This week, Spain’s Ministry of Health launched a process to develop a Royal Decree on the medical use of cannabis, assuring that it will be "a rigorous measure based on the best scientific evidence available.” The goverment is conducting a public consultation until 4 March to gather the opinions of citizens, civil society organisations, professional associations and scientific societies. In this explainer, we attempt to answer the main questions that arise regarding the medical use of cannabis. 

According to a survey conducted in Spain, with 403 respondents from the biomedical research field, four out of ten admit to having committed some type of misconduct in their work. The press regularly reports on scandals in science. Among the most recent cases, El País reported that the CSIC has opened a disciplinary proceeding against five individuals suspected of receiving money in exchange of false affiliations. These cases of misconduct may seem isolated, but they reflect broader dysfunction of the research system. In this guide, we provide keys to better understand how these cases arise and evolve, and to cover their nuances. 

With just days to go before COP28 kicks off in Dubai -a major city in the oil-rich United Arab Emirates- climate experts are torn between mistrust and hope that world leaders will reach ambitious agreements to combat the climate crisis.

Biosimilars work in a similar way to biologics - which are made from living cells and are very complex and expensive - such as insulin, growth hormone, vaccines and monoclonal cancer antibodies. We explain what savings biosimilars bring to the healthcare system and what the process is to ensure that their quality, efficacy and safety are equivalent to those of the reference medicine.

When considering which type of timetable is best, one question is: best for what and for whom? Not only does the scientific evidence on student learning and well-being come into play, but also the employment interests of teachers, the reconciliation needs of families, and the effects of each type of timetable on socio-economic inequality and the gender gap in care are also involved. We bring together more elements of the discussion in this second article.

Every school year in Spain, the debate returns about what kind of timetable schools should adopt: is it better to concentrate all teaching hours or to have a lunch break and extend the time spent at school? In this first issue, we bring together research on the effect of each type of timetable on students' performance, rest and socio-affective well-being, as well as the available data on public and charter education.

Rising temperatures, droughts, heat waves and abundant untreated material in forests are the perfect cocktail for fires to break out. When they are beyond the control of firefighting services - because of their intensity, speed and unpredictability - we speak of mega-fires or sixth generation wildfires, a phenomenon that is not new but whose frequency could increase due to rural abandonment and climate change. Some experts have thus described the fire in Tenerife that began on August 15 and has forced the evacuation or confinement of thousands of people.

Any infection can lead to sequelae and SARS-CoV-2 is no exception. However, the lack of rigorous studies has meant that, in 2023, uncertainty about the number of people affected remains high and treatments are scarce.

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.  

Summer conjures up images of swimming pools, beaches, holidays and also, buzzing and bites. Mosquitoes have been with us all our lives, but globalisation has led to the arrival in Spain of invasive species capable of causing diseases such as dengue and yellow fever. How can we distinguish dangerous species and avoid their bites?