Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)

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SMC participants

Virologist (senior scientist) at the Animal Health Research Centre (CISA, INIA-CSIC)

Researcher at the Instituto Cajal, CSIC

Professor of Energy Economics at Durham University (UK) and CSIC research professor

Senior Scientist at the Spanish Institute of Oceanography, IEO-CSIC

Head of the Epidemiology and Environmental Health research group at CISA, INIA-CSIC.

Senior scientist at the Institute for Biomedical Research of Barcelona (IIBB-CSIC), principal investigator at CIBERSAM and head of the Systems Neuropharmacology group at IDIBAPS-Fundació Clínic.

Research Professor at the Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC)

 

Director of the Institute of Neurosciences, a joint centre of the Miguel Hernández University of Elche (UMH) and the CSIC

CSIC Research professor

Researcher at the Mixed Institute for Biodiversity Research (IMIB), CSIC-University of Oviedo-Principality of Asturias

Contents related to this centre
Anthropocene

The term Anthropocene describes the profound changes on Earth due to human activities in the past decades. The concept comes from geology but has spread to other areas and has sparked controversy within science. In this article, we provide some keys to understand what the Anthropocene is, and why there has been debate in recent days surrounding its possible declaration.  

gripe_aviar

Although outbreaks of H5N1 avian influenza have reached record numbers in recent years, human infections remain anecdotal. A study published today in Nature identifies a protein responsible for inhibiting the replication of this virus in humans, while 'human' flus are able to evade it. The authors propose that this protein with antiviral activity evolved in primates and consider that resistance or sensitivity to it should be taken into account when assessing the zoonotic potential of avian influenza viruses.

embrion

Berna Sozen's lab at Yale University has announced a new milestone in the competition to create synthetic embryos: their human pluripotent stem cells self-organise into structures that mimic embryonic development on days 9-14 after fertilisation and include extra-embryonic tissues. Their achievement is published in Nature at the same time as another similar study, that of Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, who a fortnight ago previewed her stem cell-derived human embryo model to The Guardian, sparking a controversy with Jacob Hanna, author of a preprint showing that she had achieved true synthetic embryos. 

embryos

The latest episode of competition between research groups working on the same topic, a very common situation in science, should not distract us from the actual achievement: synthetic human embryos, in the laboratory, made from stem cells, up to a post-implantation stage. Now, we must decide what status or condition we will grant to these synthetic embryos. Once again, science is leaping forward and testing the limits of the laws, posing new ethical challenges for us to solve. 

IBM

A team of researchers, led by IBM's Thomas J. Watson Center, has shown that a quantum computer can already help in the calculation of practical scientific problems that are inaccessible to today's classical computers. The "noise" and errors that accumulate still limit the applications of such computers, but the new study shows that, after adding a protocol that reduces these problems, a 127-cubit quantum computer is capable of simulating extremely complex physical states with high reliability. The results are published in the journal Nature.

ancianas

Taurine is one of the most abundant amino acids in animals. As reported in research published in Science, its loss may contribute to the ageing process. According to the study, reversing age-associated taurine deficiency through supplementation improved life expectancy in worms and rodents, while improving some health parameters in non-human primates, which the authors believe would warrant further human trials to examine its effect on life expectancy and the potential risks involved.

eukaryotes

An international team has discovered a new type of molecular fossil in sedimentary rocks from the mid-Proterozoic - which spans from 2.5 billion to 542 million years ago. Protosteroids, a type of lipids found in abundance in those rocks, indicate that eukaryotes were a dominant life form in aquatic environments between 1.6 billion and 800 million years ago, the authors explain in Nature. The finding would confirm the theory of Nobel laureate Konrad Bloch, who predicted the existence of these primordial molecules. 

Vegetales

A meta-analysis including 30 clinical trials published between 1980 and 2022 concludes that vegetarian and vegan diets are associated with lower blood lipid concentrations, including cholesterol. The research is published in the European Heart Journal.

Laboratory mouse

Researchers have shown that hypoxia, or oxygen restriction - equivalent to living at 5,000 metres above sea level - increases life expectancy by up to 50% and decreases neurological decline in laboratory mice. It has already been shown in yeast, worms and flies, but this is the first time it has been demonstrated in mammals. The results are published in the journal PLOS Biology. 

Doñana

Species of birds common in the marshes of Doñana as the common tern, the brown pochard, the marbled teal, the marsh harrier or the black-bellied sandpiper have recorded a decline in their population for more than a decade, a trend that accelerated since 2019. This is one of the conclusions of the Report on the conservation status of waterfowl in Doñana, published today by SEO/BirdLife.