The Varsitarian

PLANTS are a rich source of potential drugs that relieve pain.

This was the subject of a lecture titled “A study of Indole Alkaloids found in the Tropics” delivered by Dr. Hiromitsu Takayama last Sept. 12 at the Tanghalang Teresa Quirino the UST Graduate School (UST-GS).

Takayama, a professor and research scientist from Chiba University, talked about several indole alkaloids extracted from three Oriental plants.  read more »

PATIENTS with end-stage heart diseases may now rely on artificial heart implants until a real heart is available.

AbioCor Implantable Replacement Heart is a two-pound titanium and plastic prosthetic heart developed by globally renowned company Abiomed. Consisting of two blood pumping chambers acting as the veins and arteries, the implant can deliver more than 16 liters (four gallons) of blood per minute.  read more »

Once the concept of an electronic paper is introduced, flipping through books, newspapers, and magazines may become obsolete.  read more »

IF ALL goes well, frogs may be credited for testing of illegal drug use among Olympic athletes.

Swedish researchers from Linköping University discovered that melanophores, melanin-containing cells on the skin of African frog Xenopus laevis, can be used in detecting the presence of prohibited drugs as reported by the March 3 issue of the New Scientist.  read more »

EVEN antivirus softwares are now in danger. Klez.E, a worm virus that can delete and overwrite MS Word, Excel, video, image, and Internet files, can also track down and remove anti-virus programs. The most recent virus that started attacking computer systems last March 6 alarmed computer security companies based in Finland.  read more »

THOMASIANS can help in the production of cheap high-quality medicines in the country. How? Be a volunteer to the UST Bioavailability Unit.

In any experiment, specimens are needed to obtain results. In this case, the UST Bioavailability Unit requires volunteers who play a vital role in shaping the formulation of a drug especially in knowing the rate and extent of its absorption in the body and its concentration.

Enrico Lagdameo, Unit Manager of the UST Bioavailability Unit, said that only male volunteers are accepted.  read more »

“HYMNS for hemophiliacs, a tribute to friends.” This was the theme of the one-night concert sponsored by the National Hemophilia Center of the University of Santo Tomas Hospital (USTH) as part of the celebration of its third anniversary last July 29 at the UST Museum.

The fund-raising event for hemophiliacs, graced by Department of Health Secretary (DOH) Manuel M. Dayrit, was highlighted by concert of the UST Symphony Orchestra with Conservatory of Music Dean Raul Sunico as pianist.  read more »

DESPITE the progress of drug development, the pharmacy profession should have the flexibility to uphold the major roles of pharmacists outside the drug world, a visiting Malaysian professor said during the 2nd Pharmaceutical Research Congress spearheaded by both the UST Faculty of Pharmacy and College of Science.  read more »

FOLLOWING UST Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa’s medium-term goals, University researchers are no longer focused solely on being published in academic journals and are instead seeking to become active disseminators of knowledge through a three-pronged research endeavor—solving society’s problems, giving livelihood to people, and cultivating a culture of entrepreneurship.

According to Dr. Fortunato Sevilla III, assistant to the Rector for research and development, this shift in research should facilitate a university-industry technology transfer.  read more »

ONE OUT of eight Filipinas is at risk of developing breast cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the country.

Dispelling myths about the killer disease, the Benavides Cancer Institute (BCI) held a forum on breast cancer awareness last Oct. 16 at the Angelo King Auditorium.

“Breast cancer is not caused by bumping or bruising and is not contagious,” Dr. Alberto Paulino, a UST Hospital surgeon, said.  read more »