Electrons do not move around nuclei in defined curved orbits. Our current understanding of how electrons are to be found in atoms and molecules is based on clouds of probability called orbitals as it is not possible to give a definite path for an electron. Thus, an orbital is a region in which an electron […]
Thomas C. Südhof (Göttingen, Germany, December 22, 1955) is a neurobiologist awarded in 2013 with the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his studies on the trafficking of vesicles in the cell. Südhof has just published an article in the journal Cell, one of the best in the world, about neurexins, one of the most interesting […]
The problem of what is the relation between matter and mind, and more particularly, between the physical stuff of our brain, on the one hand, and our consciousness and their conscious, qualitative states (also known as ‘qualia’), certainly is one of the deepest and hardest questions in all philosophy. I have already written in Mapping […]
Malaria-causing parasites drive mosquitoes to bite humans Mosquitoes infected with parasites that induce malaria tend to seek out humans more when the parasite is in the infectious stage, suggesting the parasite is controlling mosquitoes’ behavior. Researchers say that when Plasmodium falciparum is in the transmissible stage, it will drive mosquitoes to feed on human blood […]
When light encounters molecules, the predominant mode of scattering is elastic scattering (Rayleigh). This scattering is responsible for the blue colour of the sky, for example. It is also possible for the incident photons to interact with the molecules in such a way that energy is either gained or lost so that the scattered photons […]
This article is not about supporting the use of animals for research or to justify the need of such models for the advance of our society (many others have addressed that already). This post is neither about the constant pressure that researchers feel from peers, funding bodies or institutions to do more and more. The […]
Numerical cognition is a subdiscipline of the cognitive sciences that studies the neural, developmental and behavioral bases of the use of numbers and mathematics. It is a multidisciplinary field in which cognitive psychology, developmental psychology, cognitive linguistics and neuroscience participate. Numerical cognition is fundamental for everyday activities, starts early in development and significantly improves with […]
Ancient feathered dinosaur had raccoon-like facial markings The feathered dinosaur Sinosauropteryx, which lived in northeast China between 133 million and 120 million years ago, had bandit-like markings on its face like a raccoon, as well as a banded tail and counter-shading. Researchers say the unique colour patterns may have helped the small dinosaur blend into […]
Topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their edge or surface. The conducting surface is not what makes topological insulators unique, but the fact that it is protected due to the combination of spin-orbit interactions and time-reversal symmetry, the so-called topological surface […]
A recurrent problem with pain is the absence of therapeutic strategies to selectively block the nociceptors (neurons responsible to detect painful stimuli) that need to be targeted for a particular indication. Things get even worse if we take into account that some molecules used for pain management do affect other, more general physiological processes. Local […]