The study by the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute has managed to demonstrate that a molecule similar to glucose can cause the death of cancerous cells. The research would enable to shortly develop treatments for the alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma.
"This could mean a breakthrough in the fight against cancer," said the head of the study Juan Angel Recio from Barcelona-based Vall d’Hebron Research Institute.
The research results were published on the website of the prestigious journal 'Nature Chemistry' and will appear in the print edition as well. The Universitat de Girona is particularly strong in research related to water. The study opens a new path to develop new technologies to carry out artificial photosynthesis.
Researchers from the Institute of Biomedical Research of Bellvitge (IBIDELL) have shown how brain areas interact as if the person is resting or active. Networks active when resting should be deactivated when awake, but a dysfunction in this process may be behind some diseases. The study has been published in the journal ‘PLoS ONE’.
The website ‘Xplore Health’ is an educational tool for secondary school students. It aims to improve the understanding of biomedical science, as well as “inspire future researchers”. It is a European Commission project, led by Barcelona Science Park (from the University of Barcelona) and involving research centres and science museums from across the EU.
The factory will increase its output of biological and pharmaceutical products by 40% over 3 years, taking work from closing factories in Europe and the United States. The Catalan plant is specialised in animal health and vaccines for livestock. It was bought in 2009 by the North American pharmaceutical giant, in a small town near Girona.
Researchers from Barcelona’s Hospital Clínic and the University of Oviedo (Asturias) have sequenced Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia’s entire genome for the first time. Mutations in four genes have been identified as one of the illness triggers. The study was published last Sunday in the prestigious journal ‘Nature’.
An international study led by a Catalan team of researchers finds that the vaccine is not only effective in women between the ages of 9 and 26 , but in women older than 26. Women up to 45 years old could use this preventative vaccine. The study is published this Wednesday in the ‘British Journal of Cancer’.
The Catalan scientist Jordi Sunyer is developing a research study on how children’s brains are affected by air pollution. The hypothesis is that pollution diminisihes children’s capacities to learn.
Among Barcelona’s biomedical cluster, a project is comparing the genomes of great apes in order to identify the common structures and differences with human DNA. The aim of the project is to use genomic science to find a cure for human illnesses.
Discovering the optic properties of ‘graphene’, a new material for which the 2010 Physics Nobel Prize was awarded, is one of the institute’s projects. Frank Koopens came from Harvard to Catalonia to work on this project, together with other scientists.
It is the most effective AIDS vaccine to date. It has been tested on HIV patients and reduces the viral load up by three times. It needs further test but in the future the new vaccine could replace the current retroviral treatments.
The Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona will have 2 new buildings in 2014 dedicated to biomedical research. The new space will be of 17,000 square metres. The new buildings will be integrated into the daily activities of the university health centre. Then, at a second phase, the space for research will reach 28,000 square meters.
The UAB and Angola?s Universidade José Eduardo dos Santos have reached an agreement to build the first research and technological centre of the African continent focused on the agri-food sector, which aims to foster the Angolan and Sub-Saharan industry.