USC Office of Research

24/08/2026

21/08/2026

For more than a century, scientific journals have been the pipes through which knowledge of the natural world flows into our culture—but now they’re being clogged with AI slop, Ross Andersen wrote in January. https://theatln.tc/bq34Sc8F

“Scientific publishing has always had its plumbing problems,” Andersen argues. “Even before ChatGPT, journal editors struggled to control the quantity and quality of submitted work.” Peer reviews became one solution to the glut of content: Editors could ease their workload by sending articles to outside experts.
Now editors and unpaid researchers who have long acted as guardians of scientific literature are being besieged: “Almost immediately after large language models went mainstream, manuscripts started pouring into journal inboxes in unprecedented numbers,” Andersen writes.

Mandy Hill, the managing director of academic publishing at Cambridge University Press & Assessment, said ChatGPT and its ilk are also being used to give fraudulent or shoddy work a new veneer of plausibility; editors going through scientific papers face the even more difficult and time-consuming task of spotting AI-generated citations, research findings, and more. “From here on, it’s going to be a constant arms race,” Hill told Andersen.

In addition to fabricating material, AI can also generate scientific images for a fake paper. A now-retracted 2024 review paper, for instance, “featured an AI-generated illustration of a rat with hilariously disproportionate testicles,” Andersen writes. Although this was embarrassing for the journal, little harm ultimately was done. Much more worrying, however, “is the ability of generative AI to conjure up convincing pictures of thinly sliced tissue, microscopic fields, or electrophoresis gels that are commonly used as evidence in biomedical research.”

🎨: Jonelle Afurong / The Atlantic. Source: Getty.

17/08/2026

UK SCOUTS INVESTMENTS OPPORTUNITIES IN CEBU

https://l.cdn.ph/UKinvestmentsCebu

Andrew Bowes, political counselor at the British Embassy in Manila, told local journalists during a visit here that the United Kingdom (U.K.) sees openings in Cebu’s energy and infrastructure sector even as it has yet to identify concrete projects in the province.

14/08/2026

Our fireside chat series NOTES FROM THE FIELD is back for its 2nd season!
We kick off this season's series with a conversation with USC's foremost robotics engineer, Dr. Luis Gerardo S. Cañete Jr. Learn more about how he started on this journey, what motivates him, and what his future projects look like.

13/08/2026

🌱 ♻️ 🌊 GREEN ECONOMY, CIRCULAR ECONOMY, OR BLUE ECONOMY?

These concepts are closely connected—but they focus on different pathways toward sustainable development.

🌱 GREEN ECONOMY
Growth + Environment

Promotes economic development while reducing environmental risks, pollution, and resource depletion.

Examples: renewable energy, energy efficiency, green buildings, sustainable agriculture

♻️ CIRCULAR ECONOMY
Reduce Waste + Keep Resources in Use

Moves away from the traditional “take–make–dispose” model by designing products and systems where materials are reused, repaired, recovered, or recycled.

Examples: recycling, industrial waste recovery, product reuse and remanufacturing

🌊 BLUE ECONOMY
Ocean Resources + Sustainable Development

Uses marine and coastal resources responsibly to create livelihoods and economic opportunities while protecting aquatic ecosystems.

Examples: sustainable aquaculture and fisheries, marine tourism, maritime industries, renewable ocean energy

Think of it this way:

🌱 Green Economy = Grow sustainably
♻️ Circular Economy = Use resources wisely
🌊 Blue Economy = Sustainably harness our oceans

They are not competing approaches.

They can work together toward an economy that creates opportunities while protecting our natural resources for future generations.

For an island and coastal region like Central Visayas, science, technology, and innovation can help turn these principles into practical solutions for communities and industries.

13/08/2026

𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘆𝗮𝘀 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝟭𝟵𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗡𝗛𝗥𝗦 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸

Central Visayas health researchers took the national stage during Day 2 of the 19th Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) Week, showcasing their work in national competitions and research presentations.

Representing the region were
⏩Dr. Christian Dave Docto of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center,
⏩Ms. Mary Joyce Loreno of the University of San Carlos, and
⏩Ms. Emerald Adlawan and Mr. Francis Kenneth Asilo of Cebu Normal University.

Their participation highlights Central Visayas’ continuing contribution to health research, innovation, and research-to-policy.

For more details, visit the CVCHRD page through the link posted in the comment section.

06/08/2026

To all higher education faculty engaged in experimental studies, teaching research and/or statistics for research courses, or involved in controlled tests/experimental research for the sciences, health research, clinical trials and agricultural, technology and engineering research on product development and process optimization.
For further queries, please send as a comment below.
To request for a formal invitation letter to your HEI head, please email at [email protected]
To register or reserve a slot, please scan the QR code below or click the link: https://forms.gle/qeyyaFEs73vAmM7CA

31/07/2026

July 2026 writeshop with our University of San Carlos researchers

29/07/2026

26/07/2026

How do you determine what people in a community are eating? DNA samples from wastewater! A study of 21 wastewater plants serving 2.1 million people in North Carolina detected 184 plant and 116 animal foods, at a cost of less than one cent per person. In PNAS: https://ow.ly/888l50ZsmfW