The Silent War: UPD Chemists Arm Science with AI to Topple Superbugs

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In the microscopic trenches of global health, a silent war is raging. Traditional antibiotics, once our "miracle cures," are increasingly falling against the rise of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). As bacteria evolve to survive our best treatments, the search for new weapons has never been more urgent.  

Now, a team of visionary chemists from the University of the Philippines Diliman – College of Science (UPD-CS) has stepped onto the battlefield, unveiling a sophisticated AI tool designed to turn the tide.  

The Secret Weapon: ISCAPE

Researchers Remmer Salas, Dr. Portia Mahal Sabido, and Dr. Ricky Nellas of the UPD-CS Institute of Chemistry have developed ISCAPE. Standing for Interpretable Support Vector Classifier of Antibacterial Activity of Peptides against Escherichia coli, this AI-powered sentinel predicts whether specific molecules can hunt and kill the bacterium E. coli.  

The tool focuses on Antimicrobial Peptides (AMPs)—small, potent molecules that represent one of the most promising frontiers in modern medicine.  

Breaking the "Trial-and-Error" Cycle

For decades, discovering new peptides was a grueling marathon. Scientists had to synthesize countless candidates and test them manually—a process Salas describes as agonizingly time-consuming. ISCAPE shatters this bottleneck.  

Simple Input: Researchers only need a SMILES string (a simple line of text representing a molecule) to evaluate a candidate.  

Pattern Recognition: The AI has learned to identify the specific molecular "fingerprints" that distinguish a killer peptide from an inactive one. 

No More "Black Box": Unlike many mysterious AI models, ISCAPE is interpretable. It actually shows researchers which features make a peptide effective, allowing them to design even better molecules from the ground up.  

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"It doesn’t replace laboratory experiments, but it makes discovery more efficient and helps researchers focus on the most promising candidates," Salas explained.  

A Global Impact

While currently optimized for E. coli, the potential for ISCAPE is limitless. The model can be adapted and retrained to target other deadly bacterial strains or even different types of bioactive peptides, provided there is high-quality data to feed it.  

The team’s groundbreaking work has already gained international recognition, appearing in the Journal of Molecular Graphics and Modelling. In a move to empower the global scientific community, the researchers have made ISCAPE publicly available via Hugging Face Spaces, with the code and training data hosted on GitHub.  

By accelerating the early stages of drug discovery, these UPD chemists aren't just creating software—they are providing the blueprint for the next generation of life-saving treatments in the fight against AMR.  

The Descent into Darkness: A Review of FEU Theater Guild’s “Bangaw”

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For its 92nd season, the Far Eastern University Theater Guild presents a fractured paradise in “Bangaw,” a Filipino adaptation of Sir William Golding’s 1954 masterpiece, “Lord of the Flies.”

Under the sharp direction of Dudz Teraña, the production reimagines the classic descent from civilization into barbarism through a distinctly local lens, proving once again why the FTG remains a bastion of provocative student theater.

Co-written by Teraña and fellow Philippine Educational Theater Association artist-teacher Gold Villar-Lim, “Bangaw” transports the familiar tale of stranded schoolboys to a remote island in the Visayas. Following a plane crash that leaves a group of high school students without adult supervision or rules, their initial mission of survival quickly unravels.

What begins as an attempt to reconstruct order is soon poisoned by a growing fascination with bloodlust and the paranoia of a monster lurking in the forest. The play’s title finds its chilling physical form when a boar’s head is transformed into a primitive idol, marking the brutal collapse of their fragile civilization.

Sonic and Symbolic Storytelling

“Bangaw” is more than a straight play. It is a “play with music” that utilizes rhythmic storytelling and symbolic movement to heighten the emotional stakes.

The production features a haunting score by Vince Lim and Villar-Lim, supplemented by two additional songs by Teraña, a pulse of traditional and modern Filipino sounds that serves as a metaphor for a nation caught between “collapse and renewal” and raw, expressive choreography that illustrates the tension between the choir-like faction and the dwindling group of rational survivors.

Survival and Rivalry

The production is anchored by a talented ensemble of student actors who do immense justice to their complex roles. Sam Siasoyco portrays Raf as a fragile anchor of order amid growing unrest. The antagonist Jack’s (Aldin Covarrubias and Dave Bambang) descent into dominance and violence drives the group’s disintegration.

Simone (Heleina Li and Julia Nicole Ramas) provides a quiet moral compass, while the twins Sam (Dianne Andallo and Trisha Nilayan) and Erich (Maria Ysabel delos Reyes and Althea Sibulo) find themselves caught between reason and the raw instinct for survival.

Characters like Tiny (Marjorie Uson and Francine Galvez), Matty (Melenne Hokase and Margarita Barrameda), and Caleb (Julian Rafael Anabo and Lorenze Moral) represent the innocence that is inevitably sacrificed in the face of systemic failure.

Offering additional support are Jharelle Villalobos and Edrud Madalan alternating as Tabeks, Janae Dionisio and Ayessa Raymundo as Apple, Bjorn Pestaño and Charlene Libo-on as Pat, Zoe Sisam and Shekinah Resurreccion as Phil, Justin Abalos and Renz Dotillos as Robert, Kevin Ricaforte and Miguel Galpo as Morris, and Shawn Tarala and Kirstan Orbegoso as Roger. Marc Ducut, Kristian Samson, Johann Umali, John Andrei Cruz, and Cris Jay Cabides round out the ensemble with Cabides playing Baboy Ramo.

A Mirror to Contemporary Realities

Beyond the spectacle, “Bangaw” is a biting reflection on modern social issues. It uses the island as a microcosm to explore the transition from leadership earned to power taken by force, the fragility of a democracy that “dies the moment it is born” when ruled by fear rather than voice, and a nuanced look at bayanihan and resilience when pitted against moral decay and patriarchy.

“Bangaw” is a bold, multi-layered experience that challenges its audience to reflect on the fractured world we inherit and the responsibility we have in shaping what follows. FTG continues to honor its mission of reimagining theater as a space for truth and community, delivering a production that is as gripping as it is necessary.

The Global Inferno: Why 2026 is the Year the Earth Began to Burn

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The WMO has issued a chilling warning: our planet is currently "more out of balance than at any time in observed history". As we cross the midpoint of 2026, the data paints a picture of a world not just warming, but transforming into a landscape of extremes.  

A Planet in Flux

The first months of 2026 have shattered records across every climate indicator:

A World on Fire: Between January and April, more than 150 million hectares burned globally—roughly double the recent average for this period.  

Oceanic Fever: Sea surface temperatures are approaching the highest levels ever recorded, in some instances surpassing the extreme peaks of 2024.  

Vanishing Ice: Arctic sea ice has hit record-low levels for the second consecutive year.  

Unprecedented Heat: The U.S. experienced its most geographically widespread heatwave in March , while temperatures in India soared to 46 ∘C. 

The El Niño "Excursion"

The current devastation may only be the prologue. Dr. Daniel Swain warns that a developing El Niño event—likely to become "strong to very strong"—is set to collide with the "rising tide" of human-caused global warming. This combination could push the Earth into "well above 1.5 ∘C" territory for up to a year.  

"In modern human history, we've never experienced a strong or very strong El Niño event amid pre-existing conditions that were this warm globally," Dr. Swain noted, predicting unprecedented extremes in floods, droughts, and wildfires through 2027.  

The Human and Economic Toll

The "wildfire explosion" is no longer just an environmental crisis; it is a direct assault on human health and national stability.  

The Cost of Inaction: Global wildfire losses between 1970 and 2025 totaled approximately US$290 billion. The January 2025 LA fire alone cost US$54 billion, making it the costliest in history.  

The Health Crisis: Beyond the flames, smoke is a silent killer. In the 2010s, 12% of global human mortality from fire-related fine particulate matter was attributed to climate change. In Canada, wildfire air pollution costs the economy up to $52 billion annually.  

Respiratory Distress: From the subarctic to the tropics, doctors are reporting surges in asthma and heart disease. Dr. Courtney Howard recalls the 2023 fires that forced the evacuation of an entire hospital, reinforcing the WHO’s stance that climate change is the "greatest health threat of our time".  

The Path Forward

Despite the grim trajectory, experts emphasize that the solutions are within reach. UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell argues that transitioning to clean power and modernizing grids is a fiscal necessity. "With every dollar invested in climate adaptation yielding more than ten in return, building resilience is one of the smartest investments any government can make".  

As 2026 continues to flash its warning signs, the message from the scientific community is clear: records will continue to break and extremes will worsen until the world drastically reduces fossil fuel use and achieves net-zero emissions.