Category archives: Science

Music and preterm babies

Music and preterm babies

Neurobiology

By José Ramón Alonso

A preterm baby is one that is born prematurely, a minimum of three weeks before the expected date of delivery or, in other words, before the 37th week of pregnancy. Premature babies, especially extreme premature babies, have a high risk of suffering from nervous system problems, especially cerebral palsy, neurodevelopmental delays, and hearing and vision […]

Finding collision-free tangential cutting directions when machining

Finding collision-free tangential cutting directions when machining

Computer scienceMathematicsMechanical EngineeringRobotics

By BCAM

One thing is designing an object in a computer, and another, quite different, is producing it as a real 3D object. All other things being equal, in general the more curves the designed object has, the more difficult it is to produce. Mathematics can be very helpful in this task. The geometric modeling of a […]

First nondestructive enantioselective detection technique

First nondestructive enantioselective detection technique

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsNanotechnology

By DIPC

If a nucleus has a nonzero spin, it behaves as a small magnet. Therefore, in an external magnetic field, the nuclear magnetic moment vector precesses about the field direction but only certain otientations are allowed by quantum rules. Thus, for hydrogen (spin 1/2) there are two possible states in the presence of a field, each […]

Finite size analogue of a heavy Fermi liquid in an atomic scale Kondo lattice

Finite size analogue of a heavy Fermi liquid in an atomic scale Kondo lattice

Condensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

The scattering of conduction electrons in metals owing to impurities with magnetic moments is known as the Kondo effect, after Jun Kondo, who analysed the phenomenon in 1964. This scattering increases the electrical resistance and has the consequence that, in contrast to ordinary metals, the resistance reaches a minimum as the temperature is lowered and […]

Olfactory adaptation and autism

Olfactory adaptation and autism

NeurobiologyNeuroscience

By José Ramón Alonso

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) includes sensory alterations as one of the four characteristics of restricted / repetitive behavior of people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It defines this symptom characteristic as a «hyper- or hyporeactivity to sensory inputs or an unusual interest for sensory aspects of the environment» […]

Diradical character a condition for stable n-type doped organic conducting materials

Diradical character a condition for stable n-type doped organic conducting materials

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterials

By DIPC

Many aromatic compounds can be made into organic semiconductors by doping them with a substance such as iodine, thereby producing mobile carriers of electric charge. This is analogous to the doping of silicon in an ordinary semiconductor. The benefits of using organic compounds are evident, namely, the resources are available everywhere, extremely cheap, and there […]