Paul Flores

Behind The Science Podcast

Every research paper holds more than just data. It carries years of dedication, sleepless nights, and setbacks. Behind The Science Podcast takes you beyond the published pages and into the real stories of discovery.

In partnership with the UP Resilience Institute, The Philippine Agricultural Scientist, The Philippine Journal of Fisheries, and SciEnggJ.

New episode every Thursday at 7:00 PM.

Hosted by: Paul Caesar M. Flores, DSc
Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=6QCdWywAAAAJ&hl=en

Website

01 December 2025

Ep100 - Developing a Microfluidic Platform for Cell Encapsulation in Alginate Hydrogel Microparticles

In this episode, I talk with Ms. Alexandra Hulog about a new microfluidic method that creates uniform alginate microbeads for cell encapsulation. Traditional batch emulsion techniques often produce beads of uneven sizes, which affects how much medicine, nutrients, or cells each bead can carry. Their microfluidic platform solves this problem by controlling droplet size during formation, resulting...

27 November 2025

Ep99 - Threats to small pelagic fisheries and milkfish aquaculture in the Philippines over the next 30 years

Dr. Edison Macusi discusses the most pressing issues facing the small pelagic fisheries and milkfish aquaculture industries in the Philippines over the next 30 years, and the solutions to these problems.📚Reference: Macusi ED, Nallos IM, Santos MD, Geronimo RC. 2025. Climate and Non-climate Related Hazards in Small Pelagic Fisheries and Milkfish Aquaculture: Expert Opinion Survey in the...

24 November 2025

Ep98 - Chasing Super Typhoon Uwan

Mr. Marco Ibañez shares what it takes to become a storm chaser for the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, and his experience chasing Super Typhoon Uwan.📚 Check out Marco's research papers: [1] Ibañez MP, Pura AG, Sajulga RA, David SJ. 2023. Raindrop Size Distribution (RSD) Characteristics during the Southwest Monsoon Period in Western Luzon,...

20 November 2025

Ep97 - First successful production of adult corals derived from cryopreserved larvae

I talked with Dr. Arah Narida about a breakthrough in coral conservation. Their team achieved the world's first successful production of adult corals grown from cryopreserved larvae.📚Reference: Arah Narida, Tsai S-Y, Hsieh W-C, Wen Z, Wang L-H, Huang Cc, Lin C. 2023. First successful production of adult corals derived from cryopreserved larvae. Frontiers in Marine Science. 10.‌🤝Behind The...

13 November 2025

Ep96 - Insect resistance in traditional corn: First report of cross-pollination with BT corn in the Philippines

I talked with Ms. Angelyn Marmeto about her study on the genetic interaction between BT corn and traditional maize varieties in the Philippines. Their team discovered the first evidence of natural cross-pollination, where insect-resistant traits from genetically modified corn were transferred to a native variety known as Silangan. We discuss how this gene flow happened, what it means for insect...

06 November 2025

Ep95 - Tracking 30 years of land cover change in Albay and its effects on flooding

I talked with Mr. Gifford Jay Agudo about his study on land cover change and flood exposure in Quinali A Watershed, Albay. Using satellite remote sensing and flood modeling, his research tracks three decades of landscape transformation — from the loss of forests and brushlands to the rapid expansion of croplands and urban areas. The results reveal that urban growth is encroaching into flood-prone...

30 October 2025

Ep94 - Bioinformatics meets agriculture: Searching fungal DNA for genes behind fruit scabs

Scab diseases make fruits like mango, citrus, and sweet potato unappealing and unmarketable, but what if we could decode the fungus behind them down to its DNA? In this episode of Behind The Science Podcast, Dr. Leilani Sumabat-Dacones talked about her team’s discovery of the genes that make the fungus Elsinoë such an effective plant pathogen. Using bioinformatics, they analyzed fungal genomes to...

23 October 2025

Ep93 - How can the Philippine Eagle help us understand the expansion of the universe

Dr. Reginald Bernardo shares how his recent study uses the hunting behavior of the Philippine Eagle as inspiration for optimizing cosmological models that describe the expansion of the universe. 📚Reference: Bernardo RC, Enriquez EA, Mendoza R, Reyes R, Velasco AC. 2025. Nature-inspired optimization, the Philippine Eagle, and cosmological parameter estimation. Astronomy and Computing. 54:101026....

16 October 2025

Ep92 - Gentleman's Agreement management strategy for aramang in Aparri, Cagayan: is it effective?

Dr. Evelyn Ame evaluates how the Gentleman’s Agreement — an informal management agreement among fishers — is holding up in practice for managing the stocks of aramang in Aparri, Cagayan. Using catch data, gear analysis, and participatory appraisal, Dr. Ame reveals that fishing mortality rates are much higher than natural mortality, and the current exploitation level (E = 0.66) already exceeds...

09 October 2025

Ep91 - Fortifying rice with vitamin A

In this episode, I talked with Prof. Floirendo Flores about his research on fortifying rice with vitamin A. His study looked at how β-carotene can be better preserved and released using β-cyclodextrin microencapsulation. By testing different methods, the research shows how rice can be made more nutritious. This study also received the NAST PHL Outstanding Scientific Paper Award. Prof. Flores also...