Large language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT and Claude, are increasingly being used to provide health information to the public. Although this is beneficial for improving access to treatment information, their limitations were revealed by a new study that found […]
Author: José Luis Granados Mateo is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Philosophy at the University of the Basque Country (EHU) and a member of the Integrated History and Philosophy of Science (iHPS) research group. His work focuses on […]
Chemistry • Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials
Graphene, a honeycomb sheet of carbon atoms just one atom thick, was first isolated in 2004 with adhesive tape and a lump of graphite, work that earned a Nobel Prize in 2010. Large sheets of graphene conduct electricity superbly, but […]
Lithium and sodium are neighbours in the periodic table. Both are alkali metals, both have a single electron in their outer shell, and both can be used to shuttle ions between two electrodes to store and release electrical energy. At […]
Scientists have discovered a class of metal that can unexpectedly resist extreme cold using an unusual mechanism. Normally such temperatures would make similar materials brittle and vulnerable to breaking. The findings point to new principles for designing materials for cryogenic […]
As we saw in our last entry, we must grant Gabriel that he does not conceive of the spirit and spiritual as an “immortal soul” or any similar ghostlike entity, but rather as something grounded in human thought—more specifically, in […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
When we study solid-state physics, we usually begin with crystals. In a crystal, atoms repeat in a strict and regular pattern, much like tiles on a bathroom floor. Because every small region looks the same as every other, electrons move […]
DIPC Advanced materials • DIPC Electronic Properties • Materials
Picture this: Your home’s walls don’t just keep out the rain—they soak up warmth from the sun during the day, slowly release it to keep you cosy at night, and even convert some of that heat into a trickle of […]
From the burning of wood to the action of medicines, the properties and behavior of matter are governed by the way chemical elements bond with one another. For many of the 118 known elements, the intricate electronic structures of the […]
Author: Anthony Booker, Reader in Ethnopharmacology, University of Westminster “Double double toil and trouble” is a quote from Shakespeare’s Macbeth that conjures images of evil witches making potions in giant cauldrons. But the truth was that women persecuted as witches […]
When I taught physics, chemistry and mathematics to secondary-school and sixth-form students, a correct answer was sometimes where the interesting part began. I would ask why they had used a particular equation. A solution that had looked perfectly sound could […]
One of the ideas most of us learn early in biology is that only a few specialized cells can communicate through electrical signals. Neurons do it. Muscle cells do it. Epithelial cells, the cells that form our skin and line […]
Authors: Mary M. Hausfeld, Assistant Professor in Management, University of Limerick and Jochen Menges, Director of the Center for Leadership in the Future of Work, University of Zurich Who comes to mind when you think of someone emotionally intelligent? Someone […]
Biotechnology • Chemical engineering • Food processing • Microbiology
Probiotics are part of a rapidly expanding field of research. They are live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, may confer health benefits[1]. Among the most extensively studied probiotics, some species of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium have been associated with […]
Author: Deven Desai, Professor of Business Law and Ethics; Associate Director for Law, Policy, and Ethics at the Machine Learning Center, Georgia Institute of Technology AI agents don’t go rogue. That’s something only humans do. Nevertheless, a New York Times […]