Category archives: Science

Sex, alcohol and flies

Sex, alcohol and flies

EthologyNeurobiology

By Ignacio Amigo

Men have been drowning their love sorrows in alcohol since the dawn of times. What probably none of those lonely broken-hearted drinkers might have imagined, is that their despair would serve as inspiration for an interesting research involving sex, alcohol and flies. As the story goes, a group of researchers at the University of California […]

Ab initio modeling the chemical storage of alternative energy

Ab initio modeling the chemical storage of alternative energy

ChemistryEnergyMaterials

By TCCM

Author: Carles Martí is a Ph.D. student (ITN-EJD-TCCM) at University of Perugia Nowadays, mostly everybody has heard about global warming, a problem that humanity faces and that can drastically change our climate in the upcoming years. This is caused by the, also well known, greenhouse effect, produced by the gases our modern society generates, to […]

Hydrogen gas as alternative fuel

Hydrogen gas as alternative fuel

ChemistryMaterialsTCCM

By TCCM

Author: Jelle Vekeman is a Ph.D. student (ITN-EJD-TCCM) at Universitat de València For a long time now, we have mainly been using fossil fuels to satisfy our increasing needs for energy. Resources, however, are limited and waste products destructive for the environment. As researchers and companies are exploring alternatives, hydrogen gas (H 2 ) seems […]

When Optics goes Atomic

When Optics goes Atomic

Condensed matter

By DIPC

An international team with the participation of the Center for Materials Physics in San Sebastián (CSIC-UPV/EHU) and Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC) have created the smallest lens in the world, capable to concentrate light down to dimensions of an atom. Researchers have used gold nanoparticles as focusing lenses that allow to flex individual chemical bonds […]

Endorphins and tearjerker movies

Endorphins and tearjerker movies

Neurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

Group activities like dancing, laughing, and singing, release endorphins in the brain. These endogenous opioid neuropeptides produce a feel-good sensation, increase pain tolerance acting as analgesics, and presumably help to form stronger bonds between members of the group. One conceivable explanation for our amusement of comedy might be that it makes us laugh, and thus […]