Article archives

Strains control electronic properties and magnetic ordering in an atomically-thin layer

Strains control electronic properties and magnetic ordering in an atomically-thin layer

Condensed matterMaterials

By DIPC

Geometrical structure, lattice periodicity and atomic arrangement are subtly intertwined with the electronic properties of materials. Sub-angstrom changes in the atomic distance are sufficient to modify the physical and chemical properties, such as the band-structure, carrier mobility and the chemical reactivity. The deposition of two-dimensional layered crystals on mechanically stretchable or bendable substrates can produce […]

The rise and fall of the representational theory of measurement (and 3)

The rise and fall of the representational theory of measurement (and 3)

Philosophy of science

By Jesús Zamora Bonilla

As we saw in the previous entries (1,2), the representational theory of measurement (RTM), mainly developed around the mid of the 20 th century, was one of the main warhorses of the by then vigorous positivist ideal of scientific knowledge. According to that theory, the application (and the applicability) of numbers and other mathematical concepts […]

MI weekly selection #210

MI weekly selection #210

Science

By César Tomé

99M-year-old feathered dinosaur tail found in amber The feathered tail of a tiny nonavian dinosaur that lived 99 million years ago has been found encased in amber. Soft tissue and eight vertebrae were preserved in the amber along with the tail, allowing researchers to determine it likely belonged to a young theropod. The New York […]

Molecular Detectives: discovering new ion channels (I)

Molecular Detectives: discovering new ion channels (I)

BiologyBiomedicineGeneticsMolecular biology

By Sergio Laínez

Doing research in molecular biology is not straightforward, because most of the experimental work is based in the study of molecules which cannot be seen by the unaided eye. Instead, we rely on indirect evidence given by methods which are specific for each area of research. Let’s focus here as an illustrative example at someone […]

Change your flavor

Change your flavor

BiologyHealthNeurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

Flavor is a brain construction: we have olfactory and taste receptors and our central nervous system combines both types of information in what we call flavor. Malaria is an infectious disease affecting humans and other animals caused by parasitic protozoans belonging to the Plasmodium genre. It is transmitted by the bite of the female Anopheles […]

Regain the renewal capacity after myocardial ischemia? Pitx2 and its partners!

Regain the renewal capacity after myocardial ischemia? Pitx2 and its partners!

BiomedicineMedicine

By Invited Researcher

Author: Shu Ning got her BSc degree in Pharmacy from Shenyang Pharmaceutical University (China) in 2014. In 2016, she obtained her Master of Research degree on Clinical Research – Translational Medicine – at Imperial College London (UK) where she has worked on mitochondrial dysfunction in pulmonary smooth muscle cells from Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. Currently she […]

Origami, the art of folding

Origami, the art of folding

Materials

By Silvia Román

Origami, the ancient art of creating intricate sculptures from a flat sheet of paper, is no longer just a Japanese curiosity, but a cutting-edge manufacturing technique. Just through bending and folding a given material, we can obtain complex 3D structures with applications in electronics, bioengineering or architecture, just to name a few that are currently […]