Fundación GAEM launches its inclusive charity campaign ‘Yo Doy mis Pasos’ Blog Post

GAEM Foundation, headquartered in the Barcelona Science Park, launches its inclusive charity campaign Yo Doy mis Pasos’ [I give my steps], which aims to raise 1 million euros to promote biomedical research in multiple sclerosis, an incurable neurodegenerative disease which affects around 8,000 people in Catalonia and 50,000 in Spain. It is also the second biggest cause of disability in young people in developed countries after road accidents.

 

Researchers at IRB Barcelona explain the origin of the mysterious periodicity of the genome Blog Post

A team of scientists led by Núria López-Bigas –ICREA Research Professor and head of the Barcelona Biomedical Genomics Lab at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona)– have found an explanation for a periodicity in the sequence of the genomes of all eukaryotes, from yeast to humans. The results published in the journal Cell offer an alternative explanation to the one based on natural selection, which has been accepted by the scientific community to date.

 

The PCB participates in a new edition of iFest: the festival of technology, science and disruptive innovation Blog Post

iFest, an event promoted by Catalunya Emprèn which brings young people closer to science, technology and disruptive innovation, is getting ready for a new edition, which will be preceded this year by a four-month learning and mentoring process, the iFest Countdown. During this programme, players will develop prototypes responding to real-life challenges proposed by various entities—including the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute of Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona). In 2019’s iFest Zero, each team will have to defend their project and compete with other participants.

 

The UTOX-PCB Unit renews and extends its certificate of compliance with Good Laboratory Practices Blog Post

The Unit of Experimental Toxicology and Ecotoxicology of the Barcelona Science Park has renewed its certificate of compliance with Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) for the conduct of all types of in vivo and in vitro toxicology studies, mutagenicity studies and ecotoxicity studies involving medicinal products for human and veterinary use, medical devices and cosmetics. The site has also extended the certification for microbiological studies of bactericide efficiency. 

 

Researchers from CNAG-CRG and IDIBAPS receive a €8.3 million ERC Synergy Grant Blog Post

The European Research Council (ERC) today announced the results of the 2018 ERC Synergy Grants Call. A project, the BCLL@las, of four research groups from the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) –based in the Barcelona Science Park and integrated into the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)– and the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) have received this prestigious grant to unravel the genomics and epigenomics of chronic lymphocytic leukemia – the most frequent adult leukemia in the Western world– at unprecedented resolution using single-cell analysis. 

 

Researchers from IBMB-CSIC decipher the first level of DNA folding Blog Post

DNA topology team from the Structural Biology Unit (SBU) of the Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) at  the Barcelona Science Park has solved the so-called “paradox of the nucleosomal DNA linking number”. They have been able to show that the theory described about how DNA is packaged in our cells was true. The solution to this problem, which has been the subject of debate for more than 3 decades, has been published in the journal Nature Communications.

 

Tumor cell expansion challenges current physics Blog Post

The journal Nature Physics published a study by a team led by Xavier Trepat, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) in the Barcelona Science Park and lecturer at the Department of Biomedicine University of Barcelona (UB), and Jaume Casademunt, professor of Physics at the UB, reveals the forces these tumor cells use to spread. The relation between these forces and the cell movement goes beyond current physical laws. 

 

The Barcelona Science Park is set to have a strong presence at BioSpain 2018 Blog Post

From 25 to 27 September, the FIBES Exhibition Congress Centre in Seville will be the venue for BioSpain 2018, one of the the largest biotech event in Europe and the fifth most important event in the world in terms of number of partnering meetings. This 9th edition of the event is being organised by the Spanish Bioindustry Association (ASEBIO) together with the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the IDEA Agency. Nearly one hundred companies and institutions from the BioRegion of Catalonia – including the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and a large number of entities located in the Park – have confirmed their attendance at the fair, which is held every two years in a different Spanish city.