Research

As the national university, we champion and support innovative research that addresses the country’s most pressing challenges.

07 Jul 2025

Nurse-led eHealth cardiac rehabilitation helps patients transition to home life

This research looks at how people with coronary heart disease (CHD) view a nurse-led eHealth cardiac rehabilitation (NeCR) program. The...

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04 Jul 2025

Food safety risk assessment is a practical and effective way to evaluate the safety of locally consumed shellfish

This study gathered information to establish baseline information on the potential risks of the Hepatitis A Virus (HAV) in the...

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01 Jul 2025

Regional unity in ASEAN can grow through shared values like religiosity, humanitarianism and cultural expression

This paper explores how ASEAN identity among Southeast Asia countries can be realized by applying the concepts of “shared cultural...

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13 Jun 2025

UP Los Baños

Large language models offer many opportunities but also pose considerable challenges

With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the availability of data, and the advancement of hardware technologies, applications such...

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10 Jun 2025

UP

A virtual health and physical education program during COVID-19 struggled with low student engagement and ineffective online assessment

The study explored a virtual health and physical education program implemented during COVID-19 school closures. It centered on practices, teacher...

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09 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

There is a weak relationship between 3D mandibular shape and diet in extant primates

This is a study that uses 3D shape analyses to investigate if there is a relationship between mandible shape in...

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09 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

The presumed invisibility and “mute” voices of Pinay lesbian writers parallel the similar invisibility of nature in Philippine anthologies

In the introduction to Tingle: Anthology of Pinay Lesbian Writing (2021), the anthology’s editor, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, points to...

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03 Jun 2025

UP Diliman

AI can enhance conceptual understanding and boost self-confidence in mathematics

AI is increasingly integrated into educational settings, offering personalized learning experiences that adapt to individual needs. While AI has the...

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28 May 2025

UP Diliman

SPECIAL FEATURE: How did Filipino athletes cope with the Covid-19 pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic deeply affected social and economic life around the world. To protect public health, many countries enforced lockdowns...

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21 May 2025

UP Diliman

Machine learning holds great promise for advancing hadron physics and deepening our understanding of the subatomic world

We investigated a peak signal around MeV in the invariant mass spectrum, which has intrigued physicists as a potential candidate...

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20 May 2025

UP Diliman

Cigarette demand varies with changes in price

This study looks into how recent tax reforms on cigarettes and fermented liquor in the Philippines have affected people’s consumption...

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08 May 2025

UP Diliman

There is a weak positive correlation between land surface temperature and concentrations of carbon monoxide and nitrogen dioxide

This study looks at how land surface temperature (LST) from satellite data, elevation, and air quality parameters are related in...

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Research

Fossils are preserved remains or traces of ancient organisms, often turned to rock. Body fossils include parts like shells, teeth, or bones, while trace fossils (ichnofossils), such as footprints or burrows, reveal how ancient creatures lived and behaved. Trace fossils can even hint at the presence of animals we haven’t discovered yet through their bones or teeth.

We examined bite marks on a fossilized deer (Rusa sp.) shinbone (tibia) we discovered from a Pleistocene (2.6 million–11,000 years ago) river channel in northwestern La Union (Bacnotan-Balaoan), Luzon, Philippines. Other fossils found include bones and teeth of the Luzon tamaraw (Bubalus sp.), a wild boar tusk (Sus sp.), and a crocodile tooth.

Our analysis suggests a large carnivore made the bite marks. While consistent with crocodile feeding, some gnawing-like marks point to a mammalian carnivore, such as a big cat or wild dog. This possibility is fascinating, given the lack of body fossils or extant native species of these predators on Luzon Island.

Unlike Luzon, which has always been isolated, Palawan has yielded tiger fossils and may have been connected to Borneo and Sundaland during periods of low sea levels. Smaller carnivores like civets and leopard cats are likely more recent arrivals or were introduced by humans.

This study underscores how much we still have to learn about the prehistoric biodiversity of Luzon and the Philippines, knowledge that is increasingly important in light of modern biodiversity and climate crises. It shows the potential for further discoveries given the underexplored fossil record of Luzon and the Philippines, which can contribute to understanding the prehistoric biodiversity of the region and the broader dynamics of insular evolution and biogeography. This study also highlights the utility of examining trace fossils to infer other faunal members that body fossils may not represent.

Authors: Meyrick U. Tablizoa (Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman), Rebekka Volmer (Ateneo de Manila University, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Quezon City | Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, “The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans” (ROCEEH)), Allan Gil S. Fernando (Nannoworks Laboratory, National Institute of Geological Sciences, College of Science, University of the Philippines Diliman), and Juan C. Rofes (School of Archaeology, University of the Philippines Diliman | Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique : Sociétés, Pratiques et Environnements (AASPE, UMR 7209), CNRS/MNHN | National Museum of the Philippines)

Read the full paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0753396923000642?via%3Dihub