Brain changes in astronauts Astronauts on space missions lasting six months or more have enlarged cerebral ventricles in the brain, according to a study of 30 astronauts. Researchers found that most ventricle expansion occurs during the first six months in space, but slows down after a year, and the astronauts’ brains fully recovered after three […]
Some materials have special universal properties protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. So-called topological insulators are electronic materials that have a bulk band gap like an ordinary insulator but have conducting states on their […]
artificial intelligence Authors: Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? Sen. Josh Hawley asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman this question in a May 16 […]
C-H bond The emission of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas, is escalating due to livestock farming and the ongoing thawing of permafrost. Converting methane and longer alkanes into more benign and valuable chemicals presents an opportunity to mitigate these hazards while providing a vast resource for the chemical industry. Nevertheless, the conversion of methane […]
Author: José R. Pineda got his Ph.D. from University of Barcelona in 2006. Since 2007 he has worked for Institut Curie and The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. Currently he is a researcher of the UPV/EHU. He investigates the role of stem cells in physiologic and pathologic conditions. Replicative senescence is a process […]
Climate paradox of slashing emissions While cutting greenhouse gas emissions is necessary for reducing global warming in the long term, it may also lead to rapidly rising temperatures in the short term. R esearchers studying the emissions reduction during the pandemic show that while air pollution decreased, a lower concentration of aerosols led to a […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
The development of superconducting devices was greatly stimulated after the acceptance of the basic theory of superconductivity proposed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and Robert Schrieffer – BCS theory. The basic idea is that the electron waves in the superconducting state no longer act independently, as in Bloch’s model. Instead, they are paired […]
While for long in neuroscience, computers were used to model brain function, organoid intelligence, a new scientific field, aims to do the opposite by developing biological computers which would benefit from the efficiency of our most complex biological machine: the brain. Fear not. The objective is not to connect humans by their brains to power […]
Electrifying long-haul cargo-carrying trucks was deemed financially unviable. However, recent findings from researchers at Chalmers University of Technology demonstrate that operating electric heavy goods vehicles can be more cost-effective than using diesel. The shift from fossil fuel-powered to electric vehicle fleets has primarily been noticeable in lighter vehicles like private cars and delivery vans. However […]
Bilingualism, or the ability to speak two or more languages, has become increasingly important in today’s globalized world. Not only does it facilitate communication and cultural understanding between people of different languages and backgrounds, but it has also been shown to have cognitive benefits that can help promote healthy aging. Research has shown that bilingualism […]