Let’s take a p-type semiconductor with a very clean surface and place it right next to the clean surface of a n-type semiconductor. This type of device is called an n-p junction diode , or simply a diode . What happens? Scientists realized that the electrons in the conduction band of the n-type semiconductor are […]
Nowadays, the industry is centering their efforts on the development of single aerial robots carrying single objects, such as the widely-known drone of Amazon for delivering packages, which was followed by some national post-office services. However, other approaches go a step further and get to transport bigger objects in a cooperative way, reducing the payload […]
PONTIUS PILATE And what about you? Do you find it…risible, when I say the name…Biggus… Dickus? (Monty Python’s Life of Brian) The human being is not the only animal that laughs, but very likely is the only one that laughs at something. Having the capacity for humour and finding it pleasurable is also one of […]
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Radar detects objects in hidden rooms within Tutankhamun’s tomb Additional rooms in Tutankhamun’s burial chamber containing objects made of metal and organic materials have been detected through the north and west walls by radar scans. What is in these rooms is a mystery, but some experts say the rooms could be related to Queen Nefertiti […]
Chimera was a monster from the Greek mythology, a hybrid creature usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back and a tail ending in a snake. In biology, the term «chimera» is used for a single organism with genetically distinct cells from two different zygotes, also a hybrid […]
Ionization is a fundamental process in chemistry and physics, lying at the heart of many fascinating phenomena. Ionization is the process of producing ions. Certain molecules ionize in solution, for example. But ions may also be formed when an atom or molecule loses one or more electrons as a result of energy gained in a […]
When I buy in a market I only deal with myself regardless of whether the market is competitive or in the hands of a monopoly. Given the price, I choose how much to buy. In an auction to get a Government project a firm has to anticipate what the other firms are bidding, but and […]
Intense flavors imprint our palate at every spoonful of Asturian fabada, an unquestionable cultural hallmark of Northern Spanish cuisine. Because of the present United Nations´ international year of pulses, we are visiting here some bits of the science about a food regime particularly rich in them. Beans, lentils, and chickpeas are feeding building blocks for […]
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Mars’ magnetic field shaken by close comet flyby A comet streaking by Mars in 2014 wreaked havoc on the Red Planet’s fragile magnetic field, according to data collected by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, spacecraft, according to NASA. Discovery Bacteria found in Japanese recycling center evolves to consume plastic A bacteria that […]
Although it may sound illogical, destruction of cells is as essential as their creation in the course of proper formation, growth and development of multi-cellular organisms. For this reason, cells program deliberately their suicide through a very controlled process, named apoptosis (from the Greek, “fall off”). Our research group at the University of Tübingen, Germany […]