Article archives

Triple-decker antiaromatic π-stacking leads to a liquid crystal

Triple-decker antiaromatic π-stacking leads to a liquid crystal

Chemistry

By César Tomé

In organic chemistry, π-stacking systems are supramolecular structures that arise due to the dispersion force, a type of intermolecular noncovalent interaction. They are a common occurrence in nature. The stabilized structure of DNA is a very prominent example of a π-stacking system, and so are the arrangement of amino acids in certain proteins. Interestingly, π-stacking […]

MI weekly selection #561

MI weekly selection #561

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Fossils reveal worm with toothed, retractable throat An examination of well-preserved fossils uncovered in the 1920s has found a previously unidentified species of 10-centimeter sea worm with rows of sharp teeth covering a retractable throat that it could throw out to catch prey. Radnorscolex latus likely became extinct 424 million years ago and was the […]

Sea snails for mitigating urban heat island effects.

Sea snails for mitigating urban heat island effects.

DIPC Advanced materials

By DIPC

The urban heat island effect has become a critical issue in urban areas, intensifying heat-related problems and increasing energy consumption. Urban areas tend to experience higher temperatures compared to those of surrounding rural areas, this is known as the urban heat island effect. The elevated temperature in cities is primarily attributed to the high density […]

How logic alone may prove that time doesn’t exist

How logic alone may prove that time doesn’t exist

Philosophy of sciencePhysics

By Invited Researcher

Modern physics suggests time may be an illusion. Einstein’s theory of relativity, for example, suggests the universe is a static, four-dimensional block that contains all of space and time simultaneously – with no special “now”. What’s the future to one observer, is the past to another. That means time doesn’t flow from past to future […]

Inequality in children’s access to the digital world

Inequality in children’s access to the digital world

Sociology

By Invited Researcher

Digital skills differ among individuals. This can be related to inequality of accessibility, affordability and/or availability of training resources that are necessary to participate in the digital world. These digital divides were even more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic, in which there were school closures. On one hand, education systems were not prepared for a […]

MI weekly selection #560

MI weekly selection #560

Weekly Selection

By César Tomé

Extinct Nile branch carried pyramid builders, material A now-extinct 64-kilometer branch of the Nile ran past the location of Egypt’s Great Pyramid and 30 other pyramids 4,700 years ago when construction began. The 0.5-kilometer-wide branch was discovered through ground-level geophysical data, electromagnetic tomography and ground-penetrating radar — plus the extraction of two cores of earth […]

A Topological Phonon Database has been built

A Topological Phonon Database has been built

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The discovery of materials with topologically nontrivial electronic bands has led to high-throughput computational efforts that uncovered such bands in most known inorganic crystalline materials. Thus, in 2017, a team of researchers presented what they called Topological Quantum Chemistry (TQC), a new and complete understanding of the structure of bands in a material that links […]