Author archives: Invited Researcher

What happens in the brain when there’s a word ‘on the tip of the tongue’?

What happens in the brain when there’s a word ‘on the tip of the tongue’?

Neuroscience

By Invited Researcher

Author: Frédéric Bernard, associate professor in neuropsychology, Université de Strasbourg We’ve all experienced it: you’re in the middle of a conversation, searching for a word, a name, or a title, and… nothing. You know you know it–you can almost feel it–but it just won’t come. This phenomenon, known as having a word “on the tip […]

Depletion of dendritic cells in established tumors suppresses immunotherapy efficacy

Depletion of dendritic cells in established tumors suppresses immunotherapy efficacy

Biomedicine

By Invited Researcher

The ability to uptake cellular debris and process the engulfed antigens for MHC class I presentation is mainly performed by a minority subset of dendritic cells . Immunologists identified them as “conventional-type 1 dendritic cells”, and characterized them identifying the presence of surface coexpression of CD11c, XCR1, and DNGR-1 molecules . In mice, two subsets […]

AI misunderstands some people’s words more than others

AI misunderstands some people’s words more than others

Computer scienceEthicsLanguageSociology

By Invited Researcher

Author: Roberto Rey Agudo, Research Assistant Professor of Spanish and Portuguese, Dartmouth College The idea of a humanlike artificial intelligence assistant that you can speak with has been alive in many people’s imaginations since the release of “Her,” Spike Jonze’s 2013 film about a man who falls in love with a Siri-like AI named Samantha […]

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

Does renting 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 […]