Catalysis-based approaches for the activation of anticancer rely on the use of metal catalysts capable of deprotecting inactive precursors of organic drugs or transforming key biomolecules available in the cellular environment. Nevertheless, the efficiency of most of the schemes described so far is rather low, limiting the benefits of catalytic amplification as a strategy for […]
The brain plays an essential role in how people navigate the world by generating both thought and behavior. Despite being one of the most vital organs of life, it takes up only 2% of human body volume. How can something so small perform such complex tasks? Luckily, modern tools like brain mapping have allowed neuroscientists […]
DISCLAIMER: in no way is this an article to justify not getting vaccinated or not wearing a mask in closed spaces! At this point, I think most of us can agree that a diet rich in vegetables/fruits is good for your health. But what wasn’t entirely clear was the relationship between nutrition and COVID-19 risk […]
The advent of on-surface chemistry under vacuum has vastly increased our capabilities to synthesize carbon nanomaterials with atomic precision. Among the types of target structures that have been synthesized by these means, one-dimensional graphene nanoribbons (GNRs) have probably attracted the most attention, and for a good reason: t he enormous tunability of GNRs’ electronic properties […]
At a synapse, the plasma membrane of the neuron transmitting the information (the presynaptic neuron) is in close proximity to the membrane of the target cell (postsynaptic) and the two are separated by a space known as the synaptic cleft. Both the presynaptic and postsynaptic sites contain extensive assemblies of molecular machinery that link the […]
We tend to think Antarctica is isolated and far away – biologically speaking, this is true. But the continent is busier than you probably imagine, with many national programs and tourist operators crisscrossing the globe to get there. And each vessel, each cargo item, and each person could be harbouring non-native species, hitchhiking their way […]
Carbon generated by sea-dwelling microbes Microbes living deep in the ocean have been found to produce amorphous carbon, according to findings detailed in Science Advances. Scientists collected and cultured microbes over a number of years, noticing the production of black specks that turned out to be pure carbon. The Scientist Black hole’s plasma jets revealed […]
It is said that music can appease the beasts, and every parent in the world has heard of the –unproven– Mozart effect for producing smarter babies, however, what not everyone knows is that one of his compositions, the Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448, can actually decrease the epileptic activity in the […]
It happens often. We see someone who reminds us of someone else we know, or we have met, but we cannot remember where, only the face is familiar. Whether there was a single cell in the brain responsible for familiar face recognition was a long-standing question in neuroscience. Now, it seems that those cells, which […]
The San Pedro River winds from rainforests in Guatemala through the Yucatan Peninsula in eastern Mexico. There, this peaceful river widens into a series of slow-flowing lakes. Along a remote 50-mile (80-kilometer) stretch, thousands of red mangroves – trees commonly found along tropical coastlines – line the river’s banks and gentle waterfalls. Unlike mangroves elsewhere […]