Tumors can have thousands of mutations, but only a few are significant and cause disease. Understanding which ones trigger cancer is crucial for targeting precise and effective treatments. And yet, it remains a major and often insurmountable challenge in biology. This could now begin to change thanks to an AI developed by the Google DeepMind lab, which will allow for a better understanding of the genome and a more efficient and rapid interpretation of differences in DNA sequences.

The persistent rains of the past few weeks have revived magnificent waterfalls that hadn't flowed for years and have also filled reservoirs to capacity, such as Sau and Susqueda, and especially Darnius in the Alt Empordà region, until recently the driest of them all. The abundant rainfall has once again transformed rivers and streams, bringing them back to life with a vitality that still lingers. Let's take a look at some of these waterfalls, most of them ephemeral, which can still be visited for a few more days. These natural phenomena occur when rivers or streams encounter a drop in elevation, an ancient scar in the terrain where the hard rock resists and the adobe gives way. When the flow increases, as it has in recent days, the waterfall reveals itself in all its power and beauty.

Humans are by no means the only animals that practice sex just for pleasure. Nor are those of us who engage in it with individuals of the opposite sex as well as the same. In fact, at least 1,500 animal species have been documented with homosexual behavior. And in some, such as giraffes, males copulate primarily with other males. Others, like albatrosses or penguins, have stable homosexual partners for a significant part of their lives.

Those of my generation, or even a little younger, may remember the dreadful paintings of deer and horses that were given away in the 1970s when you bought one of those three-piece suites Made of plastic, freezing in winter and scorching hot in summer. In most cases, the animals depicted in the bucolic paintings ran through the forest or drank from a lake or stream. The story I'm about to tell you is loosely related to this type of painting. The world's first nature reserve, legally protected by the state with all its resources, was created in France in 1853, during the prosperous era of the Second Empire. It wasn't very large: about 630 hectares of the extensive Fontainebleau forest. Today, such an initiative would be considered left-leaning on the ideological spectrum; however, in 1853 things were quite different. The Fontainebleau reserve originated thanks to pressure from a group of aristocrats who, to fill their leisure time, dedicated themselves to amateur landscape painting. One of the most common subjects was precisely those paintings of deer and horses that experienced a resurgence in the 1970s, associated with the sofas that were fashionable at the time. The initiative of those amateur painters had immediate effects, but not exactly on the progress of art. In Fontainebleau, there were people, generally very poor, who earned their living making charcoal. Beekeeping was also an important activity, both for honey and for beeswax, which at that time still had various uses. There were also, of course, many hunters who suddenly became poachers, that is, criminals. It is likely that before his death in Cannes on April 16, 1859, Alexis de Tocqueville learned of the creation of that reserve. It would be very interesting to know the opinion of the author of The Old Regime and the Revolution about the event, because Fontainebleau is not exactly a neutral place in relation to the history of French absolutism.

Researchers at Imperial College London and Zhejiang University (China) have created a polymer—a large molecule—that allows insulin to be applied to the skin as a cream or patch, penetrate the skin barrier, and reach the bloodstream without a needle. The research, published in the journal NatureIt has been tested in mice and pigs, and its developers propose it as a future alternative to insulin injections for diabetes management.

When we look back in a few years and assess the most significant technological and scientific advancement of the first quarter of the 21st century, it's quite possible that the winner will be the arrival of artificial intelligence in every home. From being a technology useful only in certain areas of science, it has evolved, with the emergence of LLCs (Extended Language Models) and generative artificial intelligence, into a tool that a large part of the population uses daily, sometimes even without realizing it.

Jordi and Albert Santjoan are the authors of the illustrated album 'Catalonia park by park(Cosetània Edicions), where they offer a tour to discover the treasures hidden in 16 natural spaces spread across the country. A graphic proposal, as Jordi Santjoan explains, "designed for families and for those interested in nature and getting to know our territory better." Santjoan defines himself as a lover of maps "where things happen, which is why I wanted to create maps that are alive, where we see landscapes, animals, and people, not just reliefs and names." In addition to highlighting the emblematic elements and places that define each of these spaces and some reference data, they offer an excursion to discover them on the go, with a second map showing the route of these routes "suitable for everyone and where we also indicate how to get there and practical information such as the elevation gain or the duration of the excursion."

"We want visitors to leave as agents of change, eager to make small gestures to build a better and more sustainable future." These are the words with which Mireia Domingo, director of CaixaForum, defines the exhibition's intention. We are Nature which opens its doors this Thursday, September 18, and inaugurates the museum's season. It is an immersive experience that combines art, science, and technology to immerse visitors in the beauty and fragility of the natural world. It aims to raise awareness about the great dangers that threaten the planet and inspire us to act to stop them.

Atmospheric emissions from the 180 largest fossil fuel and cement producers were responsible for at least 213 heat waves recorded worldwide between 2000 and 2023. This is revealed by a study by an international team of scientists, led by researchers from the Escola Politèc. They also warn of the important implications of their findings on issues related to climate policy and corporate responsibilities. The results of the study are published this Wednesday in the journal Nature.

Witches certainly existed in Tiurana, a small municipality in the far east of Noguera, bordering the borders with Alt Urgell. This is confirmed by its own toponymy, which has identified the town for decades.Witches' era, a place very close to the hermitage of Sant Ermengol. In this era, experts say, one can find a wide variety of medicinal plants, the same ones that wise women used in ancient times to prepare their medicines.

A woman's immune system changes during pregnancy and breastfeeding, which has benefits for both the pregnant woman and the baby. When a mother breastfeeds, she reduces the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. It also supports the nutrition and immune system of the newborn. Although science is widely aware of the positive effects of breastfeeding, the reasons behind it are still unknown. Now, researchers in the United States have discovered in a study that there are abundant immune cells in the mammary glands, some of which come from the mother's intestine and promote better health for both her and her child.

The population's contribution to global warming is unequal and depends largely on its income.

The stress, isolation, disruption of habits and uncertainty caused by Covid-19 five years ago may have left their mark on the brain, according to a new study published Tuesday in the journal Nature CommunicationsBritish researchers suggest that the context generated by SARS-CoV-2 "may have accelerated brain aging" in the population, even among those who were never infected. This effect is not irreversible, scientists advance.

Let's imagine the case of a middle-aged person who, one day, while searching through their phone, comes across a selfie they took a year earlier. Horrified, they realize that this image doesn't correspond to the one they see every day in the mirror: they can now count more wrinkles and much more gray hair. How can it be, if a relatively short time has passed, that they seem to have aged so quickly? The explanation should be that their body has experienced a more acute decline than usual. Indeed, that's what an article published in the magazine Nature Aging He claimed that it happens to all of us at least twice in our lives.

The drain of scientists from the United States is accelerating. Donald Trump's return to the US presidency has shaken the research sector, which has already seen the new administration withdraw grants for projects from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and censor lines of research related to gender perspectives and the climate crisis. Discontent has increased as cuts to science have intensified, and as a result, more and more researchers are seeking work abroad. An exodus of scientists is confirmed by an analysis by the journal Nature, which states that between January and March 2025, 32% more researchers working at American institutions have submitted applications for work abroad compared to the same period the previous year.

Childhood exposure to a toxic molecule called colibactin could be a new marker for early colorectal cancer.Escherichia coli, Present primarily in the colon and rectum, these bacteria have the ability to alter cell DNA. According to these researchers, the bacteria may be behind the "colorectal cancer epidemic" in people under fifty.

The first generation of people who have interacted with digital technology for much of their lives has reached an age where they are at risk for dementia. And the question quickly arises: has technological exposure helped or harmed their cognitive abilities? The digital dementia hypothesis predicts that a lifetime of exposure to technological devices worsens these abilities. But a study published in Nature Human Behavior points in another direction: it suggests that the use of computers, mobile phones, or the internet in people over 50 can combat cognitive decline.

The first documented interspecies transplant (xenotransplant) in the world dates back 120 years, but it wasn't until a few decades ago that it was seriously tested to become a therapeutic option for humans. Pigs are the most commonly used animal to test the procedure, among other reasons, so that their organs are similar in size to those of humans. Until now They have been made from heart and kidney, but it is one of the most complex medical procedures in existence and the current survival rate is really low. But the scientific community does not stop: a team of researchers from China has made the first genetically modified pig liver graft, with six altered genes to prevent rejection, in a brain-dead person. The procedure was performed last year, and this Wednesday the journal Nature has published its evaluation. To put it simply, the review confirms that the human body did not reject the organ and that it survived and functioned virtually normally for 10 days after surgery.

Significant advance in the understanding of human genetics. An international team of scientists, including Dr. Àlex Bayés of the Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau) in Barcelona, ​​​​published this Thursday in the magazine Nature the most comprehensive manual to date on the functioning of the human genome. The study identified more than 68,000 functions, corresponding to 82% of all genes.