Category archives: Science

Penta-graphene: to be or not to be

Penta-graphene: to be or not to be

ChemistryCondensed matterMaterialsPhysicsQuantum physics

By Francisco R. Villatoro

Graphene is a two-dimensional allotrope of carbon made of hexagons. In February 2015, penta-graphene, only made of pentagons, was theoretically proposed as another two-dimensional allotrope of carbon . Apparently, it is dynamically, thermally, and mechanically stable, exhibiting a large band gap (graphene is gapless). However, an exhaustive experimental search has been inconclusive, resulting in doubts […]

Fatal attraction

Fatal attraction

BiologyHealth

By José Ramón Alonso

«Mosquito» is one of the few words, together with «guerrilla», «adobe», «cigarrillo» and some others that Spanish culture has brought to other languages. I am not sure whether we should be proud of this legacy. The «little fly» is one of humanity most dangerous and terrible enemies. Many species of mosquitoes act as vectors of […]

How to push a single-molecule switch

How to push a single-molecule switch

Chemistry

By DIPC

Everybody knows the force that is required to activate a light switch on a wall – a finger is enough. But how much force do you need to apply if the device was dramatically reduced to the “nanoscale world”, that is, how much force do you need to operate a “single-molecule switch”? This fundamental question […]

Hey, white man! Just take care of your skin!

Hey, white man! Just take care of your skin!

Health

By Invited Researcher

Authors: Bárbara Hernando studied Biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Valencia, then she moved to London where she did her MSc in Biomedical Sciences at London Metropolitan University. She is currently a Ph.D. student at the Department of Medicine of the Jaume I University of Castellon. Conrado Martinez-Cadenas studied Medicine at the University of Navarre […]

An ideal candidate to investigate nanoscale ferromagnets and exotic interfaces

An ideal candidate to investigate nanoscale ferromagnets and exotic interfaces

ChemistryCondensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By DIPC

In order to study new solid state magnetic properties appropiate new laboratory models are needed. In particular, there is a necessity for a substrate to investigate new forms of magnetic coupling with nanoscale ferromagnets and the exotic physics at the interface with semiconductor or superconductor materials. Now a team of researchers from DIPC and some […]

Is science ready to supply serviceable cardiomyocytes?

Is science ready to supply serviceable cardiomyocytes?

BiomedicineMedicine

By Sergio Laínez

The stem cell research field shocked the scientific community back in 2006 thanks to Shinya Yamanaka, who found a way to obtain pluripotent stem cells from adult somatic cells . The recipe consisted of just four genes encoding for transcription factors allowing him to reprogram mouse fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). The “Yamanaka […]