Much more than an endemic species, the Ibiza wall lizard (Podarcis pityusensis),which has inhabited Ibiza and Formentera and the surrounding islets for millennia, is a living cultural and identity symbol, as well as a key piece of the island ecosystems. And yet, it is being erased from the territory. In fact, the situation it is in is so critical that the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed it on its red list in the category ofendangered.The reason for this extreme situation is that an invasive snake, the horseshoe snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis),which arrived hidden in ornamental olive trees imported from the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in the 2000s, has already spread across 90% of Ibiza's territory, and is devouring most specimens of lizards. Now, moreover, and worryingly, the snake has made the leap to Formentera and many of the nearly 40 surrounding islets, where unique populations of this small lizard live.

Despite affecting half of the world's population and being experienced by all women, little is known about menopause. This is explained by the fact that, historically, it has been underestimated and understudied both from scientific research and also from a clinical perspective. And yet, despite being a natural stage in women's lives that usually occurs around the age of 50, it has an important impact on the health of their tissues and organs, and is associated with an increased risk of developing diseases such as cardiovascular, neurodegenerative, metabolic, and bone diseases.

Space is a continuous symphony of melodies, even though, unfortunately, we cannot hear them from Earth. For a couple of decades, however, space telescopes have allowed us to hear for the first time the unique songs emanating from the hearts of stars, which tell us what has so far been invisible to science and human knowledge: the inner life of these celestial bodies, fundamental building blocks of galaxies and the Universe, and true factories of the materials we are made of. As astrophysicist and science communicator Carl Sagan said, "we are all stardust."

A few days ago, humanity returned to the Moon fifty years later and broke the record for the furthest manned journey in space. NASA's Artemis II mission successfully took four astronauts, three men and one woman, to the far side of our satellite. The next major milestone will be a new human moon landing, which, if all goes as planned, will happen in early 2028. From that moment on, with missions every six months, a permanent lunar base will be built, which should be completed by 2029-2030. The conquest of the Moon will be joined by that of Mars. Various space agencies have announced that they have plans to send manned missions and at some point, also, to establish permanent habitable human communities.

Exposure to pesticides is associated with the appearance of colorectal cancer in people under 50 years of age. Specifically, researchers from the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) have discovered a significant association between a widely used herbicide, picloram, and a substantial increase in the number of cases of this disease in young patients in recent years.

Santiago Ramón y Cajal said that we can all be sculptors of our own brain, referring to its enormous plasticity and how, with our actions, we can shape it. In this sense, surely one of the most powerful chisels is reading. Under the pretext of the quintessential day for book lovers, we propose five publications to grow and shape gray matter: memoirs, written with humor, about the passion for mathematics; a collection of ideas, reflections, and thoughts from who is surely one of the pivotal minds of the 21st century; an ode to the brain and its enormous capacity to rebuild, reconfigure, and remodel itself through breathing and meditation; the experience of nine women working and living together for a few days on a Martian station; and, finally, a journey through the history of medicine and humanity to dismantle, forever, the myths and biases that have surrounded women's mental health. Neither crazy nor hysterical.

In the early morning of January 17, 1994, a strong earthquake shook Los Angeles. Just after, lights appeared in the sky. People, frightened, began calling the city's astronomical observatory to find out what that unusual sight was, asking if it had anything to do with the earthquake. The scientists, at first, didn't understand anything, because there was nothing abnormal in the sky, until they realized that, since the power grid had gone down and there was no electricity in a large part of the city, the Milky Way could be seen clearly. Our own galaxy.

The Arctic is the fastest-warming region on the planet and is doing so at an unprecedented rate: up to four times faster on average than the rest of the Earth's land areas. And this has an enormous global impact because the ice in this ocean played a key role in regulating the Earth's climate, and it is now melting at an unprecedented speed. This is also changing the structure of the oceans, with a brutal impact on local communities and biodiversity.

When the new Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) Ciutadella opens its doors, presumably in 2028, nearly a thousand researchers from five major Catalan research centers will move there. But this ambitious project aims to become something more: its promoters claim it will be "the great hub in southern Europe". An aspiration shared by the President of the Generalitat himself, Salvador Illa, who this Thursday visited the works of the future building, underway a decade after its conception and after years of being stalled due to disagreements over funding and space allocation. "It symbolizes a determined commitment and an explicit demand for science to move the country forward and to place us in the [international] talent circuit from Catalonia," he argued from the grounds of the Old Fish Market of Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), where the new space will be located.In this facility dedicated to precision medicine, five major research centers will be located – all part of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).

The works to erect the future Barcelona Ciutadella Biomedical Research Park (PRBB Ciutadella) have already begun, the new hub dedicated to research in biomedical innovation and precision medicine that will be located in the oldMercat del Peix (Fish Market) of Barcelona. The forecast is that the construction of this scientific facility, which is the cornerstone of the Ciutadella del Coneixement project and the main of the three to be located at this site, will last until March 2028 and will not come into operation until the end of the same year.

About them we say that they are the best friend we can have. Loyal, helpful, empathetic, affectionate, they occupy a very special place in the history of humanity and are the most common pet in our homes. And yet, we still don't know since when, where, or how dogs stopped being wolves to become inseparable companions. Now two new studies published in Nature get a little closer to solving this mystery.

When Gauden Galea (Malta, 1960) was studying medicine at the University of Malta, he was drawn to the idea of implementing measures to improve the health of an entire population instead of focusing on a single patient. And he has dedicated the last thirty years of his career to defending and working for this idea. Today he is one of the most authoritative voices in prevention and public health at the World Health Organization (WHO), from where he has led the fight against chronic non-communicable diseases on a global scale. Furthermore, he has been a key figure in responding to international health crises, such as during the covid pandemic.

It's still not entirely clear why, as we accumulate gray hair, we lose cognitive abilities and our memory begins to fail us. Neuroscience points to decreased blood flow to the brain; to the natural loss of gray matter volume with age; or to the fact that neuronal repair mechanisms, like everything else, are no longer as efficient and begin to fail. To all these potential reasons, scientists now add another: the gut microbiotaIn a study conducted with mice, a team from Stanford University has found that a bacterium that proliferates in the rodents' gut with age plays a key role in the animals' cognitive decline. They have observed that this bacterium, called P. Goldsteinii, It produces molecules that prevent the neurons connecting the gut and brain from communicating. This, in turn, reduces activity in the hippocampus, a seahorse-shaped region of the brain responsible for learning and forming new memories.

After more than two years of conflict, the social chamber of the Court of First Instance of Girona has ruled in favor of the 18 researchers María Zambrano in its dispute with the University of Girona. According to the now final ruling, it was unjustified for the University of Girona to use the money from this now-cancelled state talent recruitment program, which was intended for scientists' salaries, to pay the employer's social security contributions. The court now requires the university to return the amounts withheld improperly.

In the office ofEva Miranda (Reus, 1973), you're welcomed by a sea of ​​rubber duckies of different sizes and outfits; a very curious orange plush toy; and a suspiciously Newtonian plastic apple. In the background, blackboards are covered in mathematical formulas, indecipherable to those outside the field. A professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and a member of the Center for Mathematical Research, she has been distinguished as an ICREA Academia member and has received the most prestigious international awards. Her research focuses on the areas of geometry and topology, the study of shapes, and their interactions with mathematical physics.

One of the first things Diana and Carlos changed at home was their daily cosmetic products, such as deodorants, shampoos, hand soaps, and shower gels, replacing them with healthier options. Little by little, they replaced their kitchen utensils: they threw away plastic water bottles and lunchboxes, buying stainless steel and glass ones; then it was the turn of the frying pans, opting for non-stick versions, and wooden spoons to replace their silicone ones. They also implemented frequent handwashing.

With an insatiable curiosity, Ricard Solé (Barcelona, ​​1962) devoured every secondhand book that arrived at the family library. Those readings further spurred his imagination, and questions piled up in his mind. Perhaps that's why the questions he now tries to answer move between disciplines, between science and the humanities, between physics and neuroscience, chemistry and philosophy, and science fiction.

Exposure to high levels of air pollution increases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, according to a study from Emory University in the United States. After analyzing the medical records of nearly 30 million people over the age of 65 from 2000 to 2018, researchers concluded that exposure to high levels of environmental pollution is directly associated with a greater likelihood of developing this dementia. The link established by this study holds true regardless of whether people suffer from other chronic illnesses—such as hypertension—although they observed that having had a stroke also makes one more vulnerable to the impact of pollution. The results, which They are published in the open access journal PLOS Medicine, They highlight that interventions to improve air quality in municipalities could contribute to the prevention of dementia and protect the overall health of the population.

Try it. Ask a child to draw a scientist. The vast majority will draw a man, most likely with glasses, a white coat, and wild hair, like Einstein. It's the image most often repeated in books, comics, TV series, and movies they watch, even in textbooks. A stereotype that shapes children's imaginations, despite the efforts of recent years to combat it, and that has a detrimental effect on children, especially girls, who still grow up thinking that science isn't for them.

It's a little after 6:30 in the morning. The American paleoanthropologist Ashley Hammond She woke up a while ago, breastfeeding her two-month-old son. She has everything planned to catch the train in Terrassa, where she has lived since autumn, and arrive in the center of Barcelona on time. Today, Hammond is attending a very special celebration: the 25th anniversary of ICREA, Catalonia's 100% public strategy to attract and retain top scientific talent. This researcher is one of the latest to join this league of excellence, a pioneering initiative worldwide that has proven highly successful for the country's research system.