Articles
Twinkle, twinkle: How astronomers investigate alien planets
The NASA Kepler Space Telescope revolutionised our understanding of the universe. By continuously observing over half a million stars during its four-year mission, Kepler discovered thousands of exoplanets. Many hundreds of these are Earth-like in size and composition, and tens of them reside in the habitable ‘Goldilocks’ zone. Kepler and similar space-based telescopes like TESS discover planets purely by inference, […]
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Improving children’s attention with focus training and meditation
The widespread use of increasingly sophisticated electronic devices and the vast amount of information accessible through these devices has been linked to a decline in people’s ability to pay attention to a single task or stimulus for prolonged periods of time. This might be particularly true for children who grew up in the digital era, as a growing number of […]
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Connectase: An enzyme that fuses proteins in a specific manner
Dr Adrian Fuchs, post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, and his team of researchers have discovered an enzyme that can fuse two proteins at specific recognition sites. This reaction enables the engineering of proteins with new characteristics, for example by labeling them with a detectable marker or by manipulating their interaction behaviour. Such applications are useful […]
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Rural gap, socio-economic processes and regional disparities in Spain
Prof Luis Camarero and Prof Jesús Oliva have conducted several research projects on the demographic and socioeconomic transformations of southern European rural areas. Here, we take a closer look at the idea of the ‘rural gap’, seen as a cumulative effect of different socio-economic processes and regional disparities. The researchers examine demographic aspects of a widening rural gap, also linking […]
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Preserving biodiverse river corridors for sustainable city development
As the global population continues to soar and the number of inhabitants in cities climbs ever higher, sustainable development strategies are urgently needed to prevent catastrophic ecological decline in our urban environments. Understanding anthropogenic threats is the first step towards conservation: Jochen Hack, Professor of Ecological Engineering at the University of Darmstadt in Germany and leader of the interdisciplinary research […]
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Maths and honeycombs: Searching for the materials of the future
The nanotechnology revolution is fuelled by the versatility of nanomaterials. Changing a nanomaterial’s composition and structure alters its properties, rendering nanomaterials tailor-made for specific applications. Mathematical modelling guides researchers towards predicting desired behaviour prior to experimentation. Titus Masese of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and Godwill Kanyolo of the University of Electro-Communications (UEC), in Japan, […]
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Exploring the impact of trust and world view on Indigenous patients’ engagement in shared decision making
Research studies have reported significant differences in cancer diagnoses and survival rates between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada. The factors and perceptions underpinning these disparities, however, are still poorly understood. Dr Gary Groot and his colleagues at the University of Saskatchewan, Canada, have carried out extensive studies exploring how trust and worldviews can influence the engagement of patients from […]
UAS-based Environmental Monitoring: Improving data collection through a standardised workflow
Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) play an increasingly important role in collecting data for environmental monitoring. The primary challenges for UAS in environmental studies include creating consistent, standardised guidelines for data collection and establishing practices that apply to a range of environments. Dr Salvatore Manfreda from the University of Naples Federico II, along with the HARMONIOUS team, identified critical steps in […]
Decoding fibre secrets of two jute species
Jute is a type of bast fibre plant, of which there are more than hundred species. Jute is used as an affordable natural fibre source for many human purposes. There are only two commercially cultivated species, which have unique fibre characteristics, but they cannot be cross-bred. To gain insight into specific traits of these two species, Basic and Applied Research […]
1001 Inventions: 1001 Distortions of Islamic history of sciences
Associate Professor (a.D.) Sonja Brentjes, from the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, examines historical narratives on scholarly activities in non-Western societies of the past and their distortions. She published 1001 Distortions. How (not) to Narrate History of Science, Medicine and Technology in Non-Western Cultures in response to the many misrepresentations of history and science in the 2012 […]
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