We have considered in some previous articles the importance of the spin-orbit interaction. But it is interesting to go through some basic concepts we have seen elsewhere once again in order to grasp the surprising discovery we will be talking about below. The analogy for the spin usually goes this way: Imagine that the electron […]
Anorexia nervosa is the oldest of the eating disorders. It is a serious problem with the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders. We live in a epoch strongly marked by advertising and commercial references, in which different brands use shocking ads with beautiful girls and perfect guys. Whether it’s food, cars, clothing or perfumes […]
Over the last years, we have found out more and more about the vast amount of bacteria that live with and in us. These populations have been shown to play an important role in our health and are associated with diseases ranging from metabolic disorders such as obesity to autoimmune diseases or cancer. But do […]
Cell signalling is the mechanism by which cells communicate with each other and with their environment. Stimuli, which are generally chemical, are transmitted via a signalling cascade to effector molecules that orchestrate the appropriate response. Signalling pathways are not isolated but they rather form a complex network of biochemical reactions that regulate processes such as […]
Verbal fluency tests are one of the most widely used tests in neuropsychology . The oral form of the test that is used today was first introduced by Benton and colleagues in the 1960’s and is mainly administered for evaluation of subjects sus pected of having neurological damage . Administration of fluency tests is fast, simple […]
Since the discovery that graphene, the two dimensional carbon allotrope, can be isolated and incorporated into electronic devices intense research efforts have been triggered. Driving forces behind the experimental and theoretical studies of graphene are, e.g., the exceptional electronic properties, in particular the high electron mobilities, the long spin coherence lengths and the possibility to […]
There is a word everybody fears and that is because when you listen to it out loud, it could be too late. Even though we have likely coexisted with cancer since complex multicellular organisms evolved, to us human beings, it just seems the number of cases keeps growing every year. Sadly, that seems to be […]
We know that incident light can provoke a strong optical response in metallic nanostructures due to the excitation of resonant plasmonic modes, i.e, the electrons in the metal become excited by the photons in the incident light and oscillate collectively. Plasmonic nanoparticles can significantly modify the optical properties of nearby organic molecules and thus present […]
Sexual differences in the human brain, both in structure and function, have a high scientific interest and a clear social impact. In the biological part because of the different susceptibility of both sexes to some developmental disorders such as autism — four times more frequent in males than in females — , and also to […]
In our current understanding of the nature there still are some big gaps of knowledge that reminds us of the long journey ahead in physics. Here I will be talking about one of the great mysteries of our time in science, and the great endeavor taken by some of the most skilled people I’ve ever […]