Large boulders, some weighing as much as a large truck, are scattered along the rocky coastline of Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte. These enormous boulders, which sit on an uplifted reef platform far from the sea, are not random. They are fragments of an ancient coral reef that were torn from the reef and hurled inland by extreme waves. This unusual sight piqued the curiosity of geologists from the University of the Philippines – Diliman College of Science’s National Institute of Geological Sciences (UPD-CS NIGS).

Scientists from the University of the Philippines–Diliman College of Science (UPD-CS) have advanced a greener approach to silver nanoparticle (AgNP) synthesis by using gamma irradiation in combination with the natural seaweed-derived biopolymer ι-carrageenan. While gamma-radiolytic routes for AgNP formation have been reported previously, the specific role of ι-carrageenan in stabilizing and influencing nanoparticle formation during radiolysis has remained largely underexplored.

Matagal nang sangkap ng kaunlaran ang kimika sa iba’t ibang larangan, mula sa agrikultura at pangangalagang pangkalusugan hanggang sa enerhiya at imprastruktura. Ang mga inobasyon nito ang nagtutulak sa paglago ng ekonomiya, nagpapabuti sa kalidad ng buhay, at tumutulong sa pagtugon sa mga pangunahing pangangailangang panlipunan. Gayunman, may dalawang mukha ang kimika. Maaari itong lumikha ng kapaki-pakinabang at mapaminsalang mga sangkap at magamit sa mabuti o masasamang layunin.