#society

Invisible particles that fight cancer cells, faster microprocessors that consume less energy, batteries that last 10 times longer or solar panels that yield twice as much energy. These are just some of the many applications of nanotechnology, a discipline with all the ingredients to turn into the next industrial revolution.

Bringing together the pieces to be featured at an exhibition is a very sensitive process. It involves valuable and unique works of art, with the packaging and transportation of each the responsibility of specialist companies and professionals.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, the real, a Spanish silver coin, was the currency of reference for world trade. The English in the American colonies called it the 'Spanish dollar' and ended by adopting it as their own.

For Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, the relationship between art and technology in the 21st century is nothing unusual. His works, which border on theatrical and performance art and make use of projections, sensors and communication networks, deal with this dichotomy and appeal directly to the observer in search of the answer to the question: How much does technology tell us about ourselves?

As the world population closes in on 8 billion, the old "buy, use, throw away" paradigm of the linear economy no longer makes any sense and is driving us towards an uncertain future. Realisation of this has led to the emergence of eco-design, a production perspective that consists of integrating environmental protection criteria into every phase: from conception to development, from transport to recycling.

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to record approval time for COVID-19 vaccines: less than a year. Since that year of lockdown, the World Health Organisation has approved several vaccines for diseases that, like COVID-19, have affected large numbers of people around the world, e.g. Ebola, polio, malaria, papillomavirus, and is in the process of approving a vaccine against monkeypox (Mpox). In view of its importance let's find out a little more about the history of this medical breakthrough that has saved millions of lives since it was discovered and will continue to do so in the future.