News#1Oct

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The Higgs boson, a success for humanity

Jose Ignacio Latorre, Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Barcelona and researcher at CERN, began his lecture recalling the scientific discovery made ​​last summer, and is already confirmed: the discovery of the Higgs boson. After almost 50 years looking for it, "the discovery of the Higgs boson was a success for humanity" Latorre added. "One year after the discovery, we have stored 10,000 Higgs that will be deeply analyzed," he concluded.

Ciechanover, review to the magical century for life expectancy

Aaron Ciechanover, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 2004, spoke on the medical advances that humanity has developed in the last 100 years that have enabled the twentieth century to be "magic in terms of life expectancy. In 100 years we have increased the life expectancy 30 years." He considered impossible to know if we will cure all diseases, and what price would get it. In fact, the increase in life expectancy of twentieth century has led to "diseases such as cancer or Alzheimer's, which previously we didn´t suffer because we didn´t live enough to develop them," he said.

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Obama´s scientific brain
 

Rafael Yuste and his team at Columbia University are passionate about understanding how the human brain works and have the challenge to understand the cerebral cortex. Why is it important to study the cerebral cortex? It is where all the activities are centered (thoughts, imaginations ...). "It is also the source of all mental illnesses, and the tragedy is that we can´t cure them, because we don´t know how the cerebral cortex works" says Yuste. Therefore, Yuste and his team are focused on the project The Brain Activity Map of the Obama administration.

Like today in Donostia, Rafael Yuste will give this lecture tomorrow, Wednesday, in Bilbao, in Bizkaia Aretoa.

Rapid and rigorous popularization

Through short talks of 10 minutes, dynamic and fun, speakers of Naukas platform have addressed various issues related to the quantum theory. Some of them, such as Paul Rodriguez, addressed scientific issues. He talked about the geometry of the molecules, and considered as evidence of evolution that in all living organisms some molecules appear incertain forms, and not others. Other speakers, meanwhile, have denounced the pseudoscience that have sprung up around the quantum theory. Mauricio-José Schwarz, for example, considered especially dangerous quantum healing. Tomorrow and there will also be a chance to hear this kind of talk in the Victoria Eugenia Theatre by Naukas platform.

Did you know that ...

RafaelYuste, developer of an ambitious research initiative that seeks to develop a map of the human brain, has been awarded in the U.S. with a prize of 2.5 million dollars (1.9 million euros) to explore new techniques that allow them to draw the map of brain activity? The NIH has awarded this prize Yuste to conduct research on the cerebral cortex. If confirmed their hypothesis, science would be closer to understanding brain function. Congratulations Rafael!

The Nobel Pitch brings together Nobel laureates with young researchers

16 young researchers met today in CIC nanoGUNE, at the special workshop Nobel Pitch. In it, they presented their research at four Nobel laureates gathered in Donostia: Aaron Ciechanover, Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Dudley Herschbach and Jean Marie Lehn. For the presentation they had five minutes, since this activity is based on the initiative elevator pitch, a technique of rapid communication. Two participants in it regard this initiative "great and necessary, since there are not many opportunities to meet researchers from different fields, and share experiences and knowledge. Furthermore, the fact that the Nobel prizes are here is a plus, no doubt. "