Author archives: Invited Researcher

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

Does rented clothes instead of buying them have a real (positive) environmental impact?

Does rented clothes instead of buying them have a real (positive) environmental impact?

Economics

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Joëlle Vanhamme, Professor of Marketing, EDHEC Business School, and Valerie Swaen, Professor of Marketing and Corporate Social Responsibility, Université catholique de Louvain Is renting clothes instead of buying them truly better for the planet? As the textile industry faces growing scrutiny for its environmental impact, clothing rental services promise consumers the opportunity to refresh […]

How pterosaurs ruled the skies

How pterosaurs ruled the skies

Geosciences

By Invited Researcher

Scientists have long puzzled over how pterosaurs became the first vertebrates to master flight. Some pterosaur species, such as the Quetzalcoatlus were the largest known animals to ever take to the skies, with wingspans of over ten meters (on par with military aircraft like the Spitfire). My team’s new study may help solve the evolutionary […]

Giant anisotropic piezoresponse in layered ZrSe<sub>3</sub>

Giant anisotropic piezoresponse in layered ZrSe3

Condensed matterMaterials

By Invited Researcher

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have become a centrepiece of modern materials science, captivating researchers with their electronic, mechanical, and optical properties. Since Geim and Novoselov discovered the exfoliation technique in 2004, thousands of 2D materials have been discovered, synthesised, or predicted. In particular, anisotropic 2D materials display direction-dependent characteristics, promising cutting-edge applications in flexible electronics and […]

TRAF6 functions as a tumor suppressor in myeloid malignancies

TRAF6 functions as a tumor suppressor in myeloid malignancies

Biomedicine

By Invited Researcher

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) accumulate somatic mutations during ageing in healthy individuals . Despite most of these mutations are inconsequential, some HSC can acquire specific mutations providing a competitive advantage leading to a process known as “clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminant potential” (CHIP) . The most common CHIP mutations affects to DNMT3A and TET2 genes and […]

Transforming university physics education: The challenge of <i>building to learn</i>

Transforming university physics education: The challenge of building to learn

EducationPhysics

By Invited Researcher

Physics, a cornerstone of engineering and science degrees, often becomes a daunting hurdle for many first-year students. Abstract concepts like Ohm’s Law or Lorentz Force, essential for any student, are frequently perceived as distant and disconnected from real-world applications. This classic challenge (physics courses being among the hardest) plays a significant role in academic failure […]

Life Through the Looking Glass: An Unprecedented Threat?

Life Through the Looking Glass: An Unprecedented Threat?

Biology

By Invited Researcher

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. On December 12th, the British newspaper The Guardian published the following headline: “An Unprecedented Risk to Life on Earth“ The article wasn’t about […]

The Antarctic <i>plastisphere</i>

The Antarctic plastisphere

Biology

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Pere Monràs i Riera, PhD candidate, Universitat de Barcelona and Elisenda Ballesté, assistant professor in Microbiology, Universitat de Barcelona Antarctica, the world’s most remote, harsh and pristine continent, is not free from marine pollution. Where human activity goes, plastic debris inevitably follows. What might the early explorers of this icy wilderness think today, upon […]

Adipocytes orchestrate T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia propagation

Adipocytes orchestrate T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia propagation

Biomedicine

By Invited Researcher

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a devastating disease of T-cell progenitors that mainly affects children and young adults. Numerous genomic alterations are known to induce survival, proliferation, and differentiation of T-ALL cells . The interactions between leukemic cells and their microenvironment are known factors that contribute to T-ALL pathogenesis. The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment […]

Inferentialism, a new system of logic that could boost critical thinking and AI

Inferentialism, a new system of logic that could boost critical thinking and AI

Computer scienceLinguisticsPhilosophy of science

By Invited Researcher

Author: Alexander V. Gheorghiu, Research Fellow in Logic or Applied Logic, University College London The rigid structures of language we once clung to with certainty are cracking. Take gender, nationality or religion: these concepts no longer sit comfortably in the stiff linguistic boxes of the last century. Simultaneously, the rise of AI presses upon us […]