Category archives: Science

Nonlinear optics is concerned with the optical properties of matter subjected to intense electromagnetic fields. For nonlinearity to manifest itself, the external field should not be negligible compared to the internal fields of atoms and molecules of which the matter consists. Lasers are capable of generating external fields sufficiently intense for nonlinearity to occur. Actually […]

nicotine Author: Marta Irigoyen is a postdoctoral researcher at CIC bioGUNE Tobacco smoke contains a toxic mix of more than 7,000 chemicals. Among them, nicotine is a major cigarette component associated with human tobacco consumption and addiction. Despite not being a carcinogen (an agent that is able to generate cancer), several studies have reported the […]

At the end of 2022, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced they had observed a net energy gain through nuclear fusion for the very first time. This monumental milestone toward fusion energy represents a huge leap forward in powering our homes and businesses with the carbon-neutral energy source. But converting this scientific achievement into […]

A catalyst is a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change. The study of enzymes has provided us many of the prototypical concepts of catalysis, including the idea that a catalyst lowers the barrier to reaction and thereby accelerates the approach to chemical equilibrium, without altering […]

Recently, the results of an early human phase clinical trial have shown that mRNA technology can be successfully applied to diseases other than COVID-19, such as skin cancer. Moderna and Merck used an mRNA anti-cancer vaccine based on the same technology used to develop some COVID-19 vaccines, except that instead of using proteins from a […]

Matter outflows in the form of jets are observed in astronomical systems at fast, medium and slow speeds. The fastest jets are highly relativistic, namely travel very close to the speed of light. The origin, as well as many properties of the jets, is uncertain. One of the puzzles, that jet velocities seem to have […]

Author: José R. Pineda got his Ph.D. from University of Barcelona in 2006. Since 2007 he has worked for Institut Curie and The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission. Currently, he is a researcher of the UPV/EHU. He investigates the role of stem cells in physiologic and pathologic conditions. During brain development, immature neurons […]

Men and women are different. It has been long known that pregnancy and motherhood alter women’s brains. What was so far not clear was what happens to the brains of fathers. Recent research has shown that having children rewires fathers’ brains as well. Mother’s brains change to adapt to the demands of their babies, that […]

Over the last decade, research has focused on studying predictive personality traits that may underlie bullying. Two such traits are self-esteem and narcissism. Self-esteem is associated with overall acceptance of oneself, feelings of worthiness and self-confidence. Low self-esteem has long been theorized to be a risk factor for aggression and antisocial behavior . Likewise, the […]

Author: Ramón Muñoz-Chápuli has been Professor of Animal Biology in the University of Málaga until his retirement. He has investigated for forty years in the fields of developmental biology and animal evolution. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite of warm-blooded animals, including humans. After the acute phase of the infection, the parasite remains latent in […]