News & Events

Another step forward towards superconductivity at room temperature: an experiment at the cutting edge of condensed matter physics and materials science has revealed that the dream of more efficient energy usage can turn into reality. An international collaboration, led by the scientists of Italy’s International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste, Università Cattolica di Brescia and Politecnico di Milano used suitably tailored laser pulses to snap the electronic interactions in a compound containing copper, oxygen and bismuth.

Astronomy, technology, seismology, climate, genetics and nanotechnology in local pubs: Pint of Science is coming to Trieste from May 15th to May 17th. An event for science lovers, for those who want to find out what’s going on within the many research centers in town, for curious people as well as for those who simply want to drink a good pint while talking about science. Founded five years ago in the UK, Pint of Science will take place this year in 11 countries worldwide.

In Trieste four pubs will host some brilliant scientists to discuss their latest research and findings.

Vaccine communication is a complicated affair. On the one hand, the risk of oversimplification or making mistakes is always present; on the other, communicators, politicians, doctors and scientists have to face increasing skepticism on this issue. On Wednesday 10 May, a seminar organized by the Master course in Science Communication “Franco Prattico” will offer an interesting opportunity to discuss this critical topic. In the first part, Professor Andrea Grignolio, from the University of Rome "La Sapienza", will present the theme focusing on a historical perspective.

A sports person who has accidentally caused serious injury to a rival. A distracted driver who has caused an accident. Or a colleague who has involuntarily made a very serious error. Even outside the court room we have all been in situations in which we have had to express judgements on specific events on the basis of the seriousness of the incident but also on the intentions of those who caused them.

Collective changes in biological groups require all individuals in the group to go through a behavioral change of state. Sometimes these changes are triggered by external perturbations, as in evasive maneuvers of animal groups under predatory attacks. Often, however, they occur spontaneously and are only due to internal behavioral fluctuations. In all cases, the efficiency of information transport is a key factor to prevent cohesion loss and preserve collective robustness.

According to Istat, almost 7 million women in Italy are mistreated by their partners in the course of their life. Every year, more than 100 women are killed by someone they once trusted. More and more often journalist are asked to tell these tragic stories. In this sensitive context, the word choice is of great importance as it may help to bring about cultural change that would ensure that the most vulnerable members of society, like women, old people and children, are protected and respected.

Anyone who has been on a sailing boat knows that tying a knot is the best way to secure a rope to a hook and prevent its slippage. The same applies to sewing threads where knots are introduced to prevent them slipping through two pieces of fabric. How, then, can long DNA filaments, which have convoluted and highly knotted structure, manage to pass through the tiny pores of various biological systems?

On Wednesday 22 March 2017 the historian of physics Anna Maria Lombardi will give a seminar dedicated to the German astronomer Johannes Kepler. Kepler’s laws are encompassed by the laws of classical mechanics established by Newton in 1687. But they were discovered almost 80 years before, in a dramatically different context, in which the German astronomer could rely neither on appropriate maths or physics, nor on what we call nowadays “scientific method”. How could he succeed in finding his astronomical laws?

A computer-based environment developed with the aim to shed light on the origins of altruism: this is the innovative approach used by a research group at SISSA in collaboration with the University of Udine. This new study - recently published in the journal Neuropsychologia – immersed participants in a virtual environment that reproduced a building on fire which they had to evacuate in a hurry, deciding whether to save their lives or interrupt their escape and help rescue an injured person.