Applicability or some usefulness is the mantra of new I+D research. However, in trying to obtain results or confirm an application we often forget to check or study the conditions and methods used. One example could be the different methodologies that we can be used to define antioxidant capacity. An antioxidant is a molecule that […]
Author: Iker Badiola is an assistant professor in the Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Faculty of Medicine and Nursery, University of Basque Country (UPV/EHU). Colorectal cancer is the third most frequently occurring cancer and a common cause of cancer-related death worldwide. The origin of colorectal cancer is usually a malignant polyp developed in the […]
Author: Fernando Giraldez is currently Professor of Physiology at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra of Barcelona, and has a broad experience in teaching and research in Neuroscience and Developmental Biology. The view that music, maths and language are related is quite widespread. We know that they share common abstract properties and their associated skills and abilities […]
Sometimes, scientists give very good news, and in 2017 we have had one of these occasions. Boys suffering from X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), a devastating neurodegenerative disease, have been cured with gene therapy. The STARBEAM study was performed by an international team headed by David A. Williams from the Boston Children’s Hospital in Massachusetts (USA), and […]
During 2017 we have been witnessing the first tests of what might be called an integral hyperloop system at the Virgin Hyperloop One installations in Las Vegas, Nevada. Virgin Hyperloop One — named Hyperloop One before Virgin Group’s entry into its shareholder structure — leads, by its own merits, the pack of companies pursuing the […]
In 1951, the physicist Paul A.M. Dirac called for the re-introduction of the æther in an oft-quoted letter to Nature. His was an attempt to resuscitate an epistemic object that most scientists at the time, as much as today, judged to be dead and buried. By using the old-fashioned spelling, Dirac was making a statement […]
Nowadays, most important news concerning science focuses on applicability ; if you read a newspaper or magazine you will see news about how a new drug or appliance can be applied in the fight against disease, hunger, etc. However, behind the results lies a lot of hard work on the part of different group s- […]
This article is not about supporting the use of animals for research or to justify the need of such models for the advance of our society (many others have addressed that already). This post is neither about the constant pressure that researchers feel from peers, funding bodies or institutions to do more and more. The […]
A long time ago, Aaron Burr Jr. (1756 –1836), the Vice-President of the United States under Thomas Jefferson said something that is still applicable today: “The rule of my life is to make business a pleasure, and pleasure my business”. This is because current society demands the same things as Burr society: good food, free […]
The immune system is composed of a considerable variety of cell types with different functions. One of the most important cells involved in the innate immunity are the macrophages . These cells have a wide spectrum of functions: from bacteria-killing function to wound healing properties. Classically the macrophages according to their functions have been classified […]