Ideas, commentary & geekery
Featured in this episode:
Space Junk and the mission to clean it up
The European Space Agency has embarked on a noble mission to clean up Earth orbit with the help of a start-up based in Switzerland.
Leaf-cutter ants have crystal armor in their exoskeleton thanks to evolution
Doing more exercise to fight off the ill-health effects of sitting
WHO has come out with a recommendation to address the growing health concerns from having a sedentary lifestyle.
Featured in this episode:
What have been the most effective method in stopping COVID-19 spread
Stopping the spread of COVID-19 involves layers of methods coming together in unison
Frequent & rapid testing can help stop the pandemic in weeks
Early detection of those who have the virus, isolating or treating would speed up the victory against the pandemic
Spider colonies do exist and it’s remarkable!
Featured in this episode:
Mosquitoes can learn to avoid humans that swat
A clever way on how mosquitoes improve their chances of survival by remembering which humans to avoid
How mosquitoes distinguish between blood and nectar
Only the female mosquito bites as it needs blood to lay eggs while their male counterparts feed mainly only nectar. Now we know how a mosquito tells one food source from the other.
Do all dogs go to heaven? Tracking human-animal relationships through the archaeological survey of pet cemeteries
Not only do we believe in life after death for pets, we also think they go to the same heaven as we do.
The ugly & cruel side of cloning pets
Genetics and cloning technology has given pet lovers the chance to have their pets back among the living. However, it usually comes at a heavy price.
Most Filipinos grew up learning the song “Bahay Kubo” (Nipa Hut) as it’s one of the staples of folk songs taught to children. Remembering all the vegetables mentioned in the lyrics is often given as a trivia challenge especially to adults just to test how well they still know the song. Being able to list all is already an amazing feat.
A more difficult challenge, even for geeks, is knowing the scientific names of each vegetable. I remember kicking off our Taxonomy class with this homework back in college and it was quite a daunting yet fun challenge.
So to help out anyone, call it a public service, I share to you a table of all the vegetables in the song “Bahay Kubo” along with its respective scientific name.
| Filipino name | English name | Scientific name |
| Singkamas | Jicama | Pachyrrizus erosus |
| Talong | Eggplant | Solanum melongena |
| Sigarilyas | Winged bean | Psophocarpus tetragonolobus |
| Mani | Peanut | Arachis hypogaea |
| Sitaw | String beans | Phaseolus vulgaris |
| Bataw | Hyacinth bean | Dolichos lablab |
| Patani | Lima bean | Phaseolus lunatus |
| Kundol | Winter melon | Benincasa hispida |
| Patola | Angled luffa/Chinese okra | Luffa acutangula |
| Upo | Bottle gourd | Lagenaria siceraria |
| Kalabasa | Squash | Cucurbita maxima |
| Labanos | Radish | Raphanus sativus |
| Mustasa | Mustard | Brassica juncea |
| Sibuyas | Onion | Allium cepa |
| Kamatis | Tomato | Lycopersicum esculentum |
| Bawang | Garlic | Allium sativum |
| Luya | Ginger | Zingiber officinale |
| Linga | Sesame seed | Sesamum indicum |
The basic rule for writing a scientific name
Hope this helps!