Author archives: Invited Researcher

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Outstanding researchers present their work and share their opinions in Mapping Ignorance.

Why we shouldn’t abandon handwriting at school

Why we shouldn’t abandon handwriting at school

LanguageLinguisticsNeurolinguistics

By Invited Researcher

Author: Atheena Johnson, Docteure en linguistique appliquée, Université Paris Nanterre Over the decades, technological devices have been gradually integrated into language learning, as is recently the case with generative artificial intelligence (AI). Does the sophistication of these tools eventually render pencils and pens obsolete? Or can digital uses be combined with handwriting? How does writing […]

Zombosomes: The rise of astrocytic couriers in the propagation of brain disease

Zombosomes: The rise of astrocytic couriers in the propagation of brain disease

Biomedicine

By Invited Researcher

During the last decade, neurodegenerative diseases have often been described as fires spreading silently from one neuron to another. We knew that misfolded proteins such as alpha‑synuclein could travel across neural circuits, igniting new pathological hotspots along the way. What we did not know is that, behind the scenes, astrocytes —those tireless caretakers of the […]

12 reasons why plastic recycling is failing so badly

12 reasons why plastic recycling is failing so badly

ChemistryEconomicsEnvironmentMaterials

By Invited Researcher

Author: Jordi Diaz Marcos, CCiTUB , Universitat de Barcelona As good citizens, we diligently fill the recycling bins provided by our local authorities with all manner of plastic trays, boxes, bottles and bags. But as these bins fill up quicker and quicker each week, an awkward question arises: is all this effort actually doing any […]

Can psychopaths change?

Can psychopaths change?

Psychology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Steven Gillespie, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool Psychopaths might account for only about 1% of the general population, but they account for a disproportionate share of violent crime. Distinct from other conditions like sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder, psychopaths tend to show traits such as an absence of remorse or guilt […]

Wormholes may not exist: A reinterpretation of Einstein–Rosen bridges

Wormholes may not exist: A reinterpretation of Einstein–Rosen bridges

AstrophysicsCosmology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Enrique Gaztañaga, Professor at Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation (University of Portsmouth) Wormholes are often imagined as tunnels through space or time — shortcuts across the universe. But this image rests on a misunderstanding of work by physicists Albert Einstein and Nathan Rosen. In 1935, while studying the behaviour of particles in regions of […]

The potential of used cooking oil for the energy transition

The potential of used cooking oil for the energy transition

Chemical engineeringChemistryEnergyEnvironment

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Crisbel Cardenas 1, Eduardo Torre-Pascual 1,2 , Maite de Blas 1,2 , Estíbaliz Sáez de Cámara 1,2, Erlantz Lizundia 1,3 & Ion Agirre-Arisketa 1,2 1 Repsol Foundation Classroom on Energy Transition & Circular Economy. Bilbao School of Engineering. University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Bilbao. España 2 Chemical and Environmental Engineering Department. Bilbao School […]

Regional diversity in longevity trends in Western Europe

Regional diversity in longevity trends in Western Europe

EconomicsHealth

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Florian Bonnet, Démographe et économiste, spécialiste des inégalités territoriales, Ined (Institut national d’études démographiques); Carlo Giovanni Camarda, Docteur, spécialiste des méthodes de prévision (mortalité, longévité, etc.), Ined (Institut national d’études démographiques); France Meslé, Démographe, Ined (Institut national d’études démographiques), and Josselin Thuilliez, Economiste, Directeur de recherche au CNRS, Centre national de la recherche scientifique […]

The silicon advantage: How semiconductor manufacturing aims to solve the quantum computing scaling challenge

The silicon advantage: How semiconductor manufacturing aims to solve the quantum computing scaling challenge

Computer scienceMaterials

By Invited Researcher

The material at the heart of the digital revolution, silicon, is now a leading candidate for building large-scale quantum computers. This strategy leverages the most mature and powerful manufacturing technology on Earth to control the fundamental quantum property of an electron: its spin. Recent breakthroughs in silicon-based spin qubits have demonstrated gate fidelities that meet […]