Registration starts for the 2015-2016 ‘Recerca en Societat’ program at the Barcelona Science Parc Blog Post

This upcoming 8 October, the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) opens the enrollment period to participate in the experimental workshops ‘Fes recerca!’ (Do Research!) and ‘Descobreix la recerca!’ (Discover Research!), which gives the start to the 15th edition of ‘Recerca in Societat’ (Research in Society). This proposal of PCB to bring science to the public and encourage vocations among young people includes over 80 activities, involving annually about 5,000 people, including the ‘Fira Recerca en directe’ (Live Research Fair), which will take place during the month April at CosmoCaixa Barcelona.

 

Mind the Byte opens a branch in Denmark and launches a crowdfunding campaign Blog Post

Mind the Byte –located at Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and specializing in the development of  cloud  technologies for drug discovery– just opened a branch at the Copenhagen Bio Science Park (COBIS), as a first step in the internationalization that the star-up has started with the strategic support of ACCIÓ, the agency for business competiveness of the Generalitat (Government of Catalonia). With the aim of strengthening the consolidation and expansion of its business model, Mind the Byte presented today at the PCB a crowdfunding campaign of 100,000 Euros managed by Crowdcube. This is the company´s second capital extension  in less than a year; in late 2014 it closed a financing round of 200,000 Euros led by InKemia.

 

Protein NBS1 is crucial for macrophage functional activity Blog Post

Protein NBS1, which plays a key role in DNA damage repair, is required for macrophage functional activity. This is one of the conclusions of a scientific paper published in the journal Blood—considered one of the best scientific publications in the field of haematology— and signed by a team of experts from the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB), Consolidated Research Group Macrophage Biology –located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The protein also has implications for understanding the immune defects observed in patients with Nijmegen breakage syndrome and other related disorders.

 

A study led by IBUB proves that a hormonal factor, present in breast milk, plays a key role in regulating newborn metabolism Blog Post

A scientific team led by Francesc Villarroya, director of the Institute of Biomedicine of the UB (IBUB) –located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– together with the Biomedical Research Networking Centres on Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) and the Danone Institute, has proved that a compound found in breast milk, named fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), plays a key role in neonatal nutrient absorption and intestinal function. FGF21 also contributes to improve newborn growth and metabolic profile.

 

Jordi Quintana, member of the Executive Board of IRDiRC´s ‘Data Mining and Repurposing Task Force’ Blog Post

Jordi Quintana, head of the Drug Discovery Plaform at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), has been appointed member of the Executive Board of the Data Mining and Repurposing Task Force of the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC). Spain was the first European country to join the consortium promoted in 2011 by the European Commission and the National Institute of Health of the US aimed at fostering international cooperation in the research of more than 7000 rare diseases recorded to date.

 

Leitat leads GLAM, a European project to improve cancer diagnosis Blog Post

A European consortium led by Centre Tecnològic Leitat –through its Biomed Divisionlocated at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– has started the Glass-Laser Multiplexed Biosensor (GLAM) project, the aim of which is to develop a photonic-based point-of-care device for a non-invasive diagnosis of Genitourinary Cancer (GU). The GLAM project which will expand for 4 years will involve the participation of 10 European organizations with resources and capabilities from the academia and scientific and business field, among them the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), located at PCB. 

 

Sylvie Bove, new CEO of EIT Health Blog Post

Sylvie Bove has been appointed as new CEO of the EIT Health, the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC) for healthy living and active aging, promoted by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). The Spanish node, EIT Health Spain, headed by the University of Barcelona (UB) with the support from Biocat, has its headquarters at Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and is composed of 50 core partners and 90 associate partners from the public and private sectors, leaders in their fields and committed to innovation in health. Bove took on the position on September 1

 

Montserrat Vendrell leaves PCB to join the new Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology as General Director Blog Post

Montserrat Vendrell leaves the direction of the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) to head the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), a new scientific institution result of the confluence of six Catalan research centres. The Chairman of the BIST is Dr. Rolf Tarrach, former dean of Physics and vice rector of the University of Barcelona (UB), and currently President of the European University Association (EUA). Dr. Vendrell will take up her new post mid-September. 

 

The ‘Innovation Chronicle’, the new PCB´s newsletter Blog Post

Starting this July, the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) will be issuing a new communication tool, The Innovation Chronicle, which has been created with the aim of becoming a social media benchmark for all professionals who work in the field of scientific innovation, technology and business, and make it possible.

 

Positive outcome of the Tandem Program to foster educational success in the classroom Blog Post

The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) concludes with a positive balance its participation in the Tandem School (2011-2015) project, a singular and innovative educational program, promoted by the Fundació Catalunya La Pedrera, with the support of the Departament of Education. PCB has colaborated in this joint initiative with the ‘Aids Research Institute IrsiCaixa and the  Apel·les Mestres School of Hospitalet de Llobregat with the aim of helping promote the spirit of research among students and other scientific careers and to form critical citizens in a society increasingly based on knowledge.