News

Relevant stories about SOMMa's centres and units, their breakthrough research, their findings, their projects and initiatives
IGFAE’s Astroparticle Physics group contributes to two of the “Physics World Top Ten Breakthroughs of 2017” IGFAE’s Astroparticle Physics group contributes to two of the “Physics World Top Ten Breakthroughs of 2017” 2018-02-16

Galician Institute of High Energy Physics (IGFAE) The Physics World top 2017 Breakthrough of the Year awarded by the prestigious magazine Physics World has gone to the international team of astronomers and astrophysics that made the first ever multi-messenger observation involving gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation from the merger of two neutron stars in a […]

 ICMol takes part in a research on invisible magnetic molecules published in ‘Nature’, a step towards quantum computers ICMol takes part in a research on invisible magnetic molecules published in ‘Nature’, a step towards quantum computers 2018-02-16

Institute of Molecular Science at University of Valencia (ICMOL-UV) An international team of physicists and chemists, including scientists from the Institute of Molecular Science of the University of Valencia (ICMol), has developed a new strategy to improve the performance of quantum bits (qubits) for quantum computation: they are making these nanomagnets invisible to magnetic field […]

 The study of a galactic microquasar provides the explanation for the structure of faraway radio galaxies The study of a galactic microquasar provides the explanation for the structure of faraway radio galaxies 2018-02-16

The results of a study published in Nature Communications allow researchers to progress in the study of the distribution of gravitational waves from distant sources Barcelona, November 27, 2017. Researchers from the Institute of Cosmos Sciences of the University of Barcelona (ICCUB) and the University of Jaén have described, for the first time, the structure […]

 IMDEA Nanociencia leads the research towards a bypass for neural reconnection at the spinal cord level IMDEA Nanociencia leads the research towards a bypass for neural reconnection at the spinal cord level 2018-02-16

IMDEA Nanociencia is coordinating the ByAxon project funded by the European Union through the programme for Future and Emerging Technologies (FET-OPEN, € 3.7 M, 48 months). The consortium consists of four research centres, a hospital and a medium-size company bringing together the expertise from four different European countries (Spain, Italy, France and Germany), and will […]

 High-school students debate about the ethical and social implications of robotics with the support of researchers from IRI, CSIC-UPC High-school students debate about the ethical and social implications of robotics with the support of researchers from IRI, CSIC-UPC 2018-02-16

IRI, the Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial, a Joint University Research Institute of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), was involved in the last edition of the program “Young People, Science and Ethics” co-organised by the FCRi and “la Caixa” Foundation, in collaboration with the Government of […]

 Superconductors to improve energy efficiency Superconductors to improve energy efficiency 2018-02-16

The Superconducting Materials and Large Scale Nanostructures (SUMAN) group has participated in the EU-funded project EUROTAPES, whose main goal is to develop superconducting tapes to improve energy efficiency in Europe. The project, which counts with the participation of excellent researchers in the field, and the involvement of leading global companies and universities, has produced 600 […]

 A nanophenomenon that triggers the bone-repair process A nanophenomenon that triggers the bone-repair process 2018-02-15

Researchers of the ICN2 Oxide Nanophysics Group led by ICREA Prof. Gustau Catalan have resolved one of the great unknowns in bone remodelling: how the cells responsible for forming new bone tissue are called into action. Their work reveals the possible role of an electromechanical phenomenon at the nanoscale, flexoelectricity, not only in stimulating the […]

 Interstellar molecules inspire new transformations Interstellar molecules inspire new transformations 2018-02-15

Back in the 1930s, astronomers detected one of the first molecules in interstellar space – carbynes. The simplest carbyne, formed by carbon and hydrogen only, is nowadays considered one of the most basic ingredients for life. Despite the impact these molecules could have in synthesis, they had eluded chemists for years. But now, researchers at […]

 The Freesound platform, an established world leader for audio exchange The Freesound platform, an established world leader for audio exchange 2018-02-15

Freesound is a collaborative online platform, created in 2005 by the Music Technology research group (MTG) of the Department of Information and Communication Technologies (DTIC) at UPF, which allows musicians, artists and researchers to exchange sounds free of charge under a Creative Commons (CC) license. In all this time, the platform has become established in […]

 Trials to select a robot that will inspect the urban drainage network and the sewer system Trials to select a robot that will inspect the urban drainage network and the sewer system 2018-02-15

·Trials take place to select a robot to inspect the urban sewers remotely. ·During the week of 10 July 2017, expert advisors in robotics, should decide on the two consortiums that would go on into the project’s next phases, which will have a duration of one year each. The previous week, on 6 and 7 […]

 Map of Dark Matter Made from Gravitational Lensing Map of Dark Matter Made from Gravitational Lensing 2018-02-14

High Energy Physics Institute at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (IFAE – UAB) IFAE led two of the 12 DES papers containing the cosmological results obtained from the analysis of the first-year data of the survey. Four Spanish research centres, including two awarded a Severo Ochoa distinction and one awarded a Maria de Maeztu, belong […]

 Scientists of IBM Zurich and IFT Madrid observe quantum anomalies in solid objects Scientists of IBM Zurich and IFT Madrid observe quantum anomalies in solid objects 2018-02-13

Institute for Theoretical Physics (IFT) An international team of physicists, in a joint collaboration including experts from the fields of materials physics and string theory, have observed a phenomenon, which until recently had been thought to have occurred only at distances of many hundreds of thousands of light-years away from Earth, or having been confined only to the […]