Think on a cell, it is alive and, among other things, it lives to reproduce itself. The paradigm of cell division is the mitosis, a wonderful dance orchestrated to equitably distribute the possessions of the mother cell: molecular structures, machinery and, especially, the genetic material. Prior to distribute, a good mother always amasses a fortune […]
Amongst the many things science is useful for, explanation stands within the top. We use scientific knowledge to describe the world, to map it, to predict it, and to guide our actions thanks to the predictions about the consequences of our actions, but we also want science to provide us explanations, to help us understand […]
Comets are one of the key components of our Solar System, at least for the Earth’s evolution and humankind point of view. While the inner region of our system was depleted in volatiles due to the high temperatures close to the Sun, the left overs in the outer borders retained water and other condensables in […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Wet sand may have helped ancient Egyptians move massive stones Ancient Egyptians dampened the sand to move the 2.5-ton stones used to build the pyramids to prevent berming and halve the amount of force needed to drag the sled, researchers say. The wet sand reduced the friction, making the sledge easier to move. Scientists at […]
Most people have experienced how does it feel when dipping a finger into boiling water or swallowing while having tonsil inflammation. Pain may be annoying, but it is an essential protective mechanism because it warns us against potential tissue damage. This necessary role in survival is illustrated by the shortened life expectancy seen in individuals […]
The issue of the number of species on the planet always comes back to the headlines of the scientific journals. We have addressed this topic before in Mapping Ignorance focusing on a study which estimated that even in theoretically well explored areas such as Europe we have not reached yet the “saturation plateau” of new […]
Bicycles are usually regarded as the most sustainable mean of transport for urban environments. Now, when talking about sustainability, there are usually two different discussions: on the one hand, there is energy sustainability, as the fossil fuels won’t last forever and their secondary products are quite unhealthy. Bikes, being powered by people, fully comply with […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Coral can change physiology to survive warming seas When oceans become warmer or acidic, coral reef apparently have the ability to change their physiology to survive, researchers have discovered. Studying coral off Ofu Island in American Samoa, researchers found that the coral can use their genes to turn on heat-resistant proteins. Nature News Y chromosome […]
The most widely used metaphors for nuclear fusion reactors are the recreation of the Sun on Earth and the controlled explosion of a hydrogen bomb. In both cases, the first thing that comes to mind is the need for high-performance radiation-resistant materials to contain the fusion reaction. The selection and design of new materials that […]
Psychologists and neurologists have been interested in the problem of free will since the beginning of their specialities, though the first clearly devised and relevant experiments on the topic were those of Libet and colleagues, in the early eighties. In this famous experiment, subjects who were before a clock, and whose brain electrical waves were […]