Science in the media

Las rocas ‘navegantes’ del Valle de la Muerte en California son famosas por moverse aparentemente solas, pero el fenómeno no es exclusivo de ese desierto norteamericano. También ocurre en España, en la laguna manchega del Altillo Chica. Investigadores de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid han observado que el viento de las tormentas invernales genera unas…

The hunt for the fountain of youth is back to square one — at least for those seeking it in blood. New findings cast doubt on research that attempted to explain why the muscles of an old animal can be rejuvenated with a dose of blood from a young animal.

In fact, the animals lack the types of bacteria known for breaking down cellulose, the component of plant cell walls that make leaves and plant material difficult for other omnivores, like humans, to break down. Pandas can digest only about 17 percent of what they consume, the scientists calculated.

The bad news first: over the next century of climate change, all coral reefs will have to contend with two inextricable, inexorable pressures. One is global warming, where hotter ocean temperatures will lead to the wide-scale “bleaching” of reefs. The second is ocean acidification. About a third of the carbon dioxide we add to the…

Computer scientists have long known that evolution is an algorithmic process that has little to do with the nature of the beasts it creates. Instead, evolution is set of simple steps that, when repeated many times, can solve problems of immense complexity; the problem of creating the human brain, for example, or of building an…

Investigadores holandeses han desarrollado un nuevo tipo de este material de construcción que, al estar ‘vivo’, repara sus grietas sin ayuda. Todo gracias a los microorganismos de su interior.

A new technique for studying distant worlds looks set to help scientists narrow the search.

Studies in recent years by many researchers have shown that animals such as birds, mammals and even fish recognize the alarm signals of other species. Some can even eavesdrop on one another across classes.

Music is one of several triggers that have been known to occasionally rouse patients from unconsciousness. The exact mechanisms are still a mystery, but using new technologies, researchers can observe better than ever before the ways in which music can stimulate key parts of the unconscious brain.