UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The Senate just approved a bill that will finally (if enacted into law) allow absolute divorce in the Philippines. Known as Senate Bill No. 2443, or “Dissolution of Marriage Act,” it was signed by no less than nine senators and provides grounds for divorce....
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE As a heath professional, I recognize the importance of face masks in health care, which was most evident during the pandemic. But the pandemic is over. Presently, Covid-19 is treated as an endemic disease, with low rates of hospitalization and death similar to the flu. The...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA tests in combination with traditional genealogical methods to infer genetic relationships between individuals. Being in the DNA testing field for many years, I’ve been asked many times about the tests for ancestry offered online by the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Finally, I took the plunge. I’ve been waiting for a while for more pure electric vehicles (EVs) to come into the Philippine market and felt it was time to make a decision. We all have a responsibility to make a difference in combating climate change. Each of us has choices to...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Last week, the Department of Health released a statement stating that dengue cases had dropped 24.4 percent in the first two weeks of 2024 (2,024 cases versus 7,274 cases from Dec. 17-31, 2023, and 8,629 from Dec. 3-16, 2023), At least two major newspapers picked up this...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Last weekend, I had the privilege of judging at the Philippine International Circuit at the Araneta Coliseum. I was on a panel of 16 judges from various countries around the world, from the USA, South America, Europe and Asia, all well-known in the dog world. It was a great...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Last weekend, we attended a wake-for an 18-year-old boy. After expressing our condolences to the bereaved family, conversation turned to what happened. It was apparently a suicide. He had just become another statistic for this fast-growing phenomenon. A report said teen...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE This may seem to come across as johnny-come-lately, as a lot has been said and written about the award-winning film GomBurZa. Well, I saw this movie on the second-to-the last-day of the Metro Manila film Festival, mainly because we were busy with get-togethers during the...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE The year 2023 is almost over, and we are all rushing to do our new year resolutions. Mine is quite simple: Strive to fight medical disinformation, which has killed many, not only during the Covid-19 pandemic but before and after that. Thousands have died following bad advice,...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Autopsia (Ancient Greek) — to see for oneself. Most people think of autopsies only in terms of forensics, having been indoctrinated by television shows like “CSI.” Those are forensic autopsies, which determine causes of unnatural deaths — suicide, homicide, accidents,...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE On Dec. 1, 2023, the Bayanihan Covid-19 Laboratory Network Recognition Ceremony was held in Makati City. There, we from the Philippine Childrens Medical Center (PCMC) had a reunion of sorts with fellow Covid-19 testing-laboratory staffs from all over the Philippines, whom we...
UNDER THE MICROSCOPE Recently, I attended an HLA (Human Leucocyte Antigens) conference in connection with organ transplantation, both solid organ and stem cell. The common lament was that in the Philippines, very few deceased-donor organ donations are made. In fact, it is...
