In March 2020, a multidisciplinary task force (so-called Basque Modelling Task Force, BMTF) was created to assist the Basque health managers and Government during the COVID-19 responses. BMTF works creating a model based on different approaches: stochastic processes, statistical methods and artificial intelligence. The efforts and challenges to develop a flexible modelling framework able to […]
The so-called van der Waals materials consist of two-dimensional layers bound by weak van der Waals forces. After the isolation of graphene, the field of two-dimensional van der Waals materials has experienced an explosive growth and new families of two-dimensional systems and block-layered bulk materials have been created. This growth has been fuelled mainly by […]
Graphene nanoribbons (GNRs), are strips of graphene with ultra-thin width (<50 nm). Graphene ribbons, introduced as a theoretical model by Mitsutaka Fujita and coauthors to examine the edge and nanoscale size effect in graphene, have emerged as a promising material for nano electronics, as they combine many of the extraordinary properties of graphene with a […]
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by neuronal loss in the brain’s substantia nigra region. What if another cell type, namely, astrocytes, could replace them? The work of two research groups recently published Zhou, H. et al. Cell 181, 590–603.e16 (2020). shows that, at least in mice, transforming astrocytes (a non-neuronal cell type in the brain) into […]
Condensed matter • DIPC Advanced materials • Materials • Quantum physics
Topological materials have special universal properties, which are protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. Topological materials behave like an ordinary insulator in the bulk but have conducting states on their boundaries, i.e., edges or […]
A nanoantenna with balanced electric and magnetic dipole moments exhibits a directive radiation pattern with zero backscattering. This is known as the first Kerker condition after Kerker, Wang, and Giles, who predicted in 1983 that, under plane wave illumination, magnetic spheres with equal relative permittivity and permeability radiate no light in the backscattering direction. They […]
One of the unique features of the chemistry of carbon (and, to some extent, silicon) is its ability to form long chains of atoms. Polymers are substances that have macromolecules composed of many repeating units (known as ‘mers’). Many naturally occurring substances are polymers, including rubber and many substances based on glucose, such as the […]
Introducing a gaseous phase into a solid matrix is one of the most common strategies to reduce weight and increase thermal insulation in a wide range of materials, from ceramics to metals and polymers. How to produce these two-phase materials is mostly determined by the nature of the solid matrix and has led to the […]
Chemistry • DIPC Electronic Properties • DIPC Interfaces • Materials
Organic-based materials have gained rising interest as active components in electronics, energy conversion and catalytic systems. However, the discrete nature of the molecular constituents of these systems implies a reduced electron conductance, lowering the device efficiency. In order to increase the electron delocalization through an improved structural order, which favors orbital overlap and consequently the […]
Auranofin is a gold (Au) salt classified by the World Health Organization as an antirheumatic agent. It was approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in 1985, but is no longer a first-line treatment due to its adverse effects on a long-term basis. But the drug is important in another way. The discovery that auranofin […]