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Researchers at the CSIC and PCB participate in a European debate on the future of the post-genomic era

By 30 de November de 2004November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 30.11.2004

Researchers at the CSIC and PCB participate in a European debate on the future of the post-genomic era

Genomics now allow us to sequence the genomes of many organisms, in particular humans. However, after this process, it is necessary to interpret the data and to study the function of each gene product, that is to say, the proteins. The main aim in this field is to achieve a full understanding of the network of interactions that occur in each cell. This objective includes the study of the 3-D structure of proteins in a research field known as structural genomics. Information from this research will open up new insights into the bases of human disease and will contribute to the design new drugs in a rational manner.


To analyse the present state of research in structural genomics and to debate the policies aimed at strengthening this field of biotechnology and life sciences, the European Union has organized an international congress to be held at the Barcelona World Trade Centre from 1-4 December. This event will bring together, for the first time, researchers from 10 projects currently financed by the EU. The aim behind these projects is to make this field in Europe reach the same level of competitiveness as that in the United States and Japan.

Among the more than 500 participants expected will be the heads of the Research Group on Crystallography of Protein and Nucleic Acids at the Molecular Biology Institute of the CSIC, whose facilities are located in the Institute of Biomedical Research (IRB-PCB)at the Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB, Barcelona Science Park). On the part of the PCB, staff from the High-throughput Crystallography Platform at the park, a technology centre developed jointly by the PCB and CSIC that has the cutting edge equipment required to ensure competitiveness in this field of research. Finally, it is expected that the congress will be attended by politicians and researchers from the United States and Japan.