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A project led by IBMB-CSIC tests molecules that stop the cytokine storm caused by SARS-CoV-2

A team of researchers led by Timothy Thomson’s group from the Barcelona Institute of Molecular Biology (IBMB-CSIC), based at the Barcelona Science Park, has developed a platform that allows to see in real-time if a drug inhibits the immune cellular response caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. The project has the advantage that all the molecules being tested are previously known drugs and compounds that are used for other clinical indications. This would expedite the necessary procedures to propose, in due course, the use in patients with COVID-19.

 

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Researchers reveal the evolutionary events leading to the creation of eukaryotic cells

A collaborative study between the groups of Toni Gabaldón, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and Berend Snel at the University of Utrecht, has reconstructed the evolutionary events leading to the creation of eukaryotic cells, the precursors to virtually all life you can see with the naked eye. The work, published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, reveals that The evolutionary timeline from simple bacterial cells to complex eukaryotic cells progressed differently than previously thought.

 

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Researchers discover the adhesion mechanism of the bacterium that causes 40% of atypical pneumonias

Researchers from Institute of Molecular Biology of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC) –based in the Barcelona Science Park– and the Institute for Natural Science and Technology at the University of Osaka, has succeeded in determining the three-dimensional structure of proteins by means of which the bacteria Mycoplasma pneumoniae –that cause 40% of atypical pneumonias– attaches itself to human cells and initiates infection. From the structure, this team of scientists have designed antibodies that decrease this adhesion capacity and opens the door to develop new therapies and vaccines against this pathogen.

 

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Ernest Giralt, first IRB Barcelona Emeritus Professor

Ernest Giralt Lledó is retiring after 15 years at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), where he has played a key institutional and scientific role. Dr Giralt, today an international reference for science of excellence, will continue to be linked to Institute as an Emeritus Professor. This appointment will allow him to share his guidance and expertise with the current community of scientists.

 

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A pioneering study conducted by Eugin reveals that women with Covid-19 produce virus-free eggs

A study carried out by a team of researchers from Eugin’s Basic Research Laboratory, headquartered in the Barcelona Science Park, published in the  journal Human Reproduction, has, for the first time, analysed the eggs of women diagnosed with Covid-19 detecting no viral material within them. The findings, globally considered ground-breaking and pioneering in the field of assisted reproduction, supports the notion that there would be no vertical transmission of the infection from mother to child via their eggs.

 

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New findings on the function of Mitofusin 2 in bacterial infection and inflammation processes

A study published in the journal Cell Reports describes new functions of the protein Mitofusin 2 (Mfn2) in macrophages –cells that take part in the defensive and inflammatory response– under immunological stress conditions. The article sheds light on the expression mechanisms of proinflammatory cytokines, molecules that can appear uncontrolledly –known as the cytokine storm– over the course of bacterial and viral infections.

 

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The CNAG-CRG participates in a European project to improve medical assistance through interceptive medicine

Scientists from the Centro Nacional de Análisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), based in Barcelona Science Park and integrated to the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) unites with hundreds of innovators, research pioneers, clinicians, industry leaders and policy makers from all around Europe are united to revolutionize healthcare on the frame of LifeTime initiative. They are participating in two publications: a perspective article in the journal Nature and the LifeTime Strategic Research Agenda. They are now presenting how to improve leverage the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies over the next decade, to track, understand and treat human cells throughout an individual’s lifetime.

 

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IBEC and IRB Barcelona researchers receive funding from “La Caixa” for biomedical research

Researchers from the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Barcelona Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB) -based in the Barcelona Science Park- are part of the winning projects of the third Call for Applications Health Research Projects organized by “La Caixa ” Foundation, which this year allocates 18 million euros to 25 biomedical projects to tackle those diseases with the greatest global impact, such as cardiovascular, neurological, infectious and oncological.

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