Deep below the Spanish side of the Pyrenees, we find the LSC (Laboratorio Subterráneo de Canfranc – Canfranc Underground Laboratory), where the NEXT experiment is taking place. Its goal is one of the remaining holy grails of particle physics: the proof that the neutrino is its own antiparticle, a result with profound meaning not only […]
Cod “supergenes” have shed light on how they respond to overfishing, and these supergenes could make them more resilient to other environmental changes. That’s according to a new study published by scientists in Norway. This could be good news, in that cod have genetic architecture in place that will permit them to respond to climate […]
A new type of cell has been identified in the heart of several organisms, from the zebrafish to mouse and human hearts. This new type of cell, called “nexus-glia” by its discoverers, as it forms a net around the heart, not only appears to possess some characteristics from these cells, but it is also related […]
Chemistry • DIPC Computational and Theoretical Chemistry • Materials
Nanothreads are one-dimensional nanomaterials composed of a primarily sp 3 hydrocarbon backbone, typically formed through the compression of small molecules to high pressures. In 2015, it was found that the slow room-temperature compression of benzene produced crystalline , one-dimensional polymers composed of diamond-like bonds. These diamondoid materials that border nanotubes and polymers are predicted to […]
Oviraptorosaurs are a group of birdlike dinosaurs that were part of the ancestral dinosaur lineage that later gave rise to birds. Oviraptorosaurs walked on two legs, had a powerful toothless beak and were covered in feathers. One of the first known species, Oviraptor philoceratops, was discovered in the 1920s when a skeleton was uncovered alongside […]
Imagine you are enjoying a peaceful summer evening at the shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Not far from you, some kids are piling up sand with a shovel. They do not care about the shape the pile is taking, so one would expect just an amorphous pile of sand. To your astonishment, that is not […]
Two years of battling COVID-19 has been bad news for tuberculosis (TB) programmes. Respiratory clinicians and researchers have had their time and focus directed elsewhere. And TB has taken advantage. In 2021, the number of TB deaths rose for the first time in over a decade. The barriers caused by lockdowns and overstretched healthcare systems […]
C ardiovascular diseases currently form the most important class of non-contagious diseases and a leading cause of mortality in industrialized nations . Specifically, coronary heart disease is the first cause of death among the cardiovascular diseases . The myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a “heart attack”, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in […]
In most animal species, males and females differ. This is true for people and other mammals, as well as many species of birds, fish and reptiles. But what about dinosaurs? In 2015, I proposed that variation found in the iconic back plates of stegosaur dinosaurs was due to sex differences. I was surprised by how […]
How an organism can sense and cope with warming temperatures is key for survival, particularly under current global warming trends. The importance of this subject was recognized by 2021’s Nobel prize in Physiology & Medicine awarded to work on TRP channels, key mammalian peripheral heat sensors. Endotherms -such as mammals and birds – maintain their […]