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The Parc Científic de Barcelona takes part in the 19th Science Week

By 11 de November de 2014No Comments
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As part of the 19the Science Week, PCB is organizing three initiatives to bring research closer to all citizens.
 11.11.2014

The Parc Científic de Barcelona takes part in the 19th Science Week

As part of the 19th Science Week in Catalonia– that this year will be held from the 14th through the 23rd of November– the Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB) has organized three different initiatives with the objective of bringing research closer to all citizens in an interactive and participative fashion. The initiatives include the workshops «Do Research!» held at La Pedrera, which are addressed at the general population; the workshops «Express PhD!», aimed at secondary school students; and a "theater workshop", organized for younger students as part of the «Research in Primary Schools».


The activities scheduled by the PCB for the 19th Science Week will feature the collaboration of researchers from the National Center for Genome Analysis (CNAG), Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), Core Scientific Services (SCC-PCB) and the University of Barcelona (UB), with support from the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (Fecyt) of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Institute of Culture of Barcelona of the City Council of Barcelona and theFundació Catalunya- La Pedrera.

«Express PhD!»

In these workshops, which will take place at the PCB on the 17th and 19th of November, at 10:00 am and 15:00 pm, secondary school students will be invited to reconstruct the various stages that a researcher has to go through to draft and complete his or her doctorate thesis project. This year, under the title ‘How to identify the genetic mutations involved in cancer?’, the subject of the research will focus on the analysis of the behavioral differences between normal stem cells and tumor stem cells. The aim is that all students can do within about a two hour frame, a sort of ‘Express PhD’ through a set of clues that will take them to various laboratories at IRB Barcelona and the SSC-CNAG PCB.

«Do research!»

Every Saturday throughout the month of November, from 11:00 am to 13:00 pm, researchers from IRB Barcelona and the University of Barcelona will move their laboratory setting to La Pedrera hall with the aim of promoting interaction with the public and provide them with the opportunity to participate in some of their experiments. As part of the 19th Science Week, two specific workshops will be offered: “Work with cells and genes”, where attendees will participate in the search for potential drugs that activate genes involved in type II diabetes, and “Finding a target for the treatment of atherosclerosis”, where participants will carry out a bacterial transformation by means of genetic engineering.

«Research for Primary School Students in Biomedicine»

This activity aimed at the primary school educational community, will give the children the opportunity to learn firsthand, through direct experimentation of the scientific method, how research is carried out in the field of biomedicine and the tools and techniques that are commonly used in laboratories. The session will take place at PCB from 9:45 am to 12:30 pm on 14th November and will consist of two parts. The first part will be a theater workshop that will be conducted and dynamized by instructors from “Fun Science” (Ciencia Divertida) who will encourage students to experiment and become familiar with basic concepts such as cells, DNA and genes; while the second part will be a guided tour of the various labs located at PCB – led by a IRB Barcelona researcher, who will complete the dynamics performed throughout the workshops and explain to the youngsters what the reality of the everyday life of laboratory researchers is, enabling them to ask questions about anything that arouses their curiosity.