BCMaterials, Basque Center on Materials, Applications and Nanostructures, is an autonomous research center launched in June 2012 by Ikerbasque, the Basque Foundation for Science, and the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). It is included in the BERC’s (Basque Excellence Research Centers) network and its mission is to develop high-quality interdisciplinary research in (multi)functional and active materials with advanced properties, from their basic understanding, to exploring new applications.
Digital technologies have gained an essential role in societies’ development, by generating a global transformation in economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Digitalization does not just bring comfort and effectiveness in daily life but also contributes to equity and opportunities generation. However, this digital transformation is raising a fierce debate on how to ensure a positive […]
The climate crisis arising from greenhouse gas emissions has led to a greater emphasis on energy security, and affordability, to ensure a smooth energy transition. The decarbonization of the energy sector will promote a reduction in carbon emissions and will minimize catastrophic natural disasters. The deployment of low-carbon technology towards a sustainable and clean energy […]
The recent COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the vulnerabilities of our society to infectious diseases and the limitations of the tools available for viruses detection. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and antigens tests have been useful to monitor and contain the extension of the last pandemic, however it demonstrated to have severe limitations. PCR is a highly […]
A key feature that makes natural materials highly sustainable and recyclable is their modularity. Biodegradable materials are such because biological organisms can digest and break their constituting chemicals into simpler building blocks. Often such simpler building blocks are then reused for energy or structural purposes. In other words, nature needs materials that can be broken […]
Human activities impact significantly on the environment we live. The human society has been experiencing extreme weather conditions frequently that indicate a systematic climate shift. Almost every place in the world has set records of extreme temperatures. This trend of extreme weather has been warned by scientists to be possibly a result of excessive human […]
“ Any being, if it varies however slightly in any manner profitable to itself… will have a better chance of surviving, and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.” ― Charles Robert Darwin (1809-1882) , The origin of species […]
“ There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.” ― Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus, 1818 Increasing advances in material’s science have enabled the design and production of materials capable of inducing specific cell behaviors, such as proliferation, migration or differentiation. Consequently, we are now able […]
Wearable devices are attracting increasing attention. The most familiar today are smartwatches and smart bands. The sensors in these devices monitor vital signs such as our temperature, heart rate, and even blood oxygen, but are unable to address biochemical parameters. One of the main reasons is the relatively short life of chemical sensors and biosensors […]
“ The dose makes the poison!” This adage, attributed to Paracelsus, explains a basic principle of toxicology: a substance can produce a harmful effect only if it reaches a certain “toxic” concentration. [ 1 ] In reverse, it also means that a substance is not harmful below this toxic dose, and can even be vitally […]
Until 1932, atoms were considered to consist in positive charges, called protons, located within the atomic nucleus, where the majority of the mass of the atom is concentrated, and negative charges, identified as electrons, surrounding the nucleus to make it electrically neutral. However, in 1932 James Chadwick discovered the neutron, an uncharged particle located at […]