Think on a cell, it is alive and, among other things, it lives to reproduce itself. The paradigm of cell division is the mitosis, a wonderful dance orchestrated to equitably distribute the possessions of the mother cell: molecular structures, machinery and, especially, the genetic material. Prior to distribute, a good mother always amasses a fortune […]
The issue of the number of species on the planet always comes back to the headlines of the scientific journals. We have addressed this topic before in Mapping Ignorance focusing on a study which estimated that even in theoretically well explored areas such as Europe we have not reached yet the “saturation plateau” of new […]
Advances in the knowledge of the molecular basis of life have provided some of the most impressive and certain proofs to the notion that all organisms on Earth form part of a unique and ancient lineage. One of the most typical examples is the fact that the molecular machinery regulating the biochemical processes common to […]
In a previous article I wrote about the high speed attacks of the mantis shrimps. However, my favourite feature of these crustaceans is their unique eyes. They have two apposition compound eyes, typical of many diurnal insects and crustaceans but unusual in how freely they can move on their stalks. The eye forms an image […]
A uthor: Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo, Permanent Researcher, University of the Basque Country (UPV-EHU) The effort of mapping ignorance in biology is especially frustrating –or, if the mood and attitude of the scientist afford it, especially motivating– because solid, definite answers remain minimal compared to the amount of open issues and uncertainties that new discoveries in this […]
Tuberculosis (TB) represents a serious public health problem. The latest reports estimate an incidence of 8.7 million cases in 2001 and over 1.4 million deaths per year. The disease is usually be treated with a first-line drugs, isoniazid and rifampin, the two most potent anti-tuberculosis agents. However, the prevalence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculosis cause by […]
If we were to ask a bunch of science geeks about their favourite animals, I have no doubt that the mantis shrimps would top many rankings. The mantis shrimps (or stomatopods) are an order of marine crustaceans, typically inhabiting the colourful coral reefs in tropical or subtropical seas. They are neither shrimp nor mantis, although […]
As the Hungarian mathematician Alfréd Rényi famously put it (although usually misattributed to Paul Erdös), mathematicians are devices for turning coffee into theorems. Other people drink coffee for a variety of reasons, and considering that coffee is very far from being the only popular beverage containing caffeine, it is not difficult to believe that caffeine […]
Different TV shows have popularized some details of the scientific methodology used in forensics in order to unravel the circumstances of a death. Regardless of the accuracy of your favorite TV series, sources of relevant forensic information are truly diverse and multidisciplinary: projectile physics, rate of chemical reactions or the knowledge of ecological processes, among […]
Since the emergence of the microscope in the early seventeenth century, many claimed its invention, but many more have tried to improve it. Many problems have been resolved on the way, allowing us to poke directly with our own eyes about the heart of the living or inert matter as far as optical physics allows […]