Article archives

Geometric control of noble-metal nanoparticles

Geometric control of noble-metal nanoparticles

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Roberto D’Agosta is an Ikerbasque Research Professor at ETSF and the Department of Materials Physics in the Faculty of Chemistry at the UPV/EHU in San Sebastian. Francesca Baletto, senior lecturer at King’s College London, read and commented the manuscript. Every single moment, nature exploits catalysis to make or improve specific chemical reactions. Catalysts facilitate […]

MI weekly selection #294

MI weekly selection #294

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Gulf Stream’s slowdown may increase global temperatures The slowing of the Gulf Stream could lead to higher temperatures around the world. Researchers examined the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation over the past seven decades and noted patterns that suggest Earth could be experiencing a similar warming period as it did from 1975 to 1998. BBC Personalized […]

The mechanochemistry of E. coli type 1 pilus

The mechanochemistry of E. coli type 1 pilus

BiochemistryBiomedicineMicrobiology

By DIPC

Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) is responsible for approximately 90% of urinary tract infections (UTI) seen in individuals with an ordinary anatomy. In ascending infections, fecal bacteria colonize the urethra and spread up the urinary tract to the bladder as well as to the kidneys (causing pyelonephritis), o or the prostate in males. Because women have […]

Has theoretical physics become a sleeping beauty?

Has theoretical physics become a sleeping beauty?

Philosophy of scienceTheoretical physics

By Jesús Zamora Bonilla

The progress that physics experienced during the 20 th century was probably one of the greatest and most everlasting successes of the humankind. Discovering the hidden and minute composition of matter and energy, as well as realising that the rules they obey are as further from common sense as quantum theory has revealed, are amongst […]

Brain mechanisms beneath prediction during speech perception

Brain mechanisms beneath prediction during speech perception

LanguageNeuroscience

By Invited Researcher

Author: Nicola Molinaro is an Ikerbasque Research Fellow at BCBL – Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language Research on language comprehension has always underscored the speed and precision with which the brain integrates and process the input while at the same performing multiple parallel tasks. This extreme efficiency is explained by the ability of […]

MI weekly selection #293

MI weekly selection #293

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Sea-level rise may spell doom for salt marshes in southeast England Salt marshes in southeast England could start to disappear beginning in 2040 due to sea-level rises. New Scientist Large, dark sarcophagus found in Egyptian tomb A large, dark sarcophagus has been found in a tomb in Alexandria, Egypt, alongside the bust of a man […]

Helium atom scattering can measure electron−phonon interaction properties of surfaces

Helium atom scattering can measure electron−phonon interaction properties of surfaces

Condensed matterMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Atom scattering at low energies has a long history as a useful probe of surface properties. The most common atomic projectiles are helium atoms formed into a monoenergetic beam directed toward the surface with energies in the thermal range, meaning kinetic energies less than 100 meV. From ordered surfaces the scattered spectra consist of sharp […]

Challenging predictions for the impact of elevated CO2 on eucalyptus woodlands

Challenging predictions for the impact of elevated CO2 on eucalyptus woodlands

EcologyPlant biology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Teresa E. Gimeno is an Ikerbasque Research Fellow at The Basque Centre for Climate Change One of the expected effects of rising atmospheric CO 2 concentration in the atmosphere is an increase in plant water use efficiency. This is due to the expected enhancement of photosynthesis under future atmospheric CO 2 concentrations, together with […]

MI weekly selection #292

MI weekly selection #292

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Uncertainties added to equation for alien life New research has included uncertainties of numbers in the equation used to determine how widespread alien life might be throughout the galaxy. “We can show that, given current scientific uncertainty, we get a distribution that could make both the optimists and pessimists happy at the same time: a […]