Juan I. Jorquera, Ph.D.
@jijorquera.bsky.social
Biochemist and Molecular Biologist Author of "From so Simple a Beginning. An Evolutionary Little Big History of Us" and "Hospital 18".
Blog: https://jijorquera.wixsite.com/onscienceandsociety
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-i-jorquera/
Blog: https://jijorquera.wixsite.com/onscienceandsociety
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-i-jorquera/
Pinned
FROM SO SIMPLE A BEGINNING. AN EVOLUTIONARY LITTLE BIG HISTORY OF US (ENGLISH EDITION).
The new and expanded English edition of my eBook is now available on Amazon.This is the first English edition (second global edition) of a book originally published in Spanish in 2021. The content has...
jijorquera.wixsite.com
It took some time, but the new and expanded English edition of "From so Simple a Beginning. An Evolutionary Little Big History of Us" is available in Amazon. You can take a look at the content following the link in the cover image below. jijorquera.wixsite.com/onscienceand...
#onscienceandsociety
#onscienceandsociety
This was the most viewed chart from the Our World in Data website. Let us hope China and India reach peak emissions soon and start reducing them promptly. ourworldindata.org/grapher/annu...
Annual CO₂ emissions
Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from fossil fuels and industry. Land-use change emissions are not included.
ourworldindata.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:59 PM
This was the most viewed chart from the Our World in Data website. Let us hope China and India reach peak emissions soon and start reducing them promptly. ourworldindata.org/grapher/annu...
Scientists keep identifying organisms living under extreme conditions.
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
From the series “Where do we come from?” in the “On Science and Society” website
open.substack.com
December 12, 2025 at 8:55 AM
Scientists keep identifying organisms living under extreme conditions.
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Scary Note #2 on Artificial Intelligence
Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues - Nature
Human–artificial intelligence (AI) dialogues can meaningfully impact voters’ attitudes towards presidential candidates and policy, demonstrating the potential of conversational AI to influence politic...
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Scary Note #2 on Artificial Intelligence
Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Persuading voters using human–artificial intelligence dialogues
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Scary Note #1 on AI
(…) it is possible for machines to discover a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) rule that outperforms manually designed rules. (…) the RL algorithms required for advanced artificial intelligence may soon be automatically discovered.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(…) it is possible for machines to discover a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) rule that outperforms manually designed rules. (…) the RL algorithms required for advanced artificial intelligence may soon be automatically discovered.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Discovering state-of-the-art reinforcement learning algorithms - Nature
An autonomous method discovers reinforcement learning rules from the cumulative experiences of a population of agents across a large number of complex environments, and the discovered rule achieves st...
www.nature.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:18 PM
Scary Note #1 on AI
(…) it is possible for machines to discover a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) rule that outperforms manually designed rules. (…) the RL algorithms required for advanced artificial intelligence may soon be automatically discovered.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
(…) it is possible for machines to discover a state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) rule that outperforms manually designed rules. (…) the RL algorithms required for advanced artificial intelligence may soon be automatically discovered.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Think twice before tattooing.
Although this is a study in mice, the ink commonly reaches and persists in lymph nodes, often lifelong.
Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Although this is a study in mice, the ink commonly reaches and persists in lymph nodes, often lifelong.
Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination | PNAS
Despite safety concerns regarding the toxicity of tattoo ink, no studies have reported
the consequences of tattooing on the immune response. In thi...
www.pnas.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Think twice before tattooing.
Although this is a study in mice, the ink commonly reaches and persists in lymph nodes, often lifelong.
Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Although this is a study in mice, the ink commonly reaches and persists in lymph nodes, often lifelong.
Tattoo ink induces inflammation in the draining lymph node and alters the immune response to vaccination | PNAS www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...
Make Russia Pay for Its War on Ukraine by Joseph E. Stiglitz, et al @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/4t85BrB?refe...
Make Russia Pay for Its War on Ukraine
Joseph E. Stiglitz & Andrew Kosenko explain why it is in Europe's interest to mobilize frozen Russian assets to ensure Ukraine's survival.
prosyn.org
December 4, 2025 at 4:18 PM
Make Russia Pay for Its War on Ukraine by Joseph E. Stiglitz, et al @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/4t85BrB?refe...
Positive results from around 12 studies over the past three years on CAR-T-cell therapy.
Engineered immune cells are being used to successfully treat people with a range of debilitating autoimmune conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Engineered immune cells are being used to successfully treat people with a range of debilitating autoimmune conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
‘They don’t have symptoms’: CAR-T therapies send autoimmune diseases into remission
Engineered T cells that have been used to treat ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus show promising results.
www.nature.com
December 4, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Positive results from around 12 studies over the past three years on CAR-T-cell therapy.
Engineered immune cells are being used to successfully treat people with a range of debilitating autoimmune conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Engineered immune cells are being used to successfully treat people with a range of debilitating autoimmune conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
An interesting article by Stephen Holmes, a professor at New York University School of Law and Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin.
MAGA’s Death Wish by Stephen Holmes @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/jpWhLXO?refe...
MAGA’s Death Wish by Stephen Holmes @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/jpWhLXO?refe...
MAGA’s Death Wish
Stephen Holmes attributes the urge for destruction animating Donald Trump's supporters to the fury of frustrated nostalgia.
prosyn.org
December 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
An interesting article by Stephen Holmes, a professor at New York University School of Law and Berlin Prize Fellow at the American Academy in Berlin.
MAGA’s Death Wish by Stephen Holmes @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/jpWhLXO?refe...
MAGA’s Death Wish by Stephen Holmes @projectsyndicate.bsky.social prosyn.org/jpWhLXO?refe...
A piece of bad news… Developed countries must help so no country, no people, is left behind in relation to progress.
ourworldindata.org/end-progress...
ourworldindata.org/end-progress...
The end of progress against extreme poverty?
In the last three decades, the world has made progress against extreme poverty faster than ever before. But unless the poorest economies start growing, this period of progress against the worst form o...
ourworldindata.org
November 28, 2025 at 4:29 PM
A piece of bad news… Developed countries must help so no country, no people, is left behind in relation to progress.
ourworldindata.org/end-progress...
ourworldindata.org/end-progress...
“… cutting the research funding has been simply a mechanism for politicians to lash back at the entire system of higher education …” H. Holden Thorp.
My not-so-favorite year | Science
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
My not-so-favorite year | Science
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
My not-so-favorite year
As 2025 comes to a close, it’s a good time to step back and assess one of the most tumultuous years in the history of American science. The second Trump administration has brought cuts to so many impo...
www.science.org
November 28, 2025 at 3:55 PM
“… cutting the research funding has been simply a mechanism for politicians to lash back at the entire system of higher education …” H. Holden Thorp.
My not-so-favorite year | Science
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
My not-so-favorite year | Science
www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Do not miss this article by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics.
www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/tru...
www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/tru...
Trump and the End of American Hegemony
Joseph E. Stiglitz counts the ways that the US president is derailing the country's future prosperity and competitiveness.
www.project-syndicate.org
November 27, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Do not miss this article by Joseph E. Stiglitz, Nobel laureate in economics.
www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/tru...
www.project-syndicate.org/magazine/tru...
World leaders must find the courage to end the fossil-fuel age www.nature.com/articles/d41...
World leaders must find the courage to end the fossil-fuel age
Despite the weak agreement seen at the COP30 climate conference, Brazil was right to prioritize discussing the eventual phase-out of fossil fuels. Others must now help to find a way forward.
www.nature.com
November 27, 2025 at 12:11 PM
World leaders must find the courage to end the fossil-fuel age www.nature.com/articles/d41...
This is good news, but not as good as it may appear. Flat or declining emissions will still increase CO₂ in the atmosphere. Before the industrial times, CO₂ was 280 ppm. Today it is 420 ppm, causing an average temperature increase that will exceed 1.5 ºC by 2100.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Global carbon emissions will soon flatten or decline
With China’s surge in renewable energy, greenhouse gases are reaching a turning point
www.science.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:39 AM
This is good news, but not as good as it may appear. Flat or declining emissions will still increase CO₂ in the atmosphere. Before the industrial times, CO₂ was 280 ppm. Today it is 420 ppm, causing an average temperature increase that will exceed 1.5 ºC by 2100.
www.science.org/content/arti...
www.science.org/content/arti...
Chamberlain Prize indeed.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
Opinion | Trump’s Neville Chamberlain Prize
www.nytimes.com
November 23, 2025 at 6:31 PM
Chamberlain Prize indeed.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/22/o...
Great news in the fight against malaria, thanks to science and research.
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial
As existing drugs falter because of resistance, the world gets a backup—but hard choices loom on how to use it
www.science.org
November 21, 2025 at 10:32 AM
Great news in the fight against malaria, thanks to science and research.
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
‘A sigh of relief’: New malaria drug succeeds in large clinical trial | Science | AAAS www.science.org/content/arti...
Certainly, otherworldly ecosystems… In case you missed my series of posts about potential alien life on my website, jijorquera.wixsite.com/onscienceand...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Chinese researchers reveal unexplored section of mysterious Arctic Ocean ridge
Oceanographers hope to find otherworldly ecosystems at hydrothermal vents on the sea floor.
www.nature.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Certainly, otherworldly ecosystems… In case you missed my series of posts about potential alien life on my website, jijorquera.wixsite.com/onscienceand...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The Trump administration is not expected to send any high-level representatives to the COP 30 meeting starting in Brazil, and many say that’s for the best.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
November 5, 2025 at 12:10 PM
The Trump administration is not expected to send any high-level representatives to the COP 30 meeting starting in Brazil, and many say that’s for the best.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The attached images, originals by Ramón Puyol from 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, drew my attention. They reflect in a funny way two extremes in reaction to the conflict: the pessimist and the optimist.
substack.com/@juanjorquer...
substack.com/@juanjorquer...
Juan I. Jorquera. (@juanjorquera)
In my last visit to the National Catalonian Museum of Art I went through the Modern Art section. A very enjoyable experience. There is a section about paintings and drawings related to the Spanish Civ...
substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 11:19 AM
The attached images, originals by Ramón Puyol from 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, drew my attention. They reflect in a funny way two extremes in reaction to the conflict: the pessimist and the optimist.
substack.com/@juanjorquer...
substack.com/@juanjorquer...
Updated post about how Life could be in other planets.
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
From the series “Where do we come from?” in the “On Science and Society” website
open.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Updated post about how Life could be in other planets.
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Aliens: Life in Other Worlds
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
An updated post about the beginning of the universe
juanjorquera.substack.com/p/where-do-w...
juanjorquera.substack.com/p/where-do-w...
Where do we come from? Universe (II): From Particles to Galaxies
From the series “Where do we come from?” in the “On Science and Society” website
juanjorquera.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:12 AM
An updated post about the beginning of the universe
juanjorquera.substack.com/p/where-do-w...
juanjorquera.substack.com/p/where-do-w...
Where do we come from? Universe: The Beginning
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
Where do we come from? Universe: The Beginning
From the series “Where do we come from?” in the “On Science and Society” website
open.substack.com
October 27, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Where do we come from? Universe: The Beginning
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
open.substack.com/pub/juanjorq...
If some universities, as institutions, fail the society, their professors and students should act and shame their managers.
Higher education fails at collective action | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Higher education fails at collective action | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Higher education fails at collective action
In the latest development in the ongoing combat between universities in the United States and the Trump administration, the Department of Education has presented them with what it calls a “compact.” I...
www.science.org
October 24, 2025 at 10:12 AM
If some universities, as institutions, fail the society, their professors and students should act and shame their managers.
Higher education fails at collective action | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Higher education fails at collective action | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Gran exposición sobre caricaturas contra Hitler y el nazismo en el Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña en Barcelona, hechas por Mario Armengol. En un futuro cercano, espero, visitaremos exposiciones de caricaturas contra la ola de imitadores actuales.
www.museunacional.cat/en/ink-again...
www.museunacional.cat/en/ink-again...
October 20, 2025 at 10:51 AM
Gran exposición sobre caricaturas contra Hitler y el nazismo en el Museo Nacional de Arte de Cataluña en Barcelona, hechas por Mario Armengol. En un futuro cercano, espero, visitaremos exposiciones de caricaturas contra la ola de imitadores actuales.
www.museunacional.cat/en/ink-again...
www.museunacional.cat/en/ink-again...