A new vista in spintronics was opened in 2004 with the observation of the spin Hall effect in GeAs at 20 K by David Awschlom and his group. In the spin Hall effect the electrons of a charge current flow in a nonmagnetic conducting material in the absence of an external magnetic field. An applied […]
Plants reproduce sexually to ensure genetic variability and thus, to continuously evolve in a constantly changing environment. In angiosperms, flowers are the sexual organs and most angiosperms are hermaphroditic, this means they have bisexual flowers with both male and female organs (Figure 1). Stamens are the male part of the flower, they are filaments ended […]
New York, Madrid, London, Susa, Dikwa, Kuwait, Paris, Ankara, among many others…, and now Brussels. A disturbingly long list of cities that have suffered the appalling hit of terrorist attacks in recent years. And while passing over the shock, we can hardly avoid asking ourselves about what are the causes of such destructive behaviours. Beyond […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Synthetic cell with just 473 genes developed A synthetic cell containing just 473 genes, the smallest number of genes in any independent life form that exists in nature, has been developed by a team of scientists led by genomics expert Craig Venter. The functions of 149 of the genes in JCVI-syn3.0 are unknown. Nature Vivid […]
Suicide is one of the worst health and social problems in the modern world. Hundreds of millions of persons experience suicidal thoughts every year and between 10 and 20 millions went on to attempt suicide. In Spain, although the average risk is lower than in Northern countries, almost 4.000 persons die every year by their […]
Let’s take a p-type semiconductor with a very clean surface and place it right next to the clean surface of a n-type semiconductor. This type of device is called an n-p junction diode , or simply a diode . What happens? Scientists realized that the electrons in the conduction band of the n-type semiconductor are […]
PONTIUS PILATE And what about you? Do you find it…risible, when I say the name…Biggus… Dickus? (Monty Python’s Life of Brian) The human being is not the only animal that laughs, but very likely is the only one that laughs at something. Having the capacity for humour and finding it pleasurable is also one of […]
Humanities & Social Sciences • Science • Technology • Weekly Selection
Radar detects objects in hidden rooms within Tutankhamun’s tomb Additional rooms in Tutankhamun’s burial chamber containing objects made of metal and organic materials have been detected through the north and west walls by radar scans. What is in these rooms is a mystery, but some experts say the rooms could be related to Queen Nefertiti […]
Chimera was a monster from the Greek mythology, a hybrid creature usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back and a tail ending in a snake. In biology, the term «chimera» is used for a single organism with genetically distinct cells from two different zygotes, also a hybrid […]
Ionization is a fundamental process in chemistry and physics, lying at the heart of many fascinating phenomena. Ionization is the process of producing ions. Certain molecules ionize in solution, for example. But ions may also be formed when an atom or molecule loses one or more electrons as a result of energy gained in a […]