News

The key pathway by which viruses "attack" consists in releasing viral DNA into the infected cell, taking over the host cell's transcription mechanisms and using them to reproduce itself.

In order to fight or exploit to our benefit the action of viruses, scientists are trying to understand this process in detail. A group of researchers – one of whom from SISSA – has studied the timescale of DNA "ejection" (how long it takes and what is the precise sequence of events), and found that it depends on the degree and manner of entanglement of the double strand of DNA inside the virus.

Helping people waste less food: this is the aim of the project of three former students of the SISSA Master's in Complex Actions, among the ten finalists for the YES 2013 award offered by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition.

The project, started while attending the Master's course in 2012, proposes a new way of recording and reducing the amount of food that families waste, and is especially aimed at young people (with the collaboration of schools).

Paolo Budinich, founder of SISSA and creator of the "Trieste System", which made the city a centre of excellence in the international science scene as well as an important beacon for science education in developing countries, died on November 14, 2013. SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies pays tribute to this great man, who will also be celebrated on the occasion of the Welcome Day, the annual public event to welcome new students, which will be held on November 20.

November 20th 2013 

From 9.30 AM onwards

SISSA, Main Lecture Hall

Once again this year, Sissa hosted the traditional Welcome Day to welcome new students and publicly present its activities. The event provided an opportunity to make an assessment of the past year's work, to award a number of students and staff members for their achievements and to introduce the latest projects, like this year's Sissa Carpooling. 

As of November 1, enrolments are open for the fourth edition of the Master's in Complex Actions (MCA) promoted by the Interdisciplinary Laboratory of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste, a course that combines the frontiers of science with business practices, to provide an innovative response to global challenges.

Course announcement and online enrolment form on the MCA website

A point may sound like a trivial matter and yet it is a key concept in science and one that has engaged not only mathematicians – who have tried to define it since the early days of this science – but also philosophers, physicists, and theologians. Researchers from different disciplines met at SISSA to discuss this "elusive" topic.

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Riboswitches are RNA segments that switch genes on and off, either during DNA transcription or during protein translation, but little is known about the precise workings of this process. A study at SISSA uncovers some of the basic steps in this complex mechanism and paves the way for future research.

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Microrobots of the future, whether surgeons, cleaners or transporters, will have to be able to move about in an efficient and precise manner. To make this possible and improve the locomotor skills of these artificial devices, scientists like Antonio De Simone and his group at the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) in Trieste are studying the movement of unicellular organisms. De Simone has just been awarded a Advanced Grant of the European Research Council (ERC) amounting to 1,300,000 euro.

The scientist, for years a professor of physiology at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste, was appointed scientific director of the European Brain Research Institute (EBRI) in Rome, the foundation at the leading edge of brain research established by Rita Levi Montalcini in 2005.

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Thomas Cremer

October 23rd 2013, at 2.30 pm

SISSA, Main Lecture Hall

Among the most interesting discoveries in recent decades, the one that cellular DNA does not appear as a shapeless tangle, but rather is arranged into discrete "geographic" territories may be considered truly revolutionary. The first to suggest these chromosome "maps" was Thomas Cremer, a scientist whose studies represent a milestone in the fields of biology and genetics. Cremer gave a public lecture at SISSA, on Wednesday October 23.

The MOOCs (Massive Online Open Courses) on Iversity, the online platform offering free university courses, is available starting from 15th October. Among the teachers also Paolo Salucci, an astrophysicist of the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste.

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It so happens that we interpret other people's emotions based on our own and thus sometimes make mistakes. Luckily our brain is equipped with correction devices: scientists at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, have identified the area where this mechanism should be located.

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The Nobel prize in the field of Physics was awarded to Peter Higgs and François Englert, the physicists who theorized the existence of the well-known Boson, the particle whose field gives mass to some fundamental particles across the Universe. The International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) at Trieste, who only a few weeks ago bestowed Higgs the PhD honoris causa in Theoretical Particle Physics, expresses great satisfaction for this important reward.

A singular boat and team for SISSA, the International School for Advanced Studies of Trieste. Seven students and one professor onboard "Le Renard", an award for the science dissemination activity carried out throughout the year, but also the opportunity to showcase the School's new merchandising.

DOWNLOAD > Press release

There are words that convey a meaning, like verbs, nouns or adjectives, and others, like articles or conjunctions that sustain them, providing a structure for the sentence. A few years ago some scientists of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste, together with collaborators from other Universities, showed that the order of the two categories of words within a sentence is important for language acquisition in infants already in their first year of life.

Black holes may be less simple and "clean" than how the most authoritative theoretical model describes them. This is what a group of researchers based at the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, and IST, Lisbon, claims in a new article appeared in Physical Review Letters.

According to the scientists' calculations, these celestial bodies may actually have "hair".

The award-giving ceremony of the honorary doctorate (PhD) in Theoretical Particle Physics to Peter Higgs, the theorist of the Boson which was named after the scientist himself, has just ended. Higgs was unable to take part in the event due to health problems.

Guido Tonelli, the recipient of the Enrico Fermi 2013 Award assigned by the Italian Physics Society (SIF), in representation of the CMS experiment, and Anna Di Ciaccio, in representation of the Atlas experiment at LHC, collected the awards on Higgs' behalf.

Black holes may be less simple and "clean" than how the most authoritative theoretical model describes them. This is what a group of researchers based at the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA), Trieste, and IST, Lisbon, claims in a new article appeared in Physical Review Letters.

According to the scientists' calculations, these celestial bodies may actually have "hair".

La SISSA ha partecipato con varie iniziative alle due manifestazioni di divulgazione scientifica "NEAR – la notte europea dei ricercatori" e "Trieste Next", che si sono svolte rispettivamente il 27 e il 28-29 settembre.

DOWNLOAD > Comunicato stampa

An exhibition proposed by National Geographic Channel unveil the tricks of our brain and launch the new season of the TV show "Che cosa ti dice il Cervello", (What does your brain tell you?). Among others, also two neuroscientists of the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste as well as SISSA Medialab have collaborated on the exhibition, on display in the Galleria delle Carrozze of Milano Centrale railway station.

The exhibition and the new season of the TV show has been presented by Matteo Bordone and Olga Puccioni at a press conference on 12 September.