Carib Scope

分类： science

  • Are there venomous snakes in the Dominican Republic? Veterinarian explains what to do in case of a bite.

    Are there venomous snakes in the Dominican Republic? Veterinarian explains what to do in case of a bite.

    For most people, stumbling across a snake triggers an immediate instinct to flee, followed quickly by a panic-induced question: is this one poisonous? On the eve of International Snakebite Awareness Day, observed annually on September 19, a leading wildlife veterinarian has cleared up widespread public anxiety for residents and visitors of the Dominican Republic: the country hosts no snake species that pose a fatal threat to human life.

    Dr. Miguel Smith Cardona, a wildlife veterinary specialist, shared the key clarification in an interview with local outlet Hoy. “In the Dominican Republic, we do not have venomous snakes of medical importance to humans,” he explained. “That means we have no true vipers, rattlesnakes, or coral snakes capable of causing potentially deadly envenoming, which is a risk seen in many other countries across the Americas.”

    This official clarification does not mean the island nation is entirely devoid of snakes. In fact, around 25 distinct snake species make their home in the Dominican Republic, Dr. Smith Cardona confirmed. The existing population includes a range of native species, such as the Hispaniolan boa (Chilabothrus striatus), Ford’s boa (Chilabothrus fordii), the graceful boa (Chilabothrus gracilis), and the green vine snake (Uromacer oxyrhynchus), alongside additional species from the Uromacer and Hypsirhynchus genera. Other common native species are the Hispaniolan racer (Haitiophis anomalus), the Hispaniolan dwarf boa (Tropidophis haetianus), and multiple blind snake species belonging to the Typhlops genus. In total, the country is home to boas, racers, vine snakes, small dwarf boas, and subterranean blind snakes, each with unique biological traits and behavioral patterns.

    While none of these species carry life-threatening venom, that does not mean they will never bite, Dr. Smith Cardona cautioned. Most bites occur only when a snake feels threatened, trapped, or cornered, and reactions to bites vary by species.

    “The Hispaniolan, Ford’s, and graceful boas are constrictors, meaning they have no venom at all,” the specialist explained. “A bite from one of these boas would only cause mechanical injury: small wounds, minor bleeding, and localized pain.”

    For other native species, symptoms differ slightly. Some snakes from the Uromacer genus have rear-facing fangs and produce mild secretions that they use to paralyze small prey. In humans, these secretions can trigger mild local reactions including burning, numbness, or swelling, but these effects are never life-threatening and do not qualify as medically significant envenoming. Species like Hispaniolan racers typically prioritize fleeing when they encounter humans, and will only bite if they are picked up or trapped. Dwarf boas are small and reclusive, while Typhlops blind snakes are tiny, live almost exclusively underground, and almost never interact with humans.

    Even without the risk of fatal poisoning, Dr. Smith Cardona emphasized that any snake bite should be treated with proper care. “For bites from boas and other non-venomous species, you will mostly see wounds, pain, bleeding, and local inflammation,” he said. The recommended first step after a bite is to thoroughly clean the wound site, then seek a professional medical evaluation to address any risk of bacterial contamination or secondary infection. It is important to note that reaction severity can vary across species, so medical assessment is always recommended regardless of which snake caused the bite.

    Beyond bite safety, Dr. Smith Cardona also corrected a common misconception about snake behavior toward humans. “Snakes do not chase or attack people unprovoked,” he stated. “In every interaction with humans, the dominant instinct is to flee or defend themselves only when threatened, not to actively pursue or attack.”

    International Snakebite Awareness Day was launched to draw global attention to the public health risks of snake bites, which affect millions of people worldwide each year. Dr. Smith Cardona’s clarification aims to reduce unnecessary fear of snakes in the Dominican Republic while educating the public on appropriate safety protocols for encounters.

  • Het katje dat niemand herkende: Bolivia ontdekt nieuwe wilde kattensoort

    Het katje dat niemand herkende: Bolivia ontdekt nieuwe wilde kattensoort

    For most major scientific discoveries, researchers must trek deep into uncharted jungles, spend decades excavating fossils, or deploy cutting-edge equipment to probe the depths of the world’s oceans. But the story of *Leopardus tilcayo* — the first new living species of wild cat identified by science in more than 100 years — began with a far more ordinary chain of events: a lost kitten, a local family’s mistake, and an attentive biologist’s quiet suspicion.

    The small, spotted feline was found alone as a kitten on the edge of forestland in Bolivia’s Yungas region. A local resident took the animal in and cared for it for roughly a year, assuming it was just an ordinary domestic cat. As it grew, however, the animal began to display wild behaviors, including hunting the neighborhood’s chickens, making it clear this was no house cat. In 2016, the animal was transferred to Senda Verde, a local wildlife rescue center, where staff reached out to biologist Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz with a simple, curious note: they had a “strange cat” that didn’t match any known local species.

    That single phone call launched nearly a decade of international collaborative research, whose results were published this week in the peer-reviewed scientific journal *Current Biology*. Led by Nogales-Ascarrunz, a National Geographic researcher, the study has upended existing understanding of small South American wild cats, and added an entirely new species to the world’s taxonomic records.

    The newly named tilcayo is a remarkably small feline: it grows to roughly 46 centimeters in body length and weighs an average of just 1.4 kilograms, smaller than the average adult domestic house cat. Its light brown coat is marked with dark, irregular rosette spots, it has proportionally small, rounded ears, and a longer, fuller tail than its closest genetic relatives. At first glance, the tilcayo closely resembles other small spotted cats native to South America — a similarity that hid it from formal scientific identification for centuries.

    The *Leopardus* genus, commonly called tiger cats, is what researchers call a cryptic species group: its members can look nearly identical to the naked eye, but genetic analysis reveals they are evolutionarily distinct lineages separated by millions of years of independent development. “You need full genetic analysis to uncover the meaningful differences between these groups,” explained Jonas Lescroart, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Antwerp and a co-author of the study. For this research, the team sequenced and analyzed the full genome of 38 *Leopardus* individuals, including DNA samples from century-old museum specimens to build a full evolutionary history of the group.

    The results were surprising: what was long classified as a small group of just a few species is actually five genetically distinct species, one of which was the unrecognized Bolivian cat. Genetic dating confirms the tilcayo’s evolutionary lineage split from other tiger cats roughly 1.4 million years ago — meaning the species has roamed South America’s forests for millennia before it ever received a formal scientific name. Notably, the name *Leopardus tilcayo* is not a new coinage created in a laboratory: “tilcayo” is the traditional name that Indigenous and local communities in the Yungas have used for generations to distinguish this cat from other small spotted felids in the region. By retaining the traditional name in the formal scientific classification, researchers centered the long-held local knowledge of the species that predated modern scientific discovery by centuries.

    As the research team emphasizes, the story of the tilcayo’s discovery is almost a story that never happened. When Nogales-Ascarrunz first examined the rescued cat in 2016, she too initially assumed it was a known species, *Leopardus tigrinus*. But she noticed subtle differences in the shape and size of its coat spots that did not match the known profile of the species. That small, nagging suspicion ultimately grew into a full international research collaboration that brought together genetic data from across the world and compared it to hundreds of archived museum specimens. “Once we combined all our data sets, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place,” Lescroart said.

    Now that the species has been formally identified, the work to understand it is only just beginning. Researchers still do not know how many tilcayo individuals live in the wild, nor the full extent of their geographic range. To date, the species has only been genetically confirmed in Bolivia, and it remains unclear if populations also exist in neighboring Peru or Argentina. Very little is known about the species’ behavior and ecology: preliminary camera trap data suggests the tilcayo is primarily nocturnal, and analysis of fecal samples confirms small rodents make up part of its diet, but almost nothing is known about its breeding patterns, territorial range, natural predators or social behavior. Teams have already begun deploying camera traps across the Yungas to collect more data on the elusive species.

    While the identification of a completely new mammal species is widely being celebrated as an exciting scientific breakthrough, it also comes with an urgent new conservation responsibility. The Yungas, the humid montane cloud forest that is the tilcayo’s known habitat, is under severe threat from deforestation, industrial agricultural expansion and unregulated mining. Smaller geographic ranges automatically put a species at greater risk of extinction, and the new classification means the entire tiger cat group will require re-evaluation by conservation scientists. Currently, the IUCN Red List classifies tiger cats as a single vulnerable group; with the confirmation of five distinct species, each lineage will now be assessed individually for conservation status. The research team has already shared their full findings with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to support this updated evaluation, meaning a species that did not exist in formal scientific literature just weeks ago could soon receive targeted endangered species protection.

    The discovery of the tilcayo comes at a moment when many people assume all terrestrial megafauna have already been documented by science. In an era of high-resolution satellite mapping that can image every corner of the globe, and DNA sequencing technology that can reconstruct evolutionary history with unprecedented precision, many assume there are few large, new species left to find. But the tilcayo’s story proves the natural world still holds hidden secrets: it walked the forests of Bolivia for 1.4 million years, was known to local communities for centuries, and only revealed itself to formal science when a curious biologist stopped to question a seemingly obvious identification. The small spotted cat now roaming the cloud forests between the Andes and the Amazon basin is a reminder that even on our well-explored planet, there are always new discoveries waiting to be made.

  • Microbe patents ‘could unlock billions’ – Export Barbados

    Microbe patents ‘could unlock billions’ – Export Barbados

    A groundbreaking scientific discovery made by a local researcher at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus has positioned Barbados to claim potentially multi-billion-dollar opportunities in global life sciences, after the island nation moved to secure full intellectual property rights to the find, according to the top official of Barbados’ export promotion agency. The discovery, a collection of unique microbial strains, was made by Dr. Bidyut Mohapatra, a scientist based at the institution. The push for national patent protection began after Dr. Mohapatra presented his preliminary findings at a major scientific conference hosted in the United States, where three of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies immediately approached him with private offers to purchase the rights to his work outright. Rejecting sizable private payouts that would have moved the discovery outside of Barbados’ control, the researcher opted instead to partner with the Barbadian government to pursue international patent protection under national ownership.

    Mark Hill, Chief Executive Officer of Export Barbados, hailed both Dr. Mohapatra’s commitment to keeping the discovery anchored in his host country and the government’s rapid response to advance the patent process, framing the development as a transformative opportunity for Barbados’ industrial future. “Securing full intellectual property rights within Barbados’ jurisdiction is the most critical foundational step we can take at this stage,” Hill noted. “Dr. Mohapatra has taken exactly the right approach, and both the researcher and the government have shown deep commitment to locking in these rights, then leveraging them as a core pillar of our ongoing national industrialization strategy.”

    The initiative to advance the patent application is being led by Jonathan Reid, Barbados’ Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, following closed-door discussions between Reid, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, and Dr. Mohapatra himself. Hill explained that the project aligns perfectly with Export Barbados’ long-term strategic framework, which focuses on building high-value domestic industries around what the agency calls the “3Ms”: molecules, microbes, and materials. The strategy centers on converting underutilized local biological resources – ranging from native seaweed to naturally occurring marine and soil microbes – into high-value pharmaceutical products, nutritional supplements, and sustainable biotechnological solutions.

    “Barbados has always been a science-driven nation, historically,” Hill emphasized. “We were once global leaders in fermentation science, and the work Dr. Mohapatra is advancing puts us back on that map as a hub for cutting-edge biological research. This is a core part of our broader vision to re-industrialize the island around knowledge-based science and technology sectors.” To support Dr. Mohapatra through the complex international patent process, Export Barbados is deploying its specialized “ID to IP” program, which provides local researchers with the full range of legal, administrative, and structural support needed to secure global patent protection. The program’s core priority in this case is to solidify Barbados’ full ownership of the discovery before any negotiations with global pharmaceutical firms begin.

    Hill stressed that securing intellectual property rights upfront is non-negotiable for the nation’s long-term benefit. “The first step must always be to lock in the patent and protect Barbados’ ownership,” he explained. “Only after the patent is fully secured do we move forward to negotiate licensing agreements with interested pharmaceutical partners. If we had handed these microbes over to large global companies without securing our IP first, we would have effectively given away our most valuable asset and destroyed any leverage we have in future negotiations.” Solid legal ownership gives Barbados far stronger negotiating power, particularly because these microbial strains show promising potential to address three of the world’s most pressing and high-value global challenges: antimicrobial drug resistance, microplastic pollution, and ongoing degradation of ocean ecosystems.

    While Hill cautioned that it is too early in the process to attach a precise monetary value to the discovery, he made clear that the opportunity scales well into billions of dollars rather than millions. “Antimicrobial resistance alone is a massive, growing crisis for the global healthcare system, and solving even a portion of that problem represents a billion-dollar market on its own,” he noted. “When you add in the capacity of these microbes to break down microplastics and reverse ocean damage, this is not a million-dollar opportunity – this is a multi-billion-dollar prospect for Barbados.”

    Beyond immediate financial gains from commercial partnerships, Hill argued that ongoing royalties, licensing fees, and reinvestment into local research could revitalize Barbados’ entire scientific community, building on the island nation’s long history of excellence in life sciences that stretches back to the late 19th century. Barbados first built its global scientific reputation through pioneering work in sugarcane genetics, agricultural innovation, and rum fermentation, and a return to cutting-edge biological research is viewed as a natural extension of the island’s existing strengths.

    “Barbados has deep historical roots in the life sciences industrial sector,” Hill said. “This development puts us back at the forefront of the field we have long excelled in. It proves that even as a small island nation, we can produce world-leading scientific capability. The value that comes from this level of innovative research can only set us up for an exciting future across the whole range of life science industries that will grow from this discovery.”

    This modern scientific breakthrough echoes a pivotal moment in Barbados’ 19th-century economic and scientific history. When the global sugar industry faced collapse in the 1880s – squeezed by competition from European sugar beet producers, widespread drought across the West Indies, and devastating plant disease – Barbadian agronomist John Redman Bovell funded independent experimental breeding programs for new sugarcane varieties out of his own pocket. Abandoning the widely grown but vulnerable Bourbon cane variety, Bovell focused his work on the hardy, high-yield White Transparent strain. His selective breeding work turned Barbados into one of the Caribbean’s leading sugarcane breeding hubs, saving the island’s core industry at the time. Beyond sugarcane, Bovell also developed multiple high-performing strains of Sea Island cotton, another critical cash crop for the island. Much of his pioneering research was launched at the Groves site in St. George, and research work at that location continues to this day. Decades after his death, Bovell’s contributions were honored when his portrait was featured on Barbados’ $2 banknote when it was first introduced in 1980.

  • Govt ‘to patent sargassum microbe discoveries, potential commercial gains in Bajan hands’

    Govt ‘to patent sargassum microbe discoveries, potential commercial gains in Bajan hands’

    Against a backdrop of growing small island nations’ push to retain control over their unique natural resources and scientific breakthroughs, Barbados is moving forward to secure international patent rights for three newly identified microorganisms extracted from invasive sargassum seaweed, following expressions of acquisition interest from major global pharmaceutical firms. Led by the discovery team at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill campus, the Mia Mottley-led administration has rejected outright sales offers from multinational corporations to lock in long-term commercial, environmental and financial benefits for the Caribbean nation.

    The groundbreaking discovery was made by Professor Bidyut Mohapatra, head of research in UWI’s Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences, who first shared the findings at a Washington DC conference hosted by the American Society for Microbiology. Shortly after his presentation, three separate industry entities – including one large multinational pharmaceutical giant – reached out to Mohapatra with offers to purchase the novel microbes outright to develop commercial applications.

    Rather than accept an immediate, short-term payout that would cede all long-term gains to foreign firms, Mohapatra and the Barbadian government have opted to pursue patent protection. In an exclusive interview with Barbados TODAY, Mohapatra explained the strategic logic behind the decision: selling the intellectual property today would net only a few thousand dollars in immediate revenue, while the acquiring corporation would go on to earn millions in profits from downstream development. By contrast, securing a patent costs less than US$50,000 and positions the government to earn close to US$1 million in long-term returns, while retaining full control over partnership and licensing terms.

    Of the three new microbial species identified in local sargassum populations, two have been named to honor Barbados’ contribution to the research: Chrysobacterium barbadense and Arthrobacter bajanensis. The third, Streptomyces sargassi, carries extraordinary pharmaceutical potential that has caught the attention of global drug developers. As Mohapatra notes, the Streptomyces genus is the source of roughly 70% of all antibiotics currently in clinical use, and the odds of discovering a novel biologically active strain are as low as 0.001%. Remarkably, this newly identified strain produces 19 entirely new antibiotic and antiviral compounds, opening unprecedented pathways for new drug development to address growing global antimicrobial resistance.

    Beyond pharmaceutical applications, the newly discovered microbes carry meaningful potential for environmental and industrial innovation. Arthrobacter bajanensis shows unique promise as a bioremediation tool for cleaning up marine oil spills, offering a natural, low-cost alternative to traditional chemical cleanup methods. Chrysobacterium barbadense produces specialized enzymes that can support biofuel production, methane capture, and natural nitrogen fixation – aligning directly with Barbados’ global leadership on climate action.

    Prime Minister Mia Mottley, who has emerged as one of the world’s most prominent advocates for a binding global methane reduction treaty modeled on the 1987 Montreal Protocol, has personally backed the patent initiative. Mottley has long argued that voluntary industry pledges are insufficient to cut methane emissions, noting that methane is far more heat-trapping than carbon dioxide but has a far shorter atmospheric lifespan; rapid cuts today would buy the world critical time to transition to net-zero carbon economies.

    To advance the research and development of the microbes ahead of patent approval, which typically takes three to five years for a United States patent, Mottley has granted Mohapatra’s team full access to Barbados’ cutting-edge Living Lab initiative. The facility is being developed as a regional scientific hub, designed to engage local students and inspire the next generation of Barbadian scientists, rather than exporting the breakthrough technology overseas. Mohapatra’s ultimate goal is to support local Barbadian companies to spin off new industries built around the microbial discoveries, keeping the intellectual property anchored to the nation where it was discovered.

    The naming of two species for Barbados has already elevated the country’s international scientific profile, drawing requests for research collaboration from regional neighbors including the U.S. Virgin Islands and Martinique, as well as leading global scientific organizations. For Mohapatra, the milestone carries personal as well as national pride: “The first time a microorganism has been named in honour of Barbados, I felt proud to contribute. We now have two microbes present carrying the country’s name in the microbial world. Once the patent process is finalised, the intellectual property remains ours, ensuring the discovery that originated from our land continues to benefit our people.”

  • UNESCO opens WINGS Caribbean fellowship for women in science and innovation

    UNESCO opens WINGS Caribbean fellowship for women in science and innovation

    The Caribbean region faces a range of pressing development challenges, from strengthening climate resilience to expanding inclusive digital growth — and women scientists and innovators across the area are now getting a targeted boost to advance their work and step into leadership roles through a new fellowship initiative.

    The UNESCO Office for the Caribbean has officially launched WINGS Caribbean, short for Women Inspiring New Generations in Science, a fellowship program built around the unifying theme “Advancing Science. Advancing Women. Transforming the Caribbean.” The program fills a critical gap in regional support, focusing specifically on mid-career and advanced-career women scientists, a group that has historically been underserved by existing capacity-building initiatives in the region.

    Two total fellowships will be awarded through the inaugural round: one focused on STEM disciplines, and a second dedicated to social impact innovation. Each award carries a $10,000 grant to support recipients’ project work over a 12-month period. Eligible applicants must be mid-career or advanced-career women working on solutions aligned with key regional development priorities. Eligible projects span a wide range of critical focus areas, including climate and environmental resilience, disaster risk reduction, digital innovation, applied scientific research, social development, public governance, social entrepreneurship, and community-engaged research. UNESCO emphasizes that it is seeking proposals that will deliver clear, practical, measurable benefits to local and regional communities across the Caribbean.

    To qualify, applicants must be nationals of UNESCO Member States or Associate Members in the English-speaking and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. The program is being delivered in partnership with two leading regional academic institutions: The University of the West Indies Mona Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Caribbean Academy of Sciences, which will provide technical guidance and regional expertise throughout the implementation process.

    Beyond financial support for individual projects, the core mission of WINGS Caribbean is twofold: to elevate overall scientific excellence across the region, and to boost the representation and leadership capacity of women working in research and innovation. The program also aims to build a connected regional network of women scientists, whose collective work will drive long-term progress toward a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable Caribbean. This initiative builds on years of UNESCO-led work to support women and girls in science across the region, but narrows its focus to supporting established women professionals, helping them scale their research, align their work more closely to pressing local needs, and turn their scientific achievements into greater leadership influence and tangible societal change.

    Applications for the 2026 round close at 11:59 p.m. Jamaica Time (UTC−5) on September 30, 2026. Full details on eligibility requirements, application guidelines, and access to the official online application form are available via the UNESCO WINGS Caribbean official application portal.

  • Onderzoek Faerber: langdurige opslag vergroot schimmelgroei in pindasambel

    Onderzoek Faerber: langdurige opslag vergroot schimmelgroei in pindasambel

    A recent undergraduate graduation study from Anton de Kom University of Suriname (AdeKUS) has uncovered critical insights into food safety risks associated with vegetarian peanut sambal, a widely consumed local product. The research, conducted by Cherise Faerber, who earned her Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Production with a concentration in Agroprocessing from the university’s Faculty of Technological Sciences (FTeW), identifies storage duration as the key factor driving declining microbiological quality and elevated mold growth in the popular condiment.

  • Dominican Republic and EU sign Agreement to study rare earth elements in Pedernales

    Dominican Republic and EU sign Agreement to study rare earth elements in Pedernales

    In a landmark step toward unlocking the Dominican Republic’s untapped geological resources, the national government and the European Union have formalized a collaborative agreement to conduct comprehensive scientific research on rare earth elements, gallium, and scandium located in the karst bauxite reserves of Pedernales’ Ávila Mining Fiscal Reserve. The newly signed Joint Declaration establishes a framework for evidence-based evaluation of the mineral deposits’ commercial and strategic potential, with a core focus on responsible, sustainable resource management.

    The signing ceremony, hosted at the Dominican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together top leadership from both sides: Dominican Foreign Minister Víctor O. Bisonó Haza signed the document on behalf of the Caribbean nation, while Raúl Fuentes Milani, the European Union’s ambassador to the Dominican Republic, signed for the bloc. Energy and Mines Minister Joel Santos Echavarría also participated as a key stakeholder in the initiative.

    Speaking at the event, Bisonó underlined that rigorous, transparent mapping of the country’s mineral endowments is a foundational prerequisite for strategic decision-making. He emphasized that any future development of these deposits must be aligned with four non-negotiable priorities: long-term environmental sustainability, full operational transparency, strict protection of ecosystems, and advancement of the Dominican Republic’s national public interest.

    For his part, Ambassador Fuentes Milani clarified that the EU’s partnership extends far beyond direct financial investment. The collaboration is designed to build long-term capacity in the Dominican Republic: it prioritizes generating open, peer-reviewed scientific knowledge, facilitating the transfer of cutting-edge mineral assessment technology, and strengthening the technical skills of national personnel so the country can retain full autonomy over decisions related to its own natural resources.

    Central to the declaration is a pre-approved grant agreement with the University of Barcelona, which will lead the first phase of work: detailed mineralogical characterization of the rare earth elements, scandium, and gallium found in the Pedernales deposits. Beyond laboratory analysis, the project will also invest in training domestic scientific experts, developing standardized regulatory and operational frameworks for sustainable mining projects, and laying the groundwork for future non-reimbursable international cooperation initiatives focused on the Dominican resource sector.

    The total budget for the characterization project totals €538,709.50, with costs split evenly among three partners: the European Union, the Dominican national government, and the University of Barcelona. All allocated funds will be directed toward on-the-ground scientific activities, including specialized geochemical testing, field survey work across the Pedernales reserve, procurement of necessary research supplies, and hands-on knowledge transfer to Dominican technical staff to ensure long-term local leadership of future efforts.

    This new initiative is not a standalone effort, but rather an expansion of earlier geological research carried out under the EU’s SYSMIN II Program. Between 2010 and 2011, that earlier project first confirmed the presence of viable rare earth element deposits in the Pedernales bauxite formations, establishing the baseline scientific understanding that makes the current expanded assessment possible.

    Both signing parties reaffirmed the strategic importance of advancing this work to advance global responsible mining standards. By grounding future development decisions in robust, independent scientific evidence, the partnership aims to accurately quantify the value of the deposits, identify sustainable uses for the extracted minerals, and set a precedent for equitable, environmentally conscious resource development in the Caribbean region.

  • In memoriam Prof. Dr. Jan Mol

    In memoriam Prof. Dr. Jan Mol

    The global scientific community is mourning the passing of Jan Mol, one of the world’s leading experts on South American freshwater fish, who died in his native Netherlands in late August. His death came as a sudden shock to colleagues and collaborators, even as Mol had traveled back to the Netherlands for medical treatment just weeks earlier. The news of his passing was first shared by Mol’s assistant Kenneth Wan Tong You with his long-time colleague Dr. Paul Ouboter, who has penned this tribute to the trailblazing ecologist.

    Born in Oss, Netherlands in November 1958, Mol earned his biology degree from Utrecht University before relocating to Suriname in 1987. In a striking coincidence, both Mol and Ouboter officially joined the faculty of Anton de Kom University of Suriname on the same day: June 1, 1987. The pair first connected months before their official start dates, when Ouboter was called on to help treat a green iguana Mol was keeping that had stopped eating.

    In the early days of their careers at the university, which had only recently reopened after a period of violent national upheaval, the two Dutch researchers quickly built a close bond as they navigated the challenges of establishing new research programs in the South American nation. Ouboter had secured substantial Dutch funding for his doctoral work on caimans, which allowed him to organize multiple research expeditions into Suriname’s interior. Mol, whose research focused on fish populations, frequently joined these trips, and the pair collected fish specimens alongside Ouboter’s caiman research.

    Through decades of rigorous field work — most notably his doctoral research on callichthyid armored catfish — and exhaustive analysis of existing literature on South American fish species, Mol rose to become one of the most respected ichthyologists working on the continent. He completed his PhD at Wageningen University in 1995, and was appointed Professor of Aquatic Ecology at Anton de Kom University a decade later in 2005. While he taught a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses during his tenure, his greatest passion always remained field and laboratory research, a commitment that produced 57 peer-reviewed scientific publications across his career.

    Among Mol’s most impactful contributions to aquatic science are a series of transformative findings. He carried out groundbreaking new research on armored catfish, the group that formed the core of his doctoral work. He also upended common assumptions about the impact of small-scale gold mining on river ecosystems, showing that sediment clouding (rather than mercury contamination) is the primary cause of harm to aquatic life. Mol documented 40 years of shifts in fish communities after the construction of the Brokopondo Reservoir, conducted comprehensive biodiversity surveys of fish populations across Suriname’s major river systems including the Coppename, Palumeu, and rivers in the Nassau and Lely mountains, and contributed to the formal scientific description of multiple previously unknown fish species.

    However, Ouboter notes that Mol’s most enduring scientific contribution is likely his 889-page seminal reference work, *The Freshwater Fishes of Suriname*, published in 2012. The text catalogs 480 species of freshwater and brackish water fish found in Suriname, and remains the only comprehensive reference work on the country’s fish fauna to date.

    Ouboter, who collaborated with Mol on dozens of research projects and publications over more than 35 years of partnership, remembered his late colleague as a brilliant mind and irreplaceable resource for Suriname’s scientific community. “I will miss him as a brilliant colleague; Suriname loses in him the leading expert on fish and a sharp analytical mind,” Ouboter wrote.

  • Four Bahamas radars all operational for first time

    Four Bahamas radars all operational for first time

    A landmark moment for meteorological infrastructure in The Bahamas has been reached this week, as the entire four-unit fleet of the country’s C-Band National Weather Radars began simultaneous operation — a first in the nation’s history. This long-awaited milestone was made possible after the Mayaguana radar, which was originally installed back in March 2021, was powered up for the first time, completing a contiguous radar network that covers the entire Bahamian archipelago and extends its monitoring reach toward the neighboring Turks and Caicos Islands.

    Sited in the southeastern portion of The Bahamas, the Mayaguana radar fills a critical gap in the national weather monitoring system. Its activation by the Bahamas Aviation Climate & Severe Weather Network (BACSWN) unlocks the full capabilities of the integrated four-radar system, bringing the years-long modernization project one major step closer to completion. The breakthrough comes just months after BACSWN signed a $427 million Heads of Agreement with the Bahamian government on May 7, 2025, through which the organization committed to a sweeping expansion of weather and radar surveillance across the entire country.

    Patrick Rollins, president and chief executive officer of BACSWN, publicly thanked his team for their relentless work to bring the project to fruition, and also recognized the substantial time, funding, and technical support contributed by Bahamas Power and Light (BPL) throughout the development process. The four C-Band radars, strategically positioned across New Providence, Abaco, Long Island, and Mayaguana to provide overlapping coverage, were first deployed as a core component of a roughly $20 million national weather radar modernization initiative launched by the government back in 2017, with construction and installation carried out by global meteorological technology firm Vaisala.

    Looking ahead, project leaders have set their next target: restoring and integrating the legacy EEC S-Band weather radar located on Ragged Island into the new national network. Once that unit is returned to full operational service, it will add further resilience to the country’s radar infrastructure and fill the last remaining coverage gap to complement the four active C-Band systems already in place.

    Michael Strachan, Chief Operating Officer of BACSWN, explained that the expanded, fully connected network will allow meteorological forecasters to cross-reference radar observations with dozens of other complementary meteorological data streams. This integration will produce a far broader, more uninterrupted picture of precipitation, severe thunderstorms, and other high-impact weather events as they develop, traverse the islands, or approach the Bahamian archipelago from the Atlantic.

    The timing of this historic activation carries particular urgency, as the annual Atlantic hurricane season is already underway. The enhanced, contiguous radar coverage will drastically improve The Bahamas’ capacity to monitor developing tropical systems and severe thunderstorms, detect rapidly shifting weather conditions, and deliver real-time data to underpin more accurate forecasting, faster public warnings, and more effective emergency preparedness actions. For a low-lying island nation that faces repeated hurricane threats, this upgrade represents a critical improvement to public safety infrastructure.

    According to BACSWN, the newly completed radar network will serve as the foundation for a much broader, next-generation weather and aviation surveillance ecosystem that will integrate Raytheon’s cutting-edge multi-function phased-array radar technology, advanced electro-optical sensors, and a suite of other modern monitoring systems. The organization is also partnering with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to integrate the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), the same operational forecasting and weather data aggregation platform used by the U.S. National Weather Service, NOAA, and the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

    Once fully integrated, AWIPS will allow BACSWN’s aviation meteorologists to combine radar observations with satellite imagery, ground-based surface readings, numerical weather prediction models, lightning detection data, and dozens of other meteorological data inputs all within a single unified operational interface, streamlining forecasting workflows and reducing delays in critical warning dissemination.

    BACSWN also noted that its ongoing development of the proprietary WxSenseNet™ system, its strategic partnership with Israeli satellite weather technology firm Tomorrow.io, and ongoing collaborative research and development efforts with the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and NOAA will continue to expand and refine the country’s national weather monitoring capabilities in the coming years.

    The benefits of this new network extend far beyond just hurricane preparedness. Improved radar coverage and integrated, accessible meteorological data will deliver enhanced situational awareness for a wide range of stakeholders, including commercial and general aviation, commercial marine shipping and fishing operations, emergency management agencies, national and local government bodies, private sector businesses, and local communities across the archipelago.

    For BACSWN, the activation of all four C-Band radars marks a critical milestone on the path to fully modernizing The Bahamas’ national weather infrastructure, improving the nation’s ability to deliver timely, accurate weather intelligence, boost aviation safety across the country’s airports and airspace, and strengthen resilience to hurricanes and other severe weather events.

    Itai Zlotnik, co-founder of Tomorrow.io, emphasized the transformative nature of the project. “We built Tomorrow.io to own the whole chain: satellites that sense the atmosphere, models that run on what they measure, and software that turns both into a decision,” Zlotnik explained. “A national aviation weather centre used to take a decade of capital to build. The Bahamas is skipping that and building the first next-generation meteorological watch office from the ground up, for a strategically located nation encompassing 173,000 sq miles – 95 percent ocean. That only works with a partner as ambitious as the idea, and BACSWN is that partner. Working with them has been a privilege. They knew exactly what the country needed, held every partner at the table to a world-class standard, including us, and pushed us to be better. It is the kind of partnership we hope for on every programme and rarely get. In Nassau, their sensor network anchors the ground, our satellites observe the sky, and our models turn every observation into a decision: hold the approach, reopen the runway. Pilots, controllers and the communities they serve will have weather intelligence most of the world does not have yet.”

  • An institution marked by talent

    An institution marked by talent

    On August 31, 2026, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who also serves as First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, conducted an official visit to the Institute of Cybernetics, Mathematics, and Physics (ICIMAF), where he received a comprehensive briefing on the institution’s latest groundbreaking research projects, most notably a series of innovations in orthopedic and cardiovascular medical technology.

    At the top of the institute’s recent achievements is Boneconsol, a medium-power ultrasonic generator designed specifically for the prevention and therapeutic treatment of impaired bone consolidation. Currently navigating the national regulatory validation process, the device is set to secure Cuba’s technological sovereignty in producing a cutting-edge, non-invasive ultrasonic system for bone healing. Led by Dr. Ernesto Carrillo Barroso of ICIMAF’s Department of Applied Physics, the project was developed to deliver domestically engineered, high-quality medical equipment to the nation’s orthopedic surgeons and rehabilitation physiotherapists. Unlike imported alternatives, the Boneconsol system enhances therapeutic outcomes by eliminating false negative diagnostic results, accurately tracks treatment efficacy, cuts down on unnecessary hospital admissions, and accelerates patients’ recovery to return to regular daily activities.

    During the visit, Díaz-Canel paid special attention to a secondary development tied to the Boneconsol project: a ceramic-resin composite material crafted from polymers and calcium phosphates, engineered to support fracture fixation via ultrasonic bone welding technology. Dr. Julio Francisco Rivero Hernández, a specialist at the Frank País International Orthopedic Scientific Complex, lauded ICIMAF’s work, noting that the institution’s scientific and technological standing matches that of leading global peer research centers. He highlighted the collaborative project’s key win: a biocompatible, low-cost biomaterial that enables domestic production of bioactive resorbable screws for osteosynthesis paired with ultrasonic bone welding. This technology is particularly critical for treating non-displaced intracapsular hip fractures, a common injury among aging populations, a demographic group that makes up a substantial share of Cuba’s population.

    Beyond orthopedic innovation, ICIMAF researchers also presented two additional breakthroughs to the president: a new low-cost, reusable piezoelectric sensor that measures blood flow during coronary implant ultrasound surgeries, and a Doppler technology application built on the Android operating system that converts raw acoustic signals into high-resolution spectrograms and accurate hemodynamic metrics for blood flow measurement and validation in angiology and coronary implant procedures.

    In closed-door discussions with ICIMAF researchers, institutional leaders, and representatives from Cuba’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (CITMA), Díaz-Canel drew attention to the extraordinary depth of research talent cultivated within the institute, stressing that this valuable human capital remains significantly underutilized across the country’s economic sectors. He publicly criticized the persistent gap between cutting-edge research produced at ICIMAF and the lack of demand, institutional support, and real-world adoption of these innovations by key industries.

    A key strength of ICIMAF, the president noted, is its unique intergenerational research model, which blends decades of experience from veteran leading scientists with fresh energy and expertise from early-career young talent. Many recent university graduates have already stepped into key research roles and proven their capability and commitment to the institution’s work in less than a year after graduation. One standout example is Amanda Navarro, an automation engineering graduate who earned her degree just 12 months prior from Havana’s Technological University (CUJAE). Navarro is currently a core member of an Agriculture 4.0 initiative at ICIMAF, which leverages drone technology and mobile robotic platforms to monitor and treat agricultural crops, positioning the institution to drive innovation across Cuba’s critical agriculture sector as well.