Decoding the complete genome of the Mediterranean’s most emblematic tree: the olive Blog Post

A team of researchers from the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG) –based at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)–, the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona, and the Real Jardin Botánico (CSIC-RJB) in Madrid, has brought new insight to the genetic puzzle of the olive tree, by sequencing the complete genome of this species for the first time ever. The results of this work, published this week in the groundbreaking Open Access and Open Data journal GigaScience, will facilitate genetic improvement for production of olives and olive oil, two key products in the Spanish economy and diet.

 

New evidence on molecular mechanisms involved in psoriasis outset Blog Post

Two translational research studies published in the high impact scientific magazines Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Journal of Investigative Dermatology have described new immunologic mechanisms in psoriasis, a chronic cutaneous inflammatory disease which affects around the 2% of the population. The studies have been led by Lluís Francesc Santamaria, Director of the group of Translationary Immunology of the University of Barcelona (UB) based at the Barcelona Science Park, together with researchers of the Hospital del Mar and the Municipal Institute for Medical Research, among others.

 

Discovery of a fundamental limit to the evolution of the genetic code Blog Post

Headed by ICREA researcher Lluís Ribas de Pouplana at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and in collaboration with Fyodor A. Kondrashov, at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) and Modesto Orozco, from IRB Barcelona, the team of scientists has demonstrated that the genetic code evolved to include a maximum of 20 amino acids and that it was unable to grow further because of a functional limitation of transfer RNAs—the molecules that serve as interpreters between the language of genes and that of proteins. This halt in the increase in the complexity of life happened more than 3,000 million years ago, before the separate evolution of bacteria, eukaryotes and archaebacteria, as all organisms use the same code to produce proteins from genetic information.

 

Mind the Byte and Sequentia take part in a trade mission in Massachusetts Blog Post

Mind the Byte and Sequentia Biotech, both based at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), have been two of the 10 Catalan companies that participated last week in a trade mission in the state of Massachusetts (US) to search for business opportunities in the fields of digital health and big data applied to life sciences. The trade mission was organized by the Government of Catalonia through ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness, and Biocat coinciding with Bio-IT World Conference & Expo, one of the largest and most important events in the US in the field of ICTs in the health sector.  

 

More than 300 scientists gathered together in Barcelona at the IX Conference of Technological Platforms Blog Post

The Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NanomedSpain), led by IBEC director Josep Samitier, is once again participating in the annual conference of IX Annual Conference of Biomedical Research Technological Platforms: Innovative Medicines, Nanomedicines, Healthcare Technology and Biotechnological markets. This event, which brings together around 300 scientists and researchers, has earned its place as a reference in biomedical research, since it allows the diffusion of the most recent national and international initiatives in public-private collaboration in this area.

 

Catalan biotech sector to meet in Stockholm Blog Post

The sixteenth edition of the BIO-Europe Spring (BES), the main springtime partnering conference of the sector, takes place this year in Stockholm from 4th to 6th April. The Catalan delegation, coordinated by Biocat once again, will be formed by 24 companies and entities –among which are the companies BioingeniumEsteveIntelligent Pharma and Iproteos, based at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)–, representing more than a half of the Spanish participation at the event.

IBEC and UB scientists achieve first-ever catalysis of a chemical reaction using an electric field Blog Post

Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the University of Barcelona (UB) and two universities in Australia have introduced a new way of catalysing-speeding up- chemical reactions by applying an electric field between the reacting molecules. This opens the door for the fabrication of of chemical compounds, used in pharmaceutical products and materials, in a fast and cheaper way, and could revolutionise the way we produce chemicals for daily life applications.

 

A study with the participation of CNAG shows that Neanderthals and modern humans crossbred much earlier than was previously thought Blog Post

An international research team has find first genetic evidence of modern human DNA in a Neanderthal individual. The discovery –published in Nature– confirms the interbred between Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis and suggests that it happened 100.000 years ago, before the 65.000 years ago previously documented. This earlier genetic exchange, which may have taken place in the Near East, has not been detected in European Neanderthals. The study, led by the Max Planck German Institute, counts among its authors with researchers of CNAG-CRG located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB).