News
A discovery aimed at alleviating famine
2019-07-04
Research team led by CRAG researcher Ana Caño-Delgado obtains plants resistant to water scarcityA modification of the steroid hormone signalling enables to obtain a drought resistant plant without affecting plant growthResearchers work to translate this advance to cereals and horticultural species Drought and its impact Extreme drought episodes and heatwaves are among the effects of […]
Paper farming for thermoelectrics: breakthrough to recycle waste heat into electricity
2019-06-28
The device is composed of bacterial-produced cellulose with small amounts of carbon nanotubesThe production method and recyclability of the components make this a sustainable and environmentally friendly productThe device could be used to generate electricity in wearables, medical and sports applications, and as an intelligent thermal insulator Thermoelectric materials: a new member in the family […]
A research – clinic collaboration to treat language disturbances
2019-06-11
Neure Clinic is born as an initiative of knowledge transfer of the Basque Centre on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), with the idea in mind of providing society with some of the developments of the institution, through an evaluation and diagnostic service. The aim of Neure Clinic is to provide exhaustive neuro-psychological and logopedical evaluations […]
Carriers for catalyst particles: bystanders or active players after all?
2019-05-31
Found weak spot of catalysts used to remove toxic car exhaust gasesInert supports to catalyst converters have a paradoxically non-neutral effectThe finding will help improve and extend lifespan of catalysts used to convert car exhaust gases A new catalytic effect A catalytic effect has been discovered that may contribute to enhance the effectiveness of catalytic […]
Chemical changes… directed by mechanical forces
2019-05-24
Researchers find a new factor influencing the outcome of chemical reactionsMechanical stress is found to be capable of directing the reactions towards different productsThis discovery may have implications in fields as nanotechnology, engineering, as well as chemistry and biochemistry A collaboration from the Ruhr region to Barcelona A study with the participation of the University […]
SOMMa Open Science Day – a day of exchange about science openness
2019-05-16
The SOMMa Open Day took place at DTIC-UPF, co-organised with BCAM BilbaoDozens of professionals meet in a day of sharing about Open ScienceThe SOMMa working group in Open Science grows and starts planning future actions SOMMa and Open Science Opening science is one way to make it more accessible as well as more collaborative. It […]
The legacy of Planck
2019-05-03
For four years, the Planck mission collected measurements of ancestral microwave cosmic radiationIn 2011, 2013 and 2018, three datasets from these measurements were released, with increasing data accuracyThe last and final dataset was to contribute to the most accurate quantification of the age of the Universe till that moment What was the Planck mission? Named […]
ERC advanced awards: SOMMa members reap their harvest
2019-04-10
222 ERC advanced grants awarded on Friday 29th March, summing a total of 540 Million EuroFour of the ten grants to Spanish proposals were awarded to SOMMa membersSOMMa members research areas are quantum technologies, atmospheric dynamics and the very early origins of matter along with elusive mathematical model The ERC awards The European Research Council […]
Basement membranes, cell matrices and the nidogen protein
2019-04-01
A Chinese-Spanish collaboration led by Lola Martin-Bermudo revealed the role of the nidogen protein in DrosophilaThe work details the effect of the loss of function of the domains of nidogen in different tissues and various stages of developmentThe findings challenge previously held ideas in the field of development and morphogenesis Every tissue of the human […]
CARMENES the “planet-hunter”: exploring evaporating atmospheres and water vapour beyond the Solar System
2019-03-21
The spectrograph CARMENES studies the Cosmos measuring the temperature, composition and movement of extrasolar planetsNew approaches to the study of planets from the ground are developed with the CARMENES projectEleven German and Spanish institutions take part in the CARMENES project, including the Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the […]
Payment for environmental services: hurdles for their positive impact
2019-03-14
Researchers suggest that payment for environmental services (PES) may have diminished results due to poor designRendering payment for environmental services a valuable tool to protect the environment, adaptation to cultural and socioeconomic context is keyPressure from population growth and the production of commodities will make economic incentives a vital component of environmental conservation Payment for […]
Orphan Drug for an ultra-rare disease
2019-03-12
New drug Ciclopirox developed in partnership between CIC bioGUNE and the venture capital firm CRB InverbioThe drug treats congenital erythropoietic porphyria, an ultra-rare disease affecting 1 person out of every 1000000Ciclopirox has been approved in the US, as well as in Europe About Congenital Erythropoietic Porphyria: Congenital erythropoietic porphyria (CEP), also known as Gunther disease, […]