Sponge, algae growth on rise in Caribbean reefs Sponges and algae appear to be taking over reefs from coral in the Caribbean. Fewer predators due to overfishing and coral bleaching are spurring the growth of sponges, which have developed a nutritional relationship with the algae. National Geographic Arecibo grabs images of close-flying asteroid Puerto Rico’s […]
Our immune system comprises a great variety of cell types and each of these groups is specialized in separate and defined actions. Macrophages play an essential role within this defence system by enhancing the immune response. In particular, they are in charge of “swallowing” (technically speaking, fagocyting) waste products, foreign materials and microorganisms. In addition […]
Mussels all over world show signs of plastic ingestion Microplastics are showing up in mussels around the world, including in the Arctic, and they may be making their way into human diets. Reuters Inflammatory protein found to attract amyloid-beta buildup in brain Large lumps of the inflammation-related ASC protein attract amyloid-beta, the protein that gathers […]
During the last decades, the electronics industry has been very successful in pushing forward the advancement of electronic building blocks, but the limit of silicon-based electronic devices especially in terms of miniaturization are almost reached. There are many ideas how to overcome this problem, for example, by adding functionality based on approaches originating from molecular […]
Competitive markets are a well understood economic mechanism. The Economic Theory explains remarkably well, at least for a social science, its properties and success along economic history. We have lab experimentation (see here), and plenty of historical evidence that a market oriented society improves upon a non-market oriented one. It has happened in democracies like […]
Life in early colonial Mexico charted on unique aztec map A rare map dating back to 1593 offers clues about Spanish explorers and the indigenous peoples of Mexico. The map, which is available to view on the Library of Congress website, is called the Codex Quetzalecatzin and details the lineage of a family known as […]
The scattering of conduction electrons in metals owing to impurities with magnetic moments is known as the Kondo effect, after Jun Kondo, who analysed the phenomenon in 1964. This scattering increases the electrical resistance and has the consequence that, in contrast to ordinary metals, the resistance reaches a minimum as the temperature is lowered and […]
In the past entry I presented a criticism to a few common arguments (or rather, topics) that we often find ‘in defence’ of the humanities. Those arguments were problematic not only because their fallacious nature, but because they only serve to add confidence to the ones already persuaded, but they give to the rest of […]
Massive geomagnetic storm likely cause of red skies over East Asia in 1770 A powerful geomagnetic storm is the likely cause of red auroras seen in the skies for nine days over much of East Asia in 1770. Researchers scoured more than 100 historical documents and drawings to find accounts of the major event, which […]
Biochemistry • Chemistry • Condensed matter • DIPC Biochemistry
We all know that the main role of DNA is the storage of genomic information leading to the biosynthesis of proteins via diverse forms of RNA. In turn, proteins play multiple roles in living systems, catalysis being among the most important ones. These are the standard functions that we may find in any general chemistry […]