{"id":25607,"date":"2026-01-13T09:30:33","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/?p=25607"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:30:33","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T09:30:33","slug":"nostraciencia-highlights-idibe-umh-research-on-sustainable-antivirals-for-aquaculture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/2026\/01\/13\/nostraciencia-highlights-idibe-umh-research-on-sustainable-antivirals-for-aquaculture\/","title":{"rendered":"Nostraciencia highlights IDiBE\u2013UMH research on sustainable antivirals for aquaculture"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"2606\" data-end=\"2913\">The science communication team <strong data-start=\"2637\" data-end=\"2654\">Nostraci\u00e8ncia<\/strong> has recently interviewed <strong data-start=\"2680\" data-end=\"2719\">Mar\u00eda del Mar Ortega-Villaiz\u00e1n Romo<\/strong>, researcher at the <strong data-start=\"2739\" data-end=\"2838\">Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE\u2013UMH)<\/strong>, to showcase a research line with direct impact on the aquaculture sector.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"2915\" data-end=\"3192\">In the interview, the researcher explains the work carried out by her team on the development of <strong data-start=\"3012\" data-end=\"3070\">antivirals designed for fish rather than for human use<\/strong>, addressing a critical challenge in aquaculture, where <strong data-start=\"3126\" data-end=\"3191\">viral infections can devastate entire productions within days<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"3194\" data-end=\"3599\">The research focuses on the <strong data-start=\"3222\" data-end=\"3274\">identification of plant-derived natural extracts<\/strong> capable of reducing viral infections that cause severe losses in <strong data-start=\"3340\" data-end=\"3364\">sea bass aquaculture<\/strong>. These extracts are used to formulate <strong data-start=\"3403\" data-end=\"3421\">feed additives<\/strong>, which are incorporated directly into fish feed, achieving <strong data-start=\"3481\" data-end=\"3525\">up to a 20% reduction in infection rates<\/strong>, a figure that can be crucial for the survival of aquaculture operations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"3601\" data-end=\"3947\">As highlighted during the podcast, this approach is <strong data-start=\"3653\" data-end=\"3684\">environmentally sustainable<\/strong>, involves no negative ecological impact, and is administered through feed without handling the animals, thereby avoiding stress and improving animal welfare. Reducing disease incidence also translates into a <strong data-start=\"3893\" data-end=\"3946\">direct economic benefit for aquaculture companies<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"3949\" data-end=\"4350\">Beyond the scientific results, the interview also explores <strong data-start=\"4008\" data-end=\"4067\">Mar\u00eda del Mar Ortega-Villaiz\u00e1n Romo\u2019s scientific career<\/strong>, from her early research stages to becoming a <strong data-start=\"4114\" data-end=\"4169\">university lecturer and principal investigator (PI)<\/strong> of national and European projects. Her testimony underlines the importance of research that goes <strong data-start=\"4267\" data-end=\"4292\">beyond the laboratory<\/strong>, generating tangible <strong data-start=\"4314\" data-end=\"4349\">environmental and social impact<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"4352\" data-end=\"4549\">IDiBE\u2013UMH would like to thank <strong data-start=\"4382\" data-end=\"4399\">Nostraci\u00e8ncia<\/strong> for their outstanding science communication work, bringing research closer to society and giving visibility to the work carried out at our institute.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify\" data-start=\"4551\" data-end=\"4614\">The full podcast is available at:<br \/>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=i2xSgFsmo-I<br data-start=\"4587\" data-end=\"4590\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The science communication team Nostraci\u00e8ncia has recently interviewed Mar\u00eda del Mar Ortega-Villaiz\u00e1n Romo, researcher at the Institute for Research, Development and Innovation in Health Biotechnology of Elche (IDiBE\u2013UMH), to showcase a research line with direct impact on the aquaculture sector. In the interview, the researcher explains the work carried out by her team on the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30369,"featured_media":25610,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30369"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/idibe.umh.es\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}