A language is a communication system that is based on the development, acquisition, maintenance and use of a series of vocal tools that allow the exchange of information between different people. All healthy human beings, with a normal development, learn how to use a language. Children learn the language or languages that are around them […]
Earth-sized metal-heavy exoplanet found An exoplanet about the size of Earth, but metal-heavy like Mercury has been discovered about 339 light-years away. Scientists think K2-229 b’s similarities to Mercury could help explain why Mercury’s composition is so different from other planets in our solar system. Space.com MRSA in mice destroyed by new class of antibiotics […]
The wave–particle dualism is a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics. But, in order to explore this dualism properly and what it means for our image of atoms, it is necessary to review some ideas of probability. In some situations, no single event can be predicted with certainty. But it may still be possible to predict […]
A s a recent mom, I can attest to the fact that at least some humans don’t quite get enough sleep, but the thing is, independently of why my baby thinks sleep is for cowards, in a new article researchers Charles Nunn and David Charles, have shown by comparing sleep patterns of 30 species of […]
During the Cold War the competition between both sides, Russia and the United States of America, caused a quick development of military and spacial technology: while the Soviet Union was the first country responsible for an orbital launch (Sputnik 1), the first nation to ever send a man to space and pioneered spacewalks, the U […]
Genome structures in baby mice influenced by maternal attentiveness Maternal behavior may affect the genome structures of baby mice. Researchers found more copies of retrotransposon LINE-1 in the hippocampal neurons of baby mice whose mothers were less attentive to their needs than in those whose mothers gave them more attention. The Scientist Enzymes help bees […]
Condensed matter • Physics • Quantum physics • Theoretical physics
You may have read somewhere that atoms are actually made up mostly of empty space. The usual description goes more or less as follows. At the centre of each atom there is a very tiny nucleus, which carries all of the positive charge and nearly all of the mass of the atom. Surrounding the nucleus […]
In many group decisions unanimity is required to ensure that a reform will be adopted only if it benefits all its members. Multinational organizations may be the best example of this. However, when members have incomplete and private information about the convenience of the reform, a majority rule with veto power performs better in the […]
Are we in the best of the times, as Steven Pinker asserts? Or do we live in a ‘posthumous’ society, to say it with the favourite image of Marina Garcés? As I told in the previous entry, it is not easy to make a direct comparison between the ideas of both authors, because they follow […]
Unique protein with antibacterial properties found in platypus milk An oddly shaped protein found in platypus milk has antibacterial properties and could one day be used to fight antibiotic resistance. The protein is ringlet-shaped and has a fold never seen before by researchers. LiveScience Humans evolved quickly after environmental change 500,000 years ago Climate and […]