Article archives

The observation of the neutrinoless double beta decay is the only practical way to establish that neutrinos are their own antiparticles. But, because of the small masses of neutrinos, the lifetime of neutrinoless double beta decay is expected to be at least ten orders of magnitude greater than the typical lifetimes of natural radioactive chains […]

Our body is at the core of our sense of self and our personal identity. However, the neural mechanisms underlying the conscious experience of our own body remain poorly understood. Partial or total anesthesia of the body does not lead to the disappearance of the bodily experience, but to a continued experience of the body’s […]

Ammonia (NH3), a ubiquitous compound, was generated in excess of 187 million tons globally in 2020. Roughly 85% is employed in the creation of nitrogenous fertilizers, while the remainder is used for refining petroleum, producing various other chemicals, and manufacturing synthetic fibers like nylon. However, these processes come with a substantial energy expenditure. Presently, the […]

Researchers compare hundreds of mammalian genomes Researchers working on the Zoonomia Project, an international study comparing the traits and genomes of some 240 mammal species, including humans, have released some of their findings in 11 papers published in Science. Researchers found conserved stretches of DNA common across species that are largely unchanged by evolution, and […]

At the nanoscale, even the most basic quantum size effect, the induction of semiconducting gaps by electron confinement, requires ultimate precision. The case of graphene is a dramatic example, where deviations of a single atom in width can induce dramatic variations of the gap. As a consequence, local defects or variations in width can severely […]

Mesodinium Author: Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli has been Professor of Animal Biology in the University of Málaga until his retirement. He has investigated for forty years in the fields of developmental biology and animal evolution. The ciliate Mesodinium rubrum acquires phototrophy by ingestion of a photosynthetic cryptomonad. Besides the stolen plastid (derived from a secondary endosymbiotic event […]

Our modern rechargeable batteries, such as lithium-ion batteries, are anything but sustainable. One alternative is organic batteries with redox-organic electrode materials (OEMs), which can be synthesized from natural “green” materials. A Chinese team has now introduced a new OEM for aqueous organic high-capacity batteries that can be easily and cheaply recycled. Traditional inorganic electrode materials […]

geopolymer Author: Ada Martinelli holds a PhD in organic chemistry and is a researcher in an Italian ceramics company The construction industry is one of the major exploiters of natural resources, and it has a great contribution to the greenhouse gas emissions and non-sustainable development of the global economy. Nowadays, it still mostly relies on […]

Colour-changing dressing to aid in wound monitoring A wound dressing composed of a nanocellulose mesh with bromthymol blue dye that changes from yellow to blue when the wound has become infected has been developed. Being able to see instantly whether a wound has become infected, without having to lift the dressing, opens up for a […]

wavelike All the matter that has ever been detected accounts for a mere 4.9% of the Universe. Most of the cosmos is the dark universe: a mix of dark matter (26.8%) and dark energy (68.3%), both of which have so far proved impenetrable puzzles. The existence of dark matter has been inferred from the motion […]