5 remarkable things invented by Filipinos

We frequently place a high value on our celebrities. They provide many of us with an escape from the hard realities that we must deal with as a developing nation, like typhoons and flooding, the negligent and unjust treatment of workers, and even government corruption.

Celebrity idolatry has nothing intrinsically wrong with it. But sometimes, in doing so, we overlook the important contributions that Filipinos have made to science and technology.

In addition, despite our best efforts to deny it, our culture continues to be influenced by the idea of a colonial mindset due to more than 300 years of oppression. Many of us think foreign goods are superior to those produced by Filipinos. For some of our local intellectuals and creators, this may be depressing and even crippling. However, this has not deterred Filipino inventors from looking for methods to benefit society and utilizing science to raise living conditions.

Here are some “tatak Pinoy” discoveries and innovations from the Philippines that could surprise and possibly motivate you to be more creative.

1. Bamboo incubator

Life often finds a way, sometimes much sooner than we anticipate. Infants born prematurely (before the 37th week of pregnancy) are often undeveloped and have low body fat percentages, making it difficult for them to maintain a normal body temperature. This is addressed by the contemporary medical incubator, although not everyone who requires it has access to such equipment. Since such gadgets are typically out of reach in rural regions, this is a particularly critical issue there.

Fortunately, a solution was found in the shape of the bamboo incubator, which is generally acknowledged as the creation of Dr. Fe del Mundo. It is the first Filipino innovation on this list. Due to its low cost and simplicity of replication, this improvised gadget is perfect for usage in remote locations and places without electricity. But she has accomplished much more than creating an inventive version of a life-saving device. Dr. del Mundo joined Harvard Medical School as a Research Fellow in Pediatrics in 1936.

In the Philippines, Dr. Del Mundo was also the first woman to be honored as a National Scientist in 1980. In addition, her love of medicine and kids inspired her to create the Children’s Medical Center, the country’s first pediatric hospital. Dr. del Mundo is a very innovative thinker and a role model for Filipino women.

2. Erythromycin

Our doctors often recommend antibiotics to us as a treatment for illnesses brought on by germs like bacteria or fungi. Nowadays, pharmacists and chemists produce the majority of antibiotics synthetically in laboratories. However, before the development of modern medicine, mankind relied on nature to combat pathogenic bacteria.

Alexander Fleming created the first antibiotic, Penicillin, in 1926 when one of his tests became infected by a mold called Penicillium notatum. After that, scientists searched for various antibiotics in plants, insects, and even marine species.

Dr. Abelardo Aguilar was one of several who took this route to discovery. Dr. Aguilar discovered Streptomyces erythraeus (now Saccharopolyspora erythraea) in soil samples he collected from his garden in 1949. This discovery led to the development of Erythromycin. An antibiotic called Erythromycin is used to treat sexually transmitted illnesses like syphilis, urinary tract infections, Legionnaire’s disease, and diphtheria. It is also used to treat infections of the respiratory system.

Dr. Aguilar was employed by the American pharmaceutical corporation Eli Lily Co. The corporation sold Erythromycin under the trade name Ilosone, bringing in billions of dollars. Unluckily, international patent regulations prevented him from receiving a fair portion of the rewards from his discoveries when he passed away at the age of 76; his 40-year battle to earn royalties from the medication he found ended.

Juan Flavier, a former health secretary for the Philippines, stated: “Dr. Aguilar has made significant contributions to the discovery of Erythromycin. It isn’t very pleasant to learn that he received nothing.

3. Challenge 21

People still enjoy playing board games on this technologically linked day. Some of the more well-known ones, like chess, checkers, Monopoly, Scrabble, Game of the Generals, or Snake and Ladders, are presumably ones you’ve tried.

You’ve likely heard of or perhaps played the relatively new board game called Challenge 21, which a Filipino created. Mr. Leonardo Meija Yu, a 68-year-old retired economics professor and Philippine Ports Authority executive, is the brains behind this amazing Filipino creation.

The board game takes and combines elements from games like tic-tac-toe, scrabble, bingo, chess, and even basketball, according to the developer. The game, which up to 4 people may play, was created to encourage and enhance observation, spontaneous strategy, and abstract thought.

At the National Creation Contest and Exhibit (NICE) in Pasay City, Mr. Yu won the TUKLAS Award in honor of his invention.

4. Mango flowering

The world’s largest supplier of mangoes is the Philippines. The nation comes in eighth on the worldwide market with exports of $91 million in 2015. Ilocos, Central Luzon, and Western Visayas are a few of the nation’s top-producing regions for this seasonal fruit. Of course, the key phrase here is “seasonal,” as mangoes only bloom during a particular time of the year. Filipinos used smudging or smoke from burning items for a long time to meet their desire for mangoes.

Ramon Barba, a national scientist, offered a different viewpoint.

Smudging, in Barba’s opinion, was time-consuming and costly. Pollutants are also released into the atmosphere as a result of the process. He suggested using a chemical spray called Ethereal as an alternative (2-chloroethyl phosphonic acid). His plan was ridiculed and dismissed as a viable experiment until one day, his friends Mr. and Mrs. Jose Quimson agreed to let him test it out using 400 mango trees. And the rest is history, as they say.

The World Intellectual Property Office’s 2008 documentary emphasized Barba’s discovery:

The Philippines’ prodigious mango output is largely attributable to one man’s creativity, Barba. His innovation, still extensively used today, transformed the mango business in the Philippines and elevated the crop to the position of the top export earner.

Barba owned the patent on the method, but he didn’t charge any royalties. Due to the chemical’s low cost and accessibility, many mango growers could profit from his concept, which caused the current boom in the mango business.

5. The PC chipset

Electronics are no longer only a basic human “desire”; some may even argue that they are now a need in our modern culture.

For instance, students use their cell phones to communicate with friends, amuse themselves, or conduct studies while on the road. Also, laptops are essential for them to fulfill their academic needs. These and several more gadgets make it easier for us to communicate, work from anywhere, and get information quickly. Naturally, each of them is a must for the modern world.

Would you think, though, that a Filipino played a significant part in the multi-decade creation of these cutting-edge gadgets?

In the past, businesses focused more on implementing the fundamentals, such as processing data and presenting it to the user in an understandable format, than on shrinking the size of your gadget. That changed, though, once Cagayan Valley native Diosdado Banatao created the first calculator with a single-chip, 16-bit microprocessor in the 1970s. In 1981, he developed the first system logic chip sets in history, enabling the compact integration of all a computer’s fundamental data processing capabilities. But he didn’t stop there. Ultimately, Banatao developed the first personal computer graphics accelerator chip for Windows. He secured a lasting position in the annals of PC development due to his innovations.Banatao now holds the chairman of the board of directors for Inphi, a business that provides innovative semiconductor and Silicon photonics solutions. He also established the Philippine Development Foundation (PhilDev), a charity that aims to eradicate poverty via entrepreneurship, innovation, and education.