Tag: Spain
Another archive is possible
And There is a slogan, popularised by the anti-globalisation movement, already commonly deployed in the lexicon of social movements militancy, which states: ‘another world is possible.’ But is another archive possible? There are archives that are created from material that, in principle, are not the object of archival science, but become so due to special circumstances – such as […]
Investigating the healing arts of Ancient Mesopotamia
Barbara Boeck, of the Institute for Mediterranean and Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, CSIC Madrid, has studied the cuneiform records of Ancient Mesopotamia to explore their healing methods. With a particular focus on medicinal plants and the practice of divination, she set out to discover how Babylonian practitioners treated their patients, what medicinal plants they recommended for which illnesses, and […]
Neuronal cultures to study the brain and neurological disorders
Understanding the brain is essential, for example to treat neurological disorders that affect one in six people worldwide. However, studying the brain is challenging: it is so complex and difficult to access. Cell biologist Dr Daniel Tornero and neurophysicist Dr Jordi Soriano, from the University of Barcelona, developed neuronal cultures that can be used to study mechanisms involved in brain […]
Symbiotically competent cyanobacteria for the bio-sustainable cultivation of rice
Every year, large amounts of nitrogen fertilisers are used around the world to sustain the cultivation of rice. The wetland culture conditions required for rice cause nitrogen to leach and contaminate freshwater, triggering a number of adverse consequences for aquatic habitats. Dr Consolación Álvarez and Dr Vicente Mariscal Romero, from the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), Spain, propose the development […]
Extracellular vesicles: Insights into mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease
Dr Aida Serra of the IMDEA Research Institute Food & Health Sciences in Madrid, Spain, together with Dr Siu Kwan Sze of Nanyang Techological University, Singapore, and Dr Xavier Gallart-Palau at the Institut Investigació Sanitària Pere Virgili, Tarragona, Spain, is driving forward research concerning the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and its progression. To do so, they are focusing their […]
AMP-activated kinase as a therapeutic target in prostate cancer
Pharmacological treatment of prostate cancer has advanced significantly in recent years. However, while the newest therapies are initially effective in reducing tumour size, most patients eventually develop drug resistance and the recurrence of malignant spread. Professor Inés Díaz-Laviada and her team at the Alcala University in Madrid, Spain, have demonstrated that long-term treatments may induce the transformation of cancer cells […]
Placental immune editing switches (PIES) and cancer progression
Exceptional mechanisms have evolved over millions of years to allow the foetus to grow directly inside the mother’s womb. These mechanisms, named placental immune editing switches, are orchestrated by the placenta and are responsible for locally switching off the mother’s immune system to protect the foetus. However, Dr Miguel Hernández-Bronchud from Clínica Corachan in Barcelona, suggests that the existence of […]
Shaking up geophysics: A new model for improved tsunami prediction
Quantitively predicting earthquakes and tsunamis is a long-standing goal for seismological research. The behaviour of earthquake ruptures is not fully understood, and the differences between shallow and deep earthquakes often lead to underpredictions of tsunamis as a secondary hazard. Dr Valentí Sallarès and Dr César R. Ranero of the Institute of Marine Sciences, CSIC, in Spain have developed a new […]
Gender stereotypes and the recruitment process in Spain
The majority of university degrees are earned by women, yet men far outnumber women in senior workplace roles, and according to the World Economic Forum, it will be at least 100 years before women’s career prospects equal those of men. Research by M. José González, Clara Cortina and Jorge Rodríguez from Pompeu Fabra University in Spain throws important light on […]
Revisiting the medicinal plants of the Bible and the Holy Land
Many previously described medicinal plants of the Bible do not match the flora of the Holy Land. Using modern interpretations of ancient Hebrew, Egyptian and Mesopotamian sources, the authors have reduced these potential medicinal plants to 45 species of which 20 were not previously included. Amots Dafni (Institute of Evolution, Department of Evolutionary and Environmental Biology, University of Haifa, Israel) […]