperature. They are of significant interest both as a potential alternative energy resource and as a geologic hazard. Their dissociation can release large amounts of methane into the atmosphere and trigger underwater landslides. By reinterpreting existing multi-channel seismic reflection data from the Manila Trench, the study identified bottom simulating reflectors, which is the primary seismic signature of gas hydrate presence, across a total area of approximately 15,400 km² in the Manila Trench forearc region.

📚Reference: Maglalang EJM, Armada LT, Santos MC, Sayen KF, Dimalanta CB, Hsu S-K, Yumul GP Jr. 2023. Bottom simulating reflectors in the Manila Trench forearc and its implications on the occurrence of gas hydrates in the region. Marine and Petroleum Geology. 158:106538.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute

In this episode, we talk with Alyzza Calayag about her study on the diversity, seasonality, and global distribution of viruses in the Arctic Ocean. Viruses play critical roles in ocean ecosystems but very little is known about viral communities in polar waters. Using water samples collected monthly for four years, the study identified 5,662 viral groups, found that viral abundance is 8-fold higher in summer than the rest of the year, and discovered that 42% of these Arctic viruses also peak in abundance in high-latitude regions of the Southern Ocean

📚Reference: Calayag AM, Priest T, Oldenburg E, Muschiol J, Popa O, Wietz M, Needham DM. 2025. Arctic Ocean virus communities and their seasonality, bipolarity, and prokaryotic associations. Nature Communications. 16:6427.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute

In this episode, we talk with Ms. Jamila B. Abuda about her study on using machine learning to predict when landslides are likely to occur along a mountain highway in Benguet, Philippines. Being able to predict when landslides will happen is critical for early warning systems. The study tested five machine learning algorithms using only rainfall data and documented landslide events, and found that grouping landslide occurrences by rock type or lithology before training the models significantly improved prediction accuracy.

📚Reference: Abuda JB, Saturay RM Jr., Catane SG, Guevarra I. 2026. Lithologically-constrained, machine learning-based temporal landslide prediction models using rainfall time series for the Benguet First Engineering District, Philippines. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment. 85:156.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute.

Reuploading this lecture about the rapid mangrove colonization in Iloilo City because of high sedimentation from a flood control project. I also shared how this study developed from a class project to 2 publications.

📚References: [1] Flores, P. C. M., & Siringan, F. P. (2020). Shoreline change in response to the construction of a flood canal in Jaro, Iloilo City, Philippines. IEEE India Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (InGARSS), 2020, 134–137.

[2] Flores, P. C. M., David, L. T., & Siringan, F. P. (2020). Mangrove forest cover change (1947–2018) at the River Mouth Section of The Jaro Floodway, Iloilo City, Philippines. IEEE India Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium (InGARSS), 2020, 246–249.

🤝Behind The Science Podcast is in partnership with the UP Resilience Institute

In this episode, we talk with John Albert M. Caraan about his study on Sporesight — an AI-powered computer vision tool that can automatically identify pollen developmental stages in eggplant in real time. Knowing the exact developmental stage of pollen is critical in doubled haploid technology, where microspores at the right stage are cultured in vitro to rapidly produce purebred plant lines.

📚Reference: Caraan JAM, Bautista AM, Lamorin JBV, Madrid VRM. 2026. Sporesight: A real-time computer vision-driven inference tool for pollen development stage classification in eggplant. SciEnggJ. 19(Supplement):015–022.

🤝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 are joined by Mikael Angelo Francisco — an award-winning science journalist, the co-founder and editor-in-chief of FlipScience.ph, host of the Ask Theory Podcast, and a leading voice in Philippine science media — for an in-depth conversation on the evolving landscape of science communication in the Philippines. We discussed the strategic value of podcasting, the common errors scientists make when addressing non-specialist audiences, and the shared responsibility of journalists and researchers in combating misquotation and misinformation.

🤝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. Lyndon Olaguera discusses their study challenging the existing four-type Philippine climate classification by incorporating temperature alongside rainfall data from 1979 to 2015.

📚Reference: Olaguera LMP, Badua EK, Llorin AGA, Cruz FAT, Villarin JRT, Manalo JA, Villafuerte MQ II, Matsumoto J. 2025. Rainfall and temperature-based Philippine climate zones using Self-Organizing Maps. Scientific Online Letters on the Atmosphere. 21C:10–20.

🤝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.

To cap off our March episode and celebrate Women’s Month, Ms. Gemmalyn Trespalacio shares their study examining women’s roles in Philippine agriculture in the context of climate change through a meta-synthesis using a gender analysis framework.

🤝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. Angel Encarnacion discusses their study assessing the fisheries resources of the Babuyan Channel in Northern Philippines, uncovering fluctuating fish production trends and high fishing pressure on commercially important species like shortfin scad, mahi-mahi, and largehead hairtail from 2009 to 2013.

📚Reference: Calicdan MA, Gumiran E, Encarnacion AB, Ayson JP. 2018. Assessment of fisheries resources in the Babuyan Channel. The Philippine Journal of Fisheries. 25(1):14–24.

🤝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.