SMC Spain

An attribution study by Climate Central concludes that from November 2022 to October 2023, global temperatures will set a new record, exceeding pre-industrial levels by more than 1.3°C above pre-industrial levels. This would be the warmest 12-month period on record to date. The analysis shows that during this period, 5.7 billion people were exposed to at least 30 days of above-average temperatures, including most of the Spanish population.

A team of researchers has managed to combine more than seven synthetic chromosomes made in the laboratory in a single yeast cell. This involves developing for the first time a eukaryotic cell with more than 50% synthetic DNA, which survives and replicates in a similar way to wild yeast strains. The results, which are part of the Synthetic Yeast Genome Project (Sc2.0), are published in the journal Cell.

A study has analysed the association between ambient temperature and hospital mortality from respiratory diseases in the provinces of Madrid and Barcelona between 2006 and 2019. Their results indicate that high summer temperatures were responsible for 16% and 22.1% of all fatal hospitalisations for respiratory diseases in Madrid and Barcelona, respectively. According to the team, led by ISGlobal, "unless effective adaptation measures are taken in hospitals, global warming could exacerbate mortality in patients admitted for respiratory diseases during the summer period". The research is published in the journal The Lancet Regional Health - Europe.

A neuroprosthesis that electrically stimulates an area of the spinal cord of a man with Parkinson's disease improved his mobility and balance, according to results presented in Nature Medicine. The 62-year-old patient had severe difficulties walking and frequent falls, despite trying other treatments. After trials in non-human primates, this is the first time this technology has been tested in a human being, who has now been using the neuroprosthesis about eight hours a day for two years. 

A research group has developed an innovative system that combines virtual reality and a brain-machine interface to probe the inner thoughts of rats. The results of their research, published in Science, suggest that, much like humans, animals can think about places and objects that are not right in front of them, using their thoughts to imagine walking to a location or moving a remote object to a specific point.

Researchers at Northwestern University in the United States have studied the effect of a temporary decrease in sleep on the mood of mice. According to their results, the animals became more hyperactive and hypersexual for a few hours. In addition, the occasional lack of sleep had an antidepressant effect that lasted for a few days and is explained by an increase in the release of dopamine. The results are published in the journal Neuron.

The risk of developing resistant bacteria is higher in some people, such as those who have to take long-term antibiotics after organ transplantation. To try to reduce them, a phase 1 clinical trial has performed a fecal transplant on 10 people who had previously received a kidney transplant and had resistant bacteria. The fecal transplants accelerated decolonization, shortened the time it took to test negative for multidrug-resistant organisms, and, according to the authors, may also "reduce the recurrence of infections." The results are published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.

Plastic debris in rivers harbours specific types of bacteria that are potentially pathogenic and may act as reservoirs of antibiotic-resistance genes, according to a study published in Microbiome, which analysed samples collected from the River Sowe in the UK. This mixture of bacteria is different from that found in surrounding water, but similar to that found on wooden surfaces. The team, which includes a Spanish author, highlights the presence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter and Aeromonas bacteria.

The amount of carbon available to emit without surpassing the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement, commonly referred to as the carbon budget, could be depleted within the next six years, as suggested by a study published in Nature Climate Change. The findings are based on a reevaluation of existing estimates and indicate that carbon budgets might be lower than previously believed.

A study published in JAMA Pediatrics has analysed bone density in 75 transgender youth who underwent hormone blockade in adolescence, followed by hormone treatment.