news 2021

Scientists at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed the first photo-electrochemical aptasensor that detects the SARS-CoV-2 virus in a saliva sample. This sensor, which uses aptamers (a type of artificial antibody), is more sensitive that antigen-based sensors and detects the virus more quickly and cheaply than PCR tests.

Research undertaken by the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) has concluded that sound can be directed to a certain place if the sound waves' symmetry is broken. In order to carry out this work, recently published in the Nature journal, researchers used the whispering gallery phenomenon, a circular, vaulted room in which you can hear what is being said in a specific part of the room from anywhere, even if it is being whispered.

The Universidad Carlos III de Madrid's (UC3M) Displays and Photonic Applications Research Group has developed a measuring instrument that can be used to study the increase in temperature during volcanic eruptions. This research allows the first measurements of temperature to be taken in situ using a machine in the laboratory that simulates these volcanic processes.

Crystallization studies conducted in space laboratories, which are costly and unaffordable for most research laboratories, showed the valuable effects of microgravity during the crystal growth process and the morphogenesis of materials. Now, a research study led by a scientific team of the University of Barcelona, has created an easy and efficient method to achieve experimentation conditions of microgravity on Earth that simulate those in space.

Today is the official beginning of a 5-year research to map the universe and reveal the mysteries of the dark energy using the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument ( DESI ). Based in the Kitt Peak National Observatory (Arizona, United States), this instrument will take and study the light of tens of millions of galaxies and other distant objects of the Universe.

A study published in the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications , by Konstantinos Dovelos and Boris Bellalta, members of the Wireless Networking research group, with the participation of researchers from Queen's University Belfast (UK). Current wireless networks such as Wi-Fi, LTE-Advanced, etc., work in the lower radio spectrum, below 6 GHz.

Energy storage systems are key technologies for achieving the transition to renewable energies, which can become more viable if the energy efficiency of the former improves. At present, more than 70% of concentrated solar power systems have integrated thermal energy storage (TES). Such power plants reached an installed capacity of 4.

In-depth research into the physics of a new type of plasma rockets for space missions and revolutionising their design. This is the aim of ZARATHUSTRA, a European ERC Starting Grant research project at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) that aims to develop a new aerospace technology and whose results could also be applied in other fields, such as nuclear fusion by magnetic confinement.

Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) have developed a new nanometric structure that can cover the surface of some silicon solar panels and improve their performance by up to 40%. This design could be applied to future solar installations to achieve a better energy efficiency. This new design is based on a "metasurface', in other words a surface made up of small structures that are repeated in a pattern.