Article archives

What the heck is a phonon?

What the heck is a phonon?

Condensed matterPhysics

By DIPC

We tacitly assume that perfect order exists throughout crystalline materials on an atomic scale when we discuss crystals in general. However, such an idealized solid does not exist at all in nature. All of them contain large numbers of various defects or imperfections. As a matter of fact, many of the properties of materials are […]

How to scale up a pilot program

How to scale up a pilot program

Economics

By José Luis Ferreira

Economics needs theory, lab experiments, historical data and field evidence. Pilot programs and randomized controlled trials are particularly credible from the point of view of internal validity. However, the results of these “proof-of-concept” studies do not necessarily extend beyond the context in which they where implemented or scale up if they are generalized. Banerjee et […]

Nociceptor inhibition as a new therapeutic approach for asthma

Nociceptor inhibition as a new therapeutic approach for asthma

BiomedicineMedicineNeurobiologyPharmacy

By Sergio Laínez

When we hear somebody wheezing, coughing, showing chest tightness and shortness of breath, most of us will immediately recognize the underlying cause: Asthma . This is not a minor issue, but one affecting approximately 5% of the entire world population (and steeply growing every year) and causing the death of nearly 400000 people back in […]

MI weekly selection #267

MI weekly selection #267

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Space travel can hurt astronauts’ eye nerves Tissues that surround part of astronauts’ optic nerves become damaged due to long-term space travel. The study looked at 15 astronauts who had been in space for about six months. Live Science Evidence that world’s freshwater is acidifying The world’s freshwater appears to be acidifying. Researchers noted an […]

Unexpected molecular core level shifts in nanoarchitectures

Unexpected molecular core level shifts in nanoarchitectures

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

Mimicking natural processes has been a recurrent strategy for the development of new technologies, from velcro to bullet trains. Thanks to the advances in scientific knowledge and technological tools achieved over the last decades, biologically inspired research has evolved from the macroscale to the nanoscale. This poses an interdisciplinary challenge, involving fields such as molecular […]

Microglia and autism

Microglia and autism

Neurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

Microglial cells are the immune cells that reside in the central nervous system. They have phagocytic capacity, constitute 10% of the cells of the brain and form a fairly regular three-dimensional network in which each microglia has a unique territory. Its cell body presents many expansions with numerous fine processes, amazingly mobile, with which they […]

MI weekly selection #266

MI weekly selection #266

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Genes linked to exploration in birds may help them adapt to climate change Birds whose genes favour exploration of new habitats will likely handle climate change better than those inclined to stay where they are. Researchers have identified a pair of genes, DRD4 and DEAF1, in yellow warblers that are linked to migration and exploration […]

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

How dopants induce plasmon decay in graphene

Condensed matterMaterialsNanotechnologyPhysicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

For centuries, metals were employed in optical applications only as mirrors and gratings. New vistas opened up in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the discovery of surface-enhanced Raman scattering and the use of surface plasmon (collective electronic oscillations at the surface of metals) resonances for sensing. However, it was not until the 1990s […]