IBEC and IRB Barcelona are awarded funding from the Spanish Association Against Cancer Blog Post

Yesterday, coinciding with World Cancer Research Day (WCRD), which takes place on 24 September each year, theSpanish Association Against Cancer (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer, AECC) celebrated the 2018 AECC Cancer Research Grants awards ceremony. Among the proposals selected are two projects from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and five from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), which is based at PCB.

 

UTOX-PCB takes part in the Preclinonco project to develop innovative new cancer drugs Blog Post

The Unit of Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology of the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) is taking part in a consortium that aims to develop and provide preclinical checks for new candidates for first-in-class cancer drugs. The project, called Preclinonco, has just received an injection of nearly 350,000 euros from the Retos-Colaboración 2017 program, promoted by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities with ERDF funding.

 

Researchers design a nano-carrier to release drugs into damaged cells Blog Post

A team headed by the ICREA researcher Manuel Serrano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), located in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), has designed a drug encapsulation system that selectively targets senescent cells. The study, published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, paves the way for therapeutic approaches to eliminate these zombi cells in many diseases, such as pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. This is currently a central goal for many pharmaceutical companies, among them the one co-founded by Manuel Serrano himself Senolytic Therapeutics, based in PCB and in Boston.

 

Starts the third edition BIYSC Blog Post

Today and until July 20 will take place the third edition of the Barcelona International Youth Science Challenge (BIYSC), an international program of excellence for young people passionate about science organized by Fundació Catalunya–La Pedrera and with the support of Fundació Víctor Grífols i Lucas. Once more, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) –both headquartered at the Barcelona Scientific Park–  participate in the event. The objective of the initiative is to stimulate the talent of pre-university youth from around the world and connect them with leading researchers from international research centers based in Barcelona to promote their enthusiasm for science.

 

Water can be dead, electrically speaking Blog Post

A research led by Dr. Laura Fumagalli and Nobel Laureate Prof. Andre Geim from the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester, reveals that water water that covers every surface around us behaves very differently to normal water. The study, published today in Science, has involved IBEC group leader Gabriel Gomila at the Barcelona Science Park, as well as scientists from Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science. 

 

Bacteria need vitamins too Blog Post

The research group of Bacterial infections: antimicrobial therapies from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in Barcelona Science Park has revealed the essential role played by a vitamin in the development of a common bacterial biofilm. This new knowledge could play a part in understanding the spread of these bacteria, which will help towards the better design of targeted antibacterial drugs.

 

Laboratorios Ordesa are leading a research project on food allergies Blog Post

Laboratorios Ordesa head up the TOLERA consortium, which was conceived with the aim of developing workable solutions for the food industry that provide safer and more effective foodstuffs and ingredients to prevent people from developing food intolerances and allergies. Under the framework of this project—driven by the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) with a budget of €8.1 million for the 2018-2021 period—the company will promote various research studies, both their own at their research centre in Barcelona Science Park, and in partnership with other companies, universities and public and private R&D centres.

 

Physical forces regulate cell division Blog Post

The research group of ICREA professor Xavier Trepat at IBEC in PCB revelals that cell division in epithelial tissues is regulated by mechanical forces Thie study, published in Nature Cell Biology, could potentially opening avenues to a greater understanding of the uncontrolled proliferation of cancer cells in tumors, and their possible regulation by means of physical forces.

 

Tumour cells evade death through in extremis DNA repair Blog Post

A study conducted at IRB Barcelona in Barcelona Science Park, published today in the journal Cancer Cell, rreveals a new protective mechanism for tumour cells in breast cancer and identifies novel therapeutic targets to treat this condition. The paper identifies the key role of p38 in safeguarding tumour cells against the excessive accumulation of DNA damage. The results show that p38 blockage ncreases the death of tumour cells, thus causing tumours to shrink.