Chair of Scientific Culture of the University of the Basque Country

Science

Science

[:es]Landmark study casts doubt on controversial theory linking melting Arctic to severe winter weather[:]

[:es]Every time severe winter weather strikes the United States or Europe, reporters are fond of saying that global warming may be to blame. The paradox goes like this: As Arctic sea ice melts and the polar atmosphere warms, the swirling winds that confine cold Arctic air weaken, letting it spill farther south. But this idea,…
Science

[:es]Neanderthals carb loaded, helping grow their big brains [:]

[:es]Here’s another blow to the popular image of Neanderthals as brutish meat eaters: A new study of bacteria collected from Neanderthal teeth shows that our close cousins ate so many roots, nuts, or other starchy foods that they dramatically altered the type of bacteria in their mouths. The finding suggests our ancestors had adapted to…
Science

[:es]Further evidence supports controversial claim that SARS-CoV-2 genes can integrate with human DNA[:]

[:es]A team of prominent scientists has doubled down on its controversial hypothesis that genetic bits of the pandemic coronavirus can integrate into our chromosomes and stick around long after the infection is over. If they are right—skeptics have argued that their results are likely lab artifacts—the insertions could explain the rare finding that people can…
Science

[:es]Can scientists help insects survive their fatal attraction to light at night?[:]

[:es]Each summer, on bridges across the world, mayfly massacres occur. First, warm weather prompts the transformation of the insects’ aquatic larvae. Within hours, the short-lived, flying adults pop out of streams, rivers, and lakes, eager to mate and lay eggs by the millions.[:]
Science

[:es]Gut microbiota through an evolutionary lens[:]

[:es]Complex tripartite human-microbiota-environment interactions present an unsolved puzzle for human health: When is it better for the gut microbiota to track versus resist environmental change?[:]
Science

[:es]Neutron stars may be bigger than expected, measurement of lead nucleus suggests[:]

[:es]Say what you want about lead, it’s got a surprisingly thick skin—of neutrons, that is. In fact, the layer of neutrons on the outside of a lead nucleus is twice as thick as physicists thought, according to a new study. The seemingly abstruse result could have out-of-this-world implications: Neutron stars, the ultradense spheres left behind…
Science

[:es]Malaria vaccine has striking early success after decades of disappointment[:]

[:es]After decades of disappointing results, recent findings have revived hopes for an effective vaccine against malaria, which kills some 400,000 people every year, most of them children. An experimental vaccine that targets the most dangerous form of the malaria parasite was found to have an efficacy of 74% to 77% after 1 year in children…
Science

[:es]Dolphins learn the ‘names’ of their friends to form teams—a first in animal kingdom[:]

[:es]Like members of a street gang, male dolphins summon their buddies when it comes time to raid and pillage—or, in their case, to capture and defend females in heat. A new study reveals they do this by learning the “names,” or signature whistles, of their closest allies—sometimes more than a dozen animals—and remembering who consistently…
Science

[:es]Just 19% of Earth’s land is still ‘wild,’ analysis suggests[:]

[:es]Since the 1960s, conservationists have had a standard solution for saving biodiversity: Protect natural areas from human influence. But a new analysis of Earth’s land use going back 12,000 years suggests that even in the time of mammoths and giant sloths, just one-quarter of the planet was untouched by humans, compared with 19% today. Because…