Chair of Scientific Culture of the University of the Basque Country

Science

Science

[:es]Can nuclear fallout make it rain?[:]

[:es]Radioactive fallout is rarely a good thing. But new research suggests charged particles emitted from Cold War–era nuclear tests may have boosted rainfall thousands of kilometers away from the testing sites, by triggering electrical charges in the air that caused water droplets to coalesce.[:]
Science

[:es]New solar panels suck water from air to cool themselves down[:]

[:es]Like humans, solar panels don’t work well when overheated. Now, researchers have found a way to make them “sweat”—allowing them to cool themselves and increase their power output.[:]
Science

[:es]Ancient DNA reveals staying power of early people of the Andes[:]

[:es]Some of the world’s more famous and closely examined archaeological sites pepper the hillsides of the Central Andes, documenting an invention of farming and the rise and fall of powerful civilizations such as the Inca. Now, the largest study of ancient human genomes in South America has added a personal touch to the artifacts. The…
Science

[:es]Ants store long- and short-term memories on different sides of their brains[:]

[:es]The left and right sides of our brains store different kinds of memories: The left side specializes in verbal information, for example, while the right side specializes in visual information. But it turns out we’re not the only ones. A new study suggests that ants—like humans, songbirds, and zebrafish—also store different memories in different sides…
Science

[:es]Three men were buried in Mexico 500 years ago. DNA and bones reveal their stories of enslavement[:]

[:es]In the late 1980s, workers excavating a new subway line in downtown Mexico City stumbled upon a long-lost cemetery. Documents showed it had once been connected to a colonial hospital built between 1529 and 1531—only about 10 years after the Spanish conquest of Mexico—for Indigenous patients. As archaeologists excavated the buried skeletons, three stood out.…
Science

[:es]Deadly virus turns honey bees into Trojan horses[:]

[:es]Social distancing is nothing new to honey bees. When a colony is infected with the deadly Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV), bees are less likely to touch or feed their sick nest mates, according to a new study. But the virus appears to have an alarming counterattack: When sick bees try to enter a new…
Science

[:es]The Neanderthal DNA you carry may have surprisingly little impact on your looks, moods[:]

[:es]If you think you got your freckles, red hair, or even narcolepsy from a Neanderthal in your family tree, think again. People around the world do carry traces of Neanderthals in their genomes. But a study of tens of thousands of Icelanders finds their Neanderthal legacy had little or no impact on most of their…
Science

[:es]How does coronavirus kill? [:]

[:es]Clinicians trace a ferocious rampage through the body, from brain to toes[:]
Science

[:es]Shrewd water use helped South America’s first empire thrive. So why did a drought destroy it?[:]

[:es]When Wari colonists arrived in the Moquegua Valley of southern Peru some 1400 years ago, people already living there were likely nervous. The Wari state, with its capital city of Huari high in the Andes near what is now Ayacucho, Peru, had been expanding its reach. The Wari takeover was violent in places; the invaders…