In previous posts, we have reviewed the different loopholes of Bell experiments. To make a long story short, entanglement experiments are based on measuring some magnitudes in two quantum systems, calculating a value based on the outcomes of these measurements, and if this value goes beyond a certain threshold we can say that the universe […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Evidence of ancient flood uncovered in China Scientists have uncovered evidence that the myth that an enormous flood spawned China’s Xia dynasty isn’t just legend. Geologists, historians and archaeologists worked together to determine a massive flood occurred around 1,922 B.C., around the time Emperor Yu is said to have founded civilization in China. The Washington […]
The human microbiota is the community of microorganisms that resides in our body. They are found in a number of organs and biofluids, including the skin, mammary glands, placenta, seminal fluid, uterus, ovarian follicles, lung, saliva, oral mucosa, and conjunctiva, but the most abundant group resides in the gastrointestinal tract. This complex community has been […]
Improvisation is a hallmark of jazz music, arguably its most salient feature. When they improvise, musicians compose and play simultaneously, one of the most notorious examples of spontaneous creativity. What happens in the brain during improvisation is largely a mystery, but studying it may help us gain some insight on the basis that underlie the […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Cancer found in bone of ancient human ancestor Evidence of cancer has been found in the toe bone of an ancient human ancestor who died 1.6 million to 1.8 million years ago, suggesting the deadly disease isn’t just caused by lifestyle factors. Researchers examining the bone using 3D imaging identified a malignant osteosarcoma tumor. National […]
One of the most obvious differences between modern science and other kinds of knowledge, both present and past, is its massive use of mathematics, and in particular, its relying on calculations based on numerical formulae (for there can be mathematics without numbers, like in set theory, topology, or many branches of algebra, but these parts […]
Chemistry • Condensed matter • Materials • Physics • Quantum physics
Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon made of hexagons. In February 2015, penta-graphene, only made of pentagons, was theoretically proposed as another two-dimensional allotrope of carbon . Apparently, it is dynamically, thermally, and mechanically stable, exhibiting a large band gap (graphene is gapless). However, an exhaustive experimental search has been inconclusive, resulting in doubts […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Ultra-sensitive detector fails to find sign of dark matter The most sensitive search yet for dark matter has failed to turn up a signal from the elusive material believed to make up most of the universe’s mass, according to findings presented at the 11th Identification of Dark Matter Conference in the UK. The experiment pushed […]
«Mosquito» is one of the few words, together with «guerrilla», «adobe», «cigarrillo» and some others that Spanish culture has brought to other languages. I am not sure whether we should be proud of this legacy. The «little fly» is one of humanity most dangerous and terrible enemies. Many species of mosquitoes act as vectors of […]
Authors: M. Hervella & C. de la Rúa do research and teach at the Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology Department of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). After the dispersal Out of Africa of modern humans, around 50–70 thousand calendar years before present (ky cal BP for short) or earlier based on fossil […]