Category archives: Science

MI weekly selection #52

MI weekly selection #52

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Hummingbird species evolved to live in oxygen-thin Andes Some species of hummingbirds, which need lots of oxygen to survive, have evolved to thrive in the oxygen-poor heights of the Andes. Researchers sequenced 63 hummingbird species’ DNA and found that the mutations that allow the Andes birds to breathe at high altitudes occurred at the same […]

Communication breakdown: schizophrenia as the outcome of subtle neuronal dysfunction

Communication breakdown: schizophrenia as the outcome of subtle neuronal dysfunction

BiomedicineNeurobiology

By Carlos Romá-Mateo

The functioning of the human brain goes far beyond a bunch of cells packed together; each of them is able to produce, receive, and transform electrical signals into a concrete response that affects the neighboring cells, counted by hundreds. This image is already complex, but if we say that the electric signals are constituted by […]

MI weekly selection #51

MI weekly selection #51

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Specially shaped snouts help seahorses sneak up on their prey Seahorses have a nose for prey; their unique snouts are shaped to create very little disturbance in the water, allowing them to stealthily pounce on their intended meal, according to a study published in Nature Communications. “The seahorse is one [of] the slowest swimming fish […]

Shear-driven drug delivery service

Shear-driven drug delivery service

Biomedicine

By Mireia Altimira

Disruption of normal blood flow to vital organs such as the heart, lung, and brain is the main cause of death in adults in the Western world. Current therapies require hospital facilities, since clot-lysing drugs are administered systemically or through a catheter placed within the obstructed vessel. Besides, the doses are limited by the potential […]

Quantum Thermodynamics I: Foundations and concepts

Quantum Thermodynamics I: Foundations and concepts

PhysicsQuantum physics

By Daniel Manzano

Both thermodynamics and quantum mechanics are very important theories, but they are applicable to very different kinds of systems. Thermodynamics describes macroscopic systems where the number of particles is huge (around Avogadro’s number: 6.022×1023). On the other hand, quantum mechanics describes the behavior of microscopic particles. The regimes where these two theories can be applied […]

MI weekly selection #50

MI weekly selection #50

Humanities & Social SciencesScienceTechnologyWeekly Selection

By César Tomé

Strawberry poison frogs pass on chemical defense to offspring Strawberry poison frogs provide chemical defenses to their tadpoles by feeding them eggs spiked with alkaloids. Researchers measured alkaloid content in the frogs during different stages of development, separating them into two groups — one in which tadpoles were reared and fed by their mothers and […]

Ceci n’est pas un éléphant

Ceci n’est pas un éléphant

Biology

By Rafael Medina

In the basement of the Prado Museum, Madrid, there is a small yet astonishing group of fresco paintings that do not receive as many visitors as other masterpieces of the collection. They were painted in the 11th century by an anonymous mozarab artist and configure a set of hunting scenes and wild animals. One of […]