The existence of dark matter is likely one of the most perplexing problems facing the scientific community, and unraveling its nature has become one of the primary goals of modern physics. In simple terms, we do not know what dark matter is made of, despite accounting for 85% of all the matter in the Universe. A study led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias concludes that dark matter does not behave as described by the dominant paradigm, which states that dark matter particles only interact with each other and with ordinary matter through gravity. The IAC study reveals that dark

The single star nearest to the Sun is called Barnard’s star. A team of researchers led by the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has recently detected a ‘sub-Earth’ orbiting it. This exoplanet, called Barnard b has at least half the mass of Venus and orbits rapidly around its star, so that its year lasts only a little over three Earth days. This new exoplanet is sixteen times nearer to Barnard’d star than Mercury is to the Sun, and has a surface temperature close to 125oC, so it does not have liquid water on its surface. This discovery, led by the IAC in collaboration with a number

La Fundación” la Caixa” prosigue con su compromiso con el fomento de la investigación en España a través de sus distintas convocatorias de becas. Recientemente, ha concedido 100 becas de doctorado y posdoctorado para que investigadores de excelencia desarrollen sus proyectos en universidades y centros de España y Portugal. En este sentido, refuerza los lazos con el Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) que ha recibido a dos de las cien personas becadas en estas modalidades. A través de los programas INPhINIT, dirigido a personal doctorando, y Junior Leader, enfocado en la etapa