Keeping phosphorus under control to improve the quality of life of those who suffer from renal failure
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A University of Cordoba research team, Cordoba’s Maimonides Institute of Biomedical Research and Queen Sofia University Hospital link phosphorus normalization in blood to a decrease in a hormone that damages the heart
The FGF23 (Fibroblast growth factor 23) hormone originates in bone to communicate with the kidney whose duty it is to excrete excess phosphorus that the bone detects. Its main function is bone-kidney communication to eliminate phosphorus, but what happens when the person has renal failure and kidneys that do not work in addition to an impaired excretion ability? What happens is that the failing kidney is unable to abide by FGF23. Nevertheless, the bone keeps producing this hormone because it does not detect that the kidney has stopped working, resulting in a build-up of FGF23 in the blood.
Concrete made from coal ashes proves to be just as resistant as concrete from quarry aggregates
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A University of Cordoba research team in partnership with the University of Navarra successfully uses waste from thermoelectric plants instead of natural resources to make concrete for structural use and demonstrates that it has the same characteristics for construction.
Overexploitation of quarries in order to obtain sand and gravel needed to produce concrete is currently one of the most challenging environmental issues. Rocks are not inexhaustible, though they may seem. So, for years the scientific community has been searching for a way to manufacture concrete without depleting the Earth’s crust. This is done by approaching the issue from different perspectives. This is the case of two University of Cordoba research teams that worked together in order to obtain a material that is just as sturdy and durable, but more sustainable. This was done by chemists and engineers working closely together.
The chromosome responsible for asparagus gender is characterized
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A University of Cordoba research project draws a genetic map of garden asparagus and marks the chromosome determining gender
Garden asparagus is, from a financial perspective, the most important asparagus species of all. Its cultivation area is equal to that of garlic, carrots and eggplants, making it decisive for the asparagus sector.
Molecule flight speed is the new key for detecting drugs
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The University of Cordoba is participating in the development of an analytical methodology able to quickly differentiate cannabinoids in plant material and in waste remaining after being manipulated
The presence of cannabinoids in different textile and pharmacological goods and the need to distinguish them from those found in drugs and psychotropics has led to the development of different analytical techniques that allow for effectively differentiating them.
A research group at the University of Cordoba Genetics Department has analyzed gene variation in five Spanish sheep meat breeds as the first step to increase profitability in livestock
How could a sheep farmer’s job be made easier if they had a tool to choose the meat breed best suited to their needs beforehand? Much money and time would be saved by using a panel of markers to select a breed with genes associated with meat production. Finding an efficient and cost effective way to do so led the AGR-2018 “Improving and conserving genetic resources of domestic animals” research group to count sheep and above all, to analyze the genetic variability of their RNA (ribonucleic acid).
A new harvester decreases the cost of olive picking in traditional olive groves
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The University of Cordoba Mechanization and Rural Technology research group designed a harvester that improves the profitability of traditional olive farming
Productive traditional olive groves, which make up 70% of Andalusian olive farming, are in a complicated situation in terms of financial sustainability. The lack of mechanization so vital to picking olives has made new already-mechanized plantations such as intensive and superintensive olive groves surpass traditional olive groves, which still spend 40% of their harvesting budgets on picking.