Space Chile  ATACAMA 19/07/2013

Snow in an Infant Planetary System

This frosty landmark is thought to play in an essential role in the formation and chemical make-up of planets around a young star
The sight of a snowfall can thrill children, but the first-ever snow line seen around a distant star gives astronomers an even greater thrill because of what it reveals about the formation of planets and our Solar System's history. Astronomers using the new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) telescope have taken the first-ever image of a snow line in an infant solar system. This frosty landmark is thought to play in an essential role in the formation and chemical make-up of planets around a young star. Ilustración de la línea de nieve de TW Hydrae. Créditos:  B. Saxton & A. Angelich/NRAO/AUI/NSF/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO).
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Science Chile  ATACAMA 11/07/2013

ALMA Prenatal Scan Reveals Embryonic Monster Star

A stellar womb with over 500 times the mass of the Sun has been found

New observations using ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, have given astronomers the best view yet of a monster star in the process of forming within a dark cloud. A stellar womb with over 500 times the mass of the Sun has been found — the largest ever seen in the Milky Way — and it is still growing. The embryonic star within the cloud is hungrily feeding on material that is racing inwards. The cloud is expected to give birth to a very brilliant star with up to 100 times the mass of the Sun.

Se ha descubierto un útero estelar con más de 500 veces la masa del Sol, el que vemos como una burbuja amarilla en el centro de la imagen. Crédito:  ALMA (ESO/NRAJ/NRAO)/NASA/Spitzer/JPL-Caltech/GLIMPSE
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Health Spain  MADRID 02/07/2013

The brightest students smoke less

Good students smoke less, according to a study in which Universidad Carlos III of Madrid

Good students smoke less, according to a study in which Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) has participated and which highlights the fact that high school students whose parents do not approve of their smoking also smoke fewer cigarettes.

Cigarrillos. Foto: UC3M.
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Education Spain  MADRID 24/06/2013

Massive Online Open Courses could revolutionize university education

This is one of the conclusions drawn from research done by eMadrid, a project coordinated by the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M)

Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) could revolutionize current university teaching. This is one of the conclusions drawn from research done by eMadrid, a project coordinated by the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M), which gathers the main groups doing research on Technology Enhanced Learning, and which has just held a conference aimed at analyzing the future of this type of teaching.

Jornada eMadrid MOOC 2013. Foto: UC3M.
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Education Spain  MADRID 18/06/2013

Intelligent glasses designed for professors

Scientists at University Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) have developed a system based on augmented reality

Scientists at la Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) have developed a system based on augmented reality that, thanks to intelligent glasses, enables a professor to see notes or comments on the contents of a lesson and to see if the students understand explanations or if, on the contrary, they are having doubts or difficulties.

Un profesor utiliza las gafas inteligentes en clase. Foto: UC·M.
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Social Sciences Chile  ANTOFAGASTA 07/06/2013

‘Dust Trap’ around Distant Star May Solve Planet Formation Mystery

This is the first time that such a "dust trap" has been clearly observed and modelled
Astronomers using the new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have imaged a region around a young star where dust particles can grow by clumping together. This is the first time that such a "dust trap" has been clearly observed and modelled. It solves a long-standing mystery how dust particles in discs grow to larger sizes so that they can eventually form comets, planets, and other rocky bodies. The results are published in the journal Science on 7 June 2013. Impresión artística de la fábrica de cometas vista por ALMA Crédito: ESO/L. Calçada
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Health Spain  VALLADOLID 06/06/2013

A project to fight pulmonary hypertension

A project called Enpathy has launched a crowd funding platform to sponsor research

Pulmonary hypertension is a rare disease that affects lung arteries causing their progressive narrowing. Diagnosis generally occurs late, when treatment options are less, because there are not any diagnostic tools for early detection. On the occasion of the World Pulmonary Hypertension Day on May 5th, the Fundación Contra la Hipertensión Pulmonar (FCHP), a foundation against pulmonary hypertension, has launched a crowd funding platform to sponsor a research project called Enpathy; its main objectives are to facilitate early diagnoses and to find a definitive cure. The project involves scientists from several Spanish hospitals and universities, the Universidad de Valladolid, for instance.

Radiografía de los pulmones (FOTO: Diego Grez).

 

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Technology Spain  MADRID 03/06/2013

Research examines the structure of videogames

The study of this material shows the importance of this industry

Research at the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) analyzes in depth the content of videogames and their interaction with the player. The study of this material shows the importance of this industry, which is experiencing exponential growth.

 Imagen del videojuego Alice Madness Returns, con gran potencial onírico por sus mundos posibles. Foto: UC3M.
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Technology Chile  ATACAMA 03/06/2013

Japanese astronomers revealed the origin of the cosmic background light

Approximately 80% of the unidentified millimeter wave light from the Universe is actually emitted from galaxies
Researchers from Kyoto University, using the Atacama Large Millimeter/ submillimeter Array (ALMA) revealed that approximately 80% of the unidentified millimeter wave light from the Universe is actually emitted from galaxies. Thanks to ALMA’s high resolving power and sensitivity astronomers were able to pinpoint the locations of those galaxies rich in fine solid particles (dust). En cada acercamiento, se aprecia a la izquierda la imagen óptica (azul) y milimétrica/submilimétrica (rojo) y, a la derecha, la imagen óptica junto a la de ALMA (FOTO: ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO) / Universidad de Kioto).
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Science Spain  MADRID 28/05/2013

Incorporating uncertainty when predecting the future of the economy

A research project the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) formulates new ways of anticipating changes in the economy that incorporate uncertainty

A research project the Universidad Carlos III of Madrid (UC3M) formulates new ways of anticipating changes in the economy that incorporate uncertainty. Using these methods it is possible to be more realistic with regard to macroeconomic predictions.

Representación de estadísticas económicas. Imagen: UC3M.
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Nutrition Spain  SORIA 24/05/2013

New application: Google Earth to forest mapping

This application, developed by Agresta and Cesefor, enables to try a particular selvicultural intervention or to know how is going to look a forest in 10 or 20 years

The cooperative Agresta and the Fundación Cesefor have developed an application that enables to turn Google Earth into a 3D forest simulator. The demo version, called Forest Up, is available online on the project website and can be downloaded for free. This first version includes 600,000 trees data (European black pine, sandarac tree, etc.) located on a hill in the Cañón del Río Lobos Natural Park (Soria, Spain); data has been collected with Light Detection and Ranking (LIDAR).

Simulador de bosques 3D Forest Up (FOTO: Agresta).
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Health Spain  BURGOS 22/05/2013

The origin of Alzheimer’s disease may be in Homo sapiens’ evolution

A study published in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggests that our vulnerability to neurodegenerative conditions is a price to be paid for our cognitive abilities

Emiliano Bruner, researcher at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH) –a research center on human evolution in Burgos, Spain-, and Heidi Jacobs, from the Forschungszentrum Jülich –an institute of neuroscience and medicine in Germany-, have published an article in Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease suggesting that vulnerability to neurodegenerative processes in our species, Homo sapiens, would be “the price to be paid for our cognitive abilities”. The hypothesis developed by both scientists incorporates information from paleoneurology (the study of the brain and the intracranial system by analysis of fossils), image analysis, comparative anatomy and neurophysiology.

La evolución del cerebro del Homo sapiens puede ser el origen del alzheimer (FOTO: E. Bruner).
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Technology Spain  SALAMANCA 21/05/2013

Studying magnetic anomalies

A research project to elaborate on magnetic anomalies in the Iberian Peninsula
A team of geologists at the Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) is working on non-studied magnetic anomalies in the Iberian Peninsula. Anomalies may occur when certain ferromagnetic rocks interfere with Earth’s magnetic field. In basic research, these phenomena are useful to understand geological structures. De izquierda a derecha, José Ramón Martínez Catalán, Puy Ayarza, Fernando Álvarez y Juan Gómez.
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Health Argentina  ARGENTINA 17/05/2013

Galectin- 1, a key molecule in cancer

The protein by tumours is produced in large quantities in order to form new blood vessels and eliminate defenses to grow and spread

All evidence supports the accusation. Investigators found in different types of cancer -breast, prostate, melanoma and Kaposi’s sarcoma- that tumor cells over express Galectin-1 (Gal-1) to develop, metastasize and prevent the immune system to eliminate them. “During the last ten years we found that, in broad terms, Gal-1 favours all mechanisms associated to tumor cell growth: it allows them to escape the immune system, create new blood vessels- angiogenesis- and migrate to form metastasis”, explains Gabriel Ravinovich, principal investigator at the Institute of Biology and Experimental Medicine (IBYME, CONICET- FIBYME), and director of the investigations team.

Relación entre Gal-1 y cáncer (Infografía: Conicet).
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Science Spain  SALAMANCA 16/05/2013

A gene helping fungi to attack plants

An article published in 'PLOS ONE' proves that a gene of plants was transferred to fungi ancestors of the Colletotrichum genus and currently makes them harmful to crops

Scientists from CIALE (a center for agricultural research at the Universidad de Salamanca, Spain) have published an article in the prestigious PLOS ONE contributing to fight diseases in plants of agricultural interest. The research team, led by Michael Thon, has identified a gene that passed from plants to ancestors of Colletotichum pathogenic fungi, a very harmful species to many crops. The presence of the gene could make attacks to plants easier.

Células de maíz invadidas por el hongo causante de la antracnosis, Colletotrichum graminicola. Las células de la planta tienen formas rectangulares y el hongo aparece en verde fluorescente. Foto: Michael Thon.
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Health Spain  VALLADOLID 15/05/2013

Factors causing eye dryness in contact lens wearers

Looking for nearsighted volunteers with up to 5.00 diopters, wearing contact lenses or not, to be part of this study

According to estimates, half of the people giving up contact lenses are motivated by discomfort linked to eye dryness. The optical industry has been working to solve this problem and to reduce these high percentages, to do so, it is necessary to delve into all factors associated with eye dryness and its effects on contact lenses. Researchers from the GSO (Eye Surface Team) at the IOBA (an institute of applied ophthalmology) in Valladolid (Spain) are working on this area and are currently developing a study with 60 patients.

Lente de contacto.
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Health Spain  LEÓN 14/05/2013

Nitrate and other elements in Spanish bottled and running water

This study is part of the MCC-Spain project that aims to analyze the influence of environmental factors and their interaction with genetic factors in tumors

A research team at the Ibiomed (an institute of biomedicine at the Universidad de León, Spain) has collaborated in an article recently published in Gaceta Sanitaria, a journal edited by the Sespas (a Spanish body of public healthcare and health management); the article analyzes levels of nitrate and other elements in bottled and municipal water in Spain. The study concludes that the amount of nitrate in municipal water does not exceed legal levels but differs depending on regions; and trace elements such as arsenic, nickel and cadmium are present in such small amounts that are unquantifiable in almost all samples, for both running water and bottled water.

Una niña bebe agua.

 

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Technology Spain  PALENCIA 13/05/2013

New software to draw up fish farm inventories

The system will be used to calculate fish population parameters and to export data in various formats
The Grupo de Ecohidráulica Aplicada (GEA), an applied ecohydraulics team at the Universidad de Valladolid and part of the School of Agricultural Engineering in Palencia (Spain), has developed a software that boosts data processing in fish farm inventories. The program, called DimP 1 (Calculation of population parameters in inland ichthyofauna), can be freely used for management and research on the Group’s website. Trabajo en una piscifactoría.
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Social Sciences Spain  BURGOS 10/05/2013

North African hominid butchers 1.8 million years ago

Evidence of stone tool use for extracting animal flesh was found at the El-Kherba (Aïn Hanech) site in Algeria

Researchers at the Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), a research center on human evolution in Burgos (Spain), have found evidence of stone tool use to remove animal flesh from bones (like current butchers), in the oldest paleontological site in Northern Africa, the El-Kherba (Aïn Hanech) in Algeria, from about 1.8 million years. This work was published in the Journal of Human Evolution and it is part of a larger paleoanthropoligical research project: Aïn Hanech Paleoanthropological Project.

Marcas de corte sobre un fragmento de costilla de un hipopótamo (Foto cedida por Mohamed Sahnouni).
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Technology Spain  VALLADOLID 10/05/2013

Eco-design to reduce environmental impact of electric vehicles

This initiative, coordinated by Cartif, has focused on the main components of electric vehicles and charging points

Eco-design is a practice incorporating environmental factors into the decision making process during the development of a product, as an additional factor to those traditionally taken into account such as cost and quality. In order to include this outlook to electric vehicles, Cartif, a technological center in Valladolid (Spain), has coordinated an European project called Green Car Eco-design, an initiative born at the project Interreg IV-B SUDOE involving seven Spanish, French and Portuguese partners. This project, finished in the first week of April, has been carried out during the last two years with a 1.17 million budget.

El chasis del vehículo no fue objeto de estudio. En el software de simulación virtual del vehículo completo se consideró la carrocería del Toyota Prius (FOTO cedida por Nuria García Rueda).
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