The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation signs cooperation agreement with SECOT Blog Post

The Bosch i Gimpera Foundation ((Fundació Bosch i Gimpera, FBG), headquartered at the Barcelona Science Park has signed a cooperation agreement with SECOTbcn, Senior Business Advice Volunteering, to support entrepreneurs and help set up new economic actions that drive entrepreneurial activity in the FBG environment.

 

Histone 1, the guardian of genome stability Blog Post

Scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) at the Barcelona Science Park, headed by Ferran Azorín, have discovered why histone 1 is a major protection factor against genomic instability and a vital protein for the organism. Genomic instability is the main risk factor for tumour development in humans. Therefore understanding its origin and exploring therapeutic targets is paramount.

 

Two studies reject the scientific dogma associating ageing with the loss of stem cell circadian rhythm Blog Post

Two studies published in Cell by scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) at the Barcelona Science Park, the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) reject the scientific dogma associating ageing with the loss of stem cell circadian rhythm. Their results reveal that stem cell functions continue to be governed by day and night cycles (circadian rhythms) during ageing, but their rhythms become devoted to tissue repair and not to the maintenance of tissue tone.

 

Errors made by ‘DNA spellchecker’ revealed as important cause of cancer Blog Post

A study developed by Fran Supek (currently a group leader at IRB Barcelona at the Barcelona Science Park) and Ben Lehner at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona reveal that many mutations in human cancers are caused by mistakes made by a repair mechanism or ‘DNA spellchecker’ rather than the actual damage to DNA caused by the environment. High levels of alcohol, sunlight, and tobacco consumption increase the rate at which this happens, resulting in more mutations in the most important parts of our genomes.

 

IBEC group develops a nanoscale imaging method that shows electron transfer pathways Blog Post

An IBEC group at the Barcelona Science Park has developed a new imaging method that can characterize the conductance of single molecules, shedding light on the molecular mechanisms behind biological processes such as respiration, photosynthesis and repair. Publishing in the journal Small, the Nanoprobes and Nanoswitches group describe a new way to observe conduction pathways in redox proteins and complexes – in which the transfer of electrons causes a change in oxidation – at the nanoscale.

 

Researchers describe a new brain signalling pathway that regulates body weight Blog Post

An article published in the journal Cell Metabolism –which counts with the participation of the researchers Francesc Villarroya and Joan Villarroya, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) at PCB– describes for the first timethe molecular mechanism that regulates the lipid metabolism in the liver through a hypothalamus-coordinated pathway in the brain. Study results open new horizons to the therapy design to treat obesity and other metabolic diseases.

 

SOM Biotech opens a €10 million Series A funding round Blog Post

The biopharmaceutical company SOM Biotech –and specialised in repositioning drugs to treat rare nervous system diseases– has just opened a Series A round with the goal of raising €10 million, targeted to top US and European biotech venture capital. Since it was founded at the Barcelona Science Park in 2009, SOM Biotech has raised more than €5.3 million from public and private capital, and has placed 8 patents for new medical indications and formulations.

 

AVX pharma announces initiation of a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of AVX-012 Ophthalmic Solution in Dry Eye Syndrome Blog Post

Avizorex Pharma (AVX Pharma), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with offices at Barcelona Science Park and focused on the development of novel therapies for Dry Eye Syndrome, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating the safety and efficacy of AVX-012 Ophthalmic Solution in patients with mild-to-moderate Dry Eye Syndrome, based on the concept of modulating corneal nerve activity to stimulate basal lacrimation.