Global UNAM Weekly News NL32
21 MEXICAN UNIVERSITIES UNITE FOR CLIMATE ACTION
To strengthen collective efforts in response to the climate crisis, presidents and representatives from 21 public and private universities in Mexico signed a national declaration to coordinate sustainability initiatives.
The signing took place during the 2025 Summit of Mexican University Presidents for Climate Action, co-hosted by Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, president of UNAM, and his counterpart at Tecnológico de Monterrey, Juan Pablo Murra. During the event, the participating universities reaffirmed their commitment to preparing students to address environmental challenges and to using scientific research to develop innovative solutions.
Interdisciplinary Action Is Key to Addressing Climate Change
If global temperatures rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius, between 90 and 95 percent of endemic species could face extinction. A 3-degree increase would cause a drastic loss of biodiversity in island and mountain regions, warned Julia Carabias Lillo, a researcher at UNAM’s College of Sciences.
At the 2025 Summit of Mexican University Presidents for Climate Action, Julia Carabias, recipient of an honorary doctorate from UNAM, warned that if current trends continue, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts the extinction of up to one million species by the end of the century.
Mexican Frog Peptides Offer New Hope for Treating Inflammation and Infection
Researchers at UNAM’s Institute of Biotechnology (IBt) are studying the skin secretions of Pachymedusa dacnicolor, a frog species native to Mexico, to identify antimicrobial molecules that control inflammation without weakening the body’s natural defenses.
Yvonne Rosenstein Azoulay and Constance Genevieve Jeanne Henriette Auvynet, from IBt’s Department of Molecular Medicine and Bioprocesses, explained that their work with this tree frog, found mainly in Morelos and along the coast of Guerrero, aims to develop treatments that are safe, effective, and affordable for both inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Mexico Hosts Global Student Satellite Challenge
UNAM’s University Space Program (PEU) hosted the awards ceremony for the CanSat World Cup 2025, an international competition where students design and build all the core subsystems of a real satellite, including power supply, electronics, sensors, structure, and telemetry, within a compact, soda-can-sized format.
In the hands-on phase held last weekend, each CanSat was launched using a drone. The main challenge was to carry out a scientific experiment and ensure the payload’s safe landing, which in this case was a raw egg.
New UNESCO Guide Aims to Expand Geoparks in Mexico
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has released a new open-access document on its official digital library, UNESCODOC, titled Un territorio, muchas voces. Manual de inicio para proyectos de Geoparque (One Territory, Many Voices: A Starter Guide for Geopark Projects).
The publication is the result of ongoing collaboration between UNESCO’s Mexico Office and UNAM’s National School of Earth Sciences (ENCiT).
