El Ministerio de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología (Mescyt) anunció la realización del XXI Congreso Internacional de Investigación Científica (XXI CIC 2026), un encuentro que congregará a investigadores, académicos y especialistas de más de 20 países en República Dominicana.

Este evento, considerado la principal cita científica del país, busca impulsar la innovación, la transferencia tecnológica y el desarrollo sostenible a través del intercambio de conocimientos y la cooperación internacional.

La agenda del congreso prevé una intensa programación académica. A lo largo de varios días, la comunidad científica participará en seis conferencias magistrales, siete simposios temáticos, 19 paneles, cuatro cursos especializados, 29 talleres, 62 presentaciones de pósteres científicos y la exposición de 218 investigaciones concurrentes.

Estas actividades se distribuirán entre áreas estratégicas como Ciencias Biológicas y Biomédicas, Ciencias Ambientales, Agroalimentarias y de la Tierra, Ciencias Computacionales e Ingeniería, Ciencias Sociales y Humanísticas, Matemáticas, Procesos Industriales, Ciencias de los Materiales y tecnologías emergentes.

Uno de los ejes centrales será la inteligencia artificial, presentada como herramienta transversal para acelerar la investigación científica, optimizar la gestión de datos, fortalecer la educación superior y desarrollar plataformas inteligentes.

El programa contempla también el análisis de la transformación digital, la información cuántica, el aprendizaje automático y la aplicación de tecnologías avanzadas en salud, producción, educación e industria.

Dentro del campo de la salud, el congreso abrirá espacios para la presentación de investigaciones sobre enfermedades cardiovasculares, diabetes, salud mental, genética, medicina molecular, microbioma, fertilidad, nutrición, odontología y nuevas estrategias terapéuticas. Estos temas reflejan la diversidad de intereses y la actualización permanente de la agenda científica nacional e internacional.

Los desafíos ambientales de la región tendrán un lugar destacado. Se presentarán estudios sobre cambio climático, resiliencia costera, gestión del agua, biodiversidad, conservación de ecosistemas, arrecifes coralinos, manglares, especies invasoras y adaptación territorial para responder a los desafíos ambientales del Caribe.

Una sección especial estará dedicada al sargazo, una de las problemáticas ambientales más relevantes, donde se explorarán alternativas para su aprovechamiento en biomoléculas, cosmética, alimentación animal, nutracéuticos y otros productos de valor agregado.

El XXI CIC 2026 hará especial énfasis en la ciencia aplicada a las necesidades del país. Las investigaciones seleccionadas incluirán trabajos realizados en comunidades, hospitales, centros educativos, zonas agrícolas y territorios productivos de República Dominicana, mostrando una conexión entre la investigación científica y las demandas nacionales.

Entre los temas abordados se encuentran la bioseguridad, gestión del riesgo, amenazas sísmicas, vigilancia epidemiológica, contaminación ambiental, resistencia antimicrobiana, seguridad alimentaria, agricultura sostenible y políticas públicas basadas en evidencia.

La formación de capacidades ocupa un lugar relevante en la agenda. El congreso ofrecerá cursos y talleres sobre escritura científica, análisis de datos, protección radiológica, divulgación científica, investigación aplicada y uso responsable de tecnologías emergentes.

Este componente formativo está dirigido a investigadores, docentes, estudiantes de término y profesionales interesados en fortalecer sus habilidades en el ámbito científico.

La cooperación internacional será otro de los pilares del encuentro. La participación de representantes de universidades, centros de investigación, organismos de cooperación y el sector productivo de más de 20 países permitirá el establecimiento de redes y alianzas orientadas a fomentar la innovación y la transferencia de conocimiento.

El Ministerio de Educación Superior, Ciencia y Tecnología (Mescyt) reafirma con esta edición su compromiso con el desarrollo económico y social mediante la promoción de la investigación científica de calidad y la consolidación de políticas públicas sustentadas en el conocimiento.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris is courting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and other progressive power players as 2028 speculation builds around another possible White House bid.

The phone call with Mamdani last week, first reported by Axios and confirmed by Fox News Digital, along with other closed-door meetings with progressive groups, suggests Harris is trying to shore up support from factions of the party that didn’t support her during her 2024 run.

Additionally, Harris met with progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., behind the scenes at a Black women empowerment summit in Chicago, Axios first reported, and Fox News Digital confirmed.

Harris reportedly has also been reaching out to pro-Palestinian groups after she faced pushback from those groups during her 2024 presidential run. Harris reached out to at least one group that was part of the «Uncommitted Movement» that developed as a result of President Joe Biden’s handling of the Israel and Gaza conflict.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani and Harris’ office for comment.

News of the Harris and Mamdani call sparked criticism from conservatives online.

«Kamala Harris 2020 was desperate, Kamala Harris 2024 was pathetic, Kamala Harris 2028 will be unhinged,» GOP political strategist Nathan Brand posted on X.

Mamdani’s influence in the party has only grown since he was sworn into office in January, as highlighted by a clean sweep of socialist-aligned candidates he endorsed winning their races in the New York Democratic primary last month.

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US Vice President Kamala Harris, left, watches as President Joe Biden speaks to members of the media at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024. Russia freed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich as well as jailed Kremlin critics in the largest prisoner exchange with the West in decades, in return for a prized assassin sought by President Vladimir Putin. Photographer: Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Ken Cedeno/UPI/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«The fact that she’s courting people like Mamdani, these socialists and communists, it goes back to the radical leftists, because the Democrats are in big trouble as a party,» RNC chair Joe Gruters exclusively told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

«They’re in the death spiral, because now they have these people inside their tent,» he continued. «This is who the Democratic Party is today: these radical leftists that want to fundamentally transform our country. And that’s why we have to fight. That’s why we have to come together, unite, and we have to win. We have to win to save the country. We have to win to move our policies forward. There’s a lot at stake. Certainly, Kamala Harris, the meeting with Mamdani and these radicals shows you where the left continues to go where they want to go, but listen, she has to kowtow to these radicals to try to win.»

Earlier this year, Harris made stops in the crucial primary state of South Carolina less than a week after she dropped a tantalizing comment at the first major cattle call of Democratic presidential contenders.

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Zohran Mamdani is a Ugandan-born Muslim who won the Democratic Party’s primary for New York City mayor in June. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

«I might. I might. I’m thinking about it… I’ll keep you posted,» Harris said in April at the National Action Network’s 35th Anniversary Convention, when asked by the event founder, the Rev. Al Sharpton, if she would seek the presidency in 2028.

Harris, who replaced then-President Joe Biden as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee but later lost the election to President Donald Trump, was greeted by the crowd with chants of «run again.»

Before Henry Ford rolled out the Model T, before the Wright brothers took to the skies and before the Statue of Liberty welcomed millions to America’s shores, Corning was already charting a course of innovation that continues today.

Best known to many Americans for the glass products that have been fixtures in kitchens for generations, Corning has also spent decades developing technologies that quietly transformed the modern world. From the glass used in Thomas Edison’s light bulbs to the durable screens protecting billions of smartphones.

Nearly 175 years after its founding, Corning is once again helping shape a technological revolution. As demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure surges, the New York-based manufacturer is ramping up production of optical fiber, the backbone of the high-speed networks powering AI.

The company is also partnering with NVIDIA, the chipmaker at the center of the AI boom, to create 3,000 jobs in two states.

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At a time when many Americans worry artificial intelligence will replace human workers, Corning Chairman, CEO and President Wendell Weeks says the opposite is happening inside one of the nation’s oldest manufacturers.

«AI is a huge job creator, and it’s a huge manufacturing job creator,» Weeks told Fox News Digital.

He said the AI boom is driving demand for Corning’s optical fiber while fueling the company’s fastest period of growth in nearly two centuries.

«As a 175-year-old company, we’re going through our fastest growth period,» Weeks said. «We will probably double our size over the coming years and almost all of our new hires will be in advanced manufacturing, a significant part of them right here in America.»

That growth is already taking shape on Corning’s factory floors.

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A Corning employee handles optical fiber as part of the manufacturing process that supports broadband and telecommunications infrastructure. (Courtesy of Corning)

«As the world develops and tells us what it needs, we’re right there at the forefront,» Emily Capek, planning supervisor at Corning’s Wilmington, North Carolina, facility told Fox News Digital.

She said employees are seeing firsthand how demand for AI platforms is driving the need for Corning’s products.

«Right now, the world needs our glass optical fiber to support the AI demand we’re seeing,» Capek said. «It’s a great feeling on the factory floor.»

Her comments reflect a much broader trend. While much of the attention surrounding AI has focused on chipmakers and software developers, companies like Corning are supplying the glass technology that connects AI systems and supports the industry’s rapid expansion. That investment is already translating into the opening of new U.S. factories and creation of American jobs.

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A Corning technician inspects optical fiber before it moves to the next stage of production. (Courtesy of Corning)

Earlier this year, NVIDIA partnered with Corning to build three advanced optical manufacturing facilities in North Carolina and Texas. It’s expected to create more than 3,000 jobs across both states while expanding Corning’s U.S. optical manufacturing capacity tenfold.

Having worked with innovators such as Apple co-founder Steve Jobs during his career, Weeks said he’s proud to now partner with NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang as Corning helps build the infrastructure powering the AI revolution.

While companies like NVIDIA have become synonymous with artificial intelligence, Weeks said many people overlook the role optical fiber plays in connecting AI systems.

«The common story is AI being powered by chips, but actually, those chips are connected by glass,» Weeks said.

The AI manufacturing boom isn’t just fueling growth at longtime American companies like Corning. It’s also attracting foreign investment into U.S. manufacturing. Wistron, a Taiwan-based electronics manufacturer, is establishing AI supercomputer manufacturing operations in Texas for NVIDIA, bringing advanced manufacturing jobs to the state.

«Building in America is essential for speed, resilience and strategic advantage,» Wistron Chairman Simon Lin told Fox News Digital.

«Texas offers the talent, industrial strength, and strategic location to help power the next generation of AI infrastructure, while creating durable, high-value jobs at scale for the local workforce,» he added.

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As America marks 250 years of independence, Weeks said the country’s next chapter of innovation will depend not only on breakthrough ideas, but on manufacturing them at home.

«The tools change, but the approach doesn’t,» Weeks said.