This week the FIFA World Cup has begun in North America. It is expected that five million fans from all over the world will travel to the 16 host cities, in three different countries, to cheer on their team in packed stadiums: it will therefore be a perfect breeding ground for the spread of diseases.

If we have to name a single basic ingredient that defines the Mediterranean diet, differentiating it from others, we will agree that it is olive oil. In the Mediterranean, from the easternmost to the westernmost shore, there is no dish that is not cooked with this ingredient, which has exceptional components (polyphenols, unsaturated fatty acids, and antioxidants) that slow down premature aging and promote a more balanced metabolism. In fact, longitudinal studies conducted over many years on an extensive population (such as the PREDIMED study), showed that the risk of cardiovascular diseases decreased, considerably and consistently, by incorporating virgin olive oil or a handful of nuts daily into the diet. Daily consumption of virgin olive oil reduces the risk of adult-onset diabetes and obesity, a dietary recommendation and a healthy habit that is very easy for us to implement, but which other cultures in the world find very difficult to adhere to, whether due to the price, which they find excessive; because they don't know how to use it; or because they don't like its taste.

Within mammals there are several orders, such as primates, to which humans belong; cetaceans, such as whales or dolphins, or carnivores. Now, a team from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE) has discovered a new species of microorganism in Blanes, in the Selva region. This is a finding that, relatively speaking, could be equated to the discovery of a new order within mammals, as it adds a new branch to the evolutionary tree of this group. In this case, however, we are talking about amoebas, unicellular microorganisms that maintain a dynamically stable shape, can have more than one nucleus, and move by forming "false feet or pseudopods through extensions of the cell membrane.

For decades, the eye has been one of evolution's great enigmas. Charles Darwin said that thinking about the origin of such a sophisticated organ made him shudder. How could a structure capable of detecting light have been built in such a way that the brain could form three-dimensional images with which to interpret the world, from the accumulation of small and gradual changes? A new scientific hypothesis published in the journal Current Biologyproposes a surprising answer. Our eyes could come from a single ancestral eye located in the center of the head in very simple marine animals. Perhaps it is no coincidence that so many ancient mythologies imagined cyclops, beings with a single eye in the center of the forehead. Long before vertebrates with two lateral eyes existed, our ancestors might have actually had a single primitive central eye.The research, led by neurobiologists Dan-Eric Nilsson (Lund University, Sweden) and Tom Baden (University of Sussex, England), suggests that about 560 million years ago, the ancestors of vertebrates had a single central photosensitive system, similar to a “third eye”. Over time, this organ split into two, which gradually specialized to give rise to modern retinas.

That you, reader, are now reading this article or that, while you read it, there are beings as fantastic as whales crossing the Mediterranean or tritons splashing in streams of Montseny surrounded by beeches, firs, holm oaks and oaks is thanks to a history of microbial promiscuity forged over millions of years, including viral infections.

It's not even 9 AM and in the classrooms of many schools in Catalonia, thermometers are already climbing above 27 degrees, despite being in a week of relative climate respite. This is the case at Institut La Sedeta, located in the Gràcia neighborhood of Barcelona, where since mid-May they systematically exceed 30 ºCin most areas of the center every day. During heat peaks, they have even reached 35 and 36 ºC, and the high humidity of the Catalan capital further exacerbates the feeling of suffocation experienced by students and teachers in the building.

Andrea Marín (Barcelona, 2001) is a psychology graduate and one of the technicians researching at the Barcelona Institute of Neurosciences, where she works with cutting-edge equipment to conduct research on brain behavior.

New scientific milestone for Barcelona, which continues to take steps to consolidate itself as one of the European capitals of knowledge, research and innovation. This Thursday, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS) has officially presented its third quantum computer, the EuroQCS-Spain, which with a cost of 9.8 million euros makes the institution one of the few centers in the world that combine supercomputing and quantum technology. "It is the only one with three quantum computers connected to a classic supercomputer," claimed the director of the BSC, Mateo Valero, during the presentation of the new technology, which has been co-financed by the European Commission and the Spanish government.

Almost a decade after closing the shop she had in Sant Andreu, Barcelona, Pilar still frequently meets neighbors in the neighborhood who stop her to remind her, gratefully, that they have half their house set up by her. "It was the family business, of electricity and spare parts, which I gradually transformed into decoration," explains this cheerful 70-year-old woman.

NASA plans to send an uncrewed Blue Origin spacecraft to the Moon between September and November to begin laying the groundwork for a future lunar base, followed by two similar missions scheduled before the end of 2026. The spacecraft chosen for the first mission is the Blue Origin Mark One Endurance lander, designed by Jeff Bezos's space company, the founder of Amazon, as explained at a press conference in Washington by NASA administrator Jared Isaacman.

“I have lived forty years interpreting a script that was not mine.” This is how the writer and communicator summarizes In Catalonia, reality is measured in an abysmal diagnostic gap. According to the reference work in our country, done by a team of researchers from the Global Health Institute (ISGlobal) of Barcelona and the Mútua Terrassa University Hospital, the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder in minors stands at 1.23%. The distortion, however, explodes when crossing data by gender: while almost 2% of boys (1.95%) have a diagnosis, the percentage drops to 0.46% in girls. This ratio of 4.5 boys for every girl is not a faithful reflection of the disorder's biology, but proof of a historical clinical blindness that has left thousands of women on the margins.

The North American company Colossal Biosciences, which aims to bring back extinct species, has announced it has created an artificial incubation platform that allows for the complete development of bird embryos outside a biological shell. According to a company press release — and not a scientific publication —, the technology has already been successfully validated with chicken embryos, which reportedly completed the incubation process up to hatching without using supplementary oxygen. This privately funded biotechnology company claims that this advance could open the door to the de-extinction of extinct birds, such as the giant moa of New Zealand's South Island; a species extinct in the 15th century that could exceed three and a half meters in height and weigh up to 250 kilos.

Juan Manuel García had just retired when he was awarded a grant of ten million euros with an objective as ambitious as it was complicated: to study the origin of life. And, specifically, the role that silica played in making this possible.

Some people think that childhood is just a stage of games and laughter, with no further significance. Or, conversely, there are also those who believe that early childhood should be used to transmit as much knowledge as possible to children, introducing them, for example, to literacy as soon as possible, preferably at three years old rather than four. A team of scientists led by researcher Ángel Barco, an expert in brain epigenetics and director of the Institute of Neurosciences at Miguel Hernández University of Alicante, has published a paper in Nature Communications showing for the first time how early experiences durably shape brain biology, through precise molecular mechanisms. has published a paper in Nature Communications in which it is shown for the first time how early experiences durably shape brain biology, through precise molecular mechanisms.This discovery not only confirms a long-held intuition, but also opens new doors for understanding learning and, potentially, future therapies. As the authors of the study say, "this stage is much more than fun: it is a critical window in which the environment acts as an invisible sculptor of our brain, programming neural circuits that will become crucial for memory and learning."

Octopuses, cuttlefish, and squids are cephalopods. The name, cephalopods, derives from the union of two Greek words, kefale and pus, which would illustratively indicate that it is an animal whose feet emerge from its head. Despite being grouped within the large group of mollusks, with snails and with mussels and scallops, cephalopods are animals we consider intelligent. Have you never seen a horror movie showing a giant mussel hunting people, but it is likely that you have heard of a giant squid watching us from the ocean depths. In fact, evidence was recently found that, in the age of dinosaurs, giant marine cephalopods almost 20 meters long, predators as large as trucks, existed. It has taken time to find these remains, because, having soft bodies, the trace in the fossil record is difficult to find and confirm.

In 1980, a couple of North American biologists began studying the cliff swallow in Nebraska, an area where this bird nests on highway overpasses. And as time went by, they realized that their wings were getting shorter and shorter: over 30 years, they shortened by about two millimeters per decade. According to Charles and Mary Brown, authors of the study, this change would have been selected because short wings offer birds more maneuverability, more ability to turn in small spaces, and this would help Petrochelidon pyrrhonota swallows to better avoid vehicles and prevent collisions.

Observing nature carefully allows us to discover recurring shapes and structures. This is no coincidence: it is based on rules and patterns that often have a mathematical basis. Understanding them helps scientists better comprehend how ecosystems function, how species are distributed, and how territory is organized.

In February 1998, the English doctor Andrew Wakefield published a study in the prestigious journal Lancet in which he claimed that the triple viral vaccine was associated with autism. The uproar was immense. That same year, several experts responded that they had found no sign of this connection. But the damage was already done: worldwide distrust of vaccines grew, and many parents stopped vaccinating their children, which, as expected, led to several outbreaks of rubella, measles, and mumps. It wasn't until an investigation by the Sunday Times revealed in 2004 that Wakefield had simply invented the data for his article that public opinion began to change.

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."