biomedicine
Light and nanotechnology combine to prevent biofilms on medical implants
12.06.2020
ICFO and B. Braun Surgical develop a new technique that could prevent bacterial contamination and infection in medical implantsThe procedure generates heat via the application of light radiation onto gold nanoparticles on the implantsThis advance may contribute to avoid post-surgery complications, keeping minor surgeries as safe as possible. On surgical meshes, caveats, and how to […]
The biological rhythm of ageing
21.09.2018
Aged stem cells conserve circadian rhythm but now perform another set of functions to tackle the problems that arise with age,” explains ICREA researcher Salvador Aznar Benitah, leader of two studies published in Cell Press by scientists at IRB Barcelona, the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the University of California, Irvine (US). Rejecting the scientific dogma […]
On the protective effects of Alzheimer’s on Cancer
23.04.2018
A study published in the journal Scientific Reports studies the comorbility relations between these two diseases. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease have a higher risk of developing glioblastoma and a lower risk of lung cancer. A paper published in Scientific Reports by researchers from the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), headed by Alfonso Valencia, a […]
Gene expression patterns may help determine time of death
22.04.2018
International team of scientists led by Roderic Guigó at the Centre for Genomic Regulation in Barcelona showed that changes in gene expression in different tissues triggered by death can be used to predict the time of death of an individual. As reported in a paper published in Nature Communications today, researchers suggest that by analysing a few […]
New spin-off Ahead Therapeutics SL to develop novel therapies for autoimmune diseases
18.04.2018
Ahead Therapeutics SL is the result of a joint research project with a strong nano component between the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), the ICN2 and ICREA. It was created to advance the development of therapies for autoimmune diseases and pursue their application in a clinical setting. Just a few months in, the […]
Cell autophagy, a key process in muscle regeneration during aging
09.04.2018
The ability for skeletal muscle to regenerate depends on its stem cells, known as satellite cells, which are found in a resting state (quiescence) and are activated when damage occurs to the tissues. In tissues with little turnover, as is the case of skeletal muscle, this state of reversible quiescence is the normal state throughout […]
The mechanism that positions the heart on the left
Our bodies show an external bilateral symmetry. However, there are many internal asymmetries. As such, our liver is on the right while the spleen and heart are on the left. During embryonic development, all these organs appear at the midline and later they are displaced to their final position. This process is essential for correct […]
New DNA error repair machinery – opening prospects in biomedicine and industry
An article published in Nature Communications shows that some microorganisms have a hitherto unknown system for detection and correction of errors in the genetic material. This mechanism prevents some bacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, from easily developing resistance to antibiotics. This research opens the door to the development of new strategies to combat antibiotic resistance […]
A fast MRI tech to revolutionize heart disease diagnostics
08.03.2018
A close to eight-year long collaboration between CNIC and Philips has yielded a technological development which will reduce the diagnostics time, and accessibility of nuclear resonance diagnostics for heart disease from up to an hour, to only one minute or less. This opens up the possibility to increase drastically the number of patients which can […]
A nanophenomenon that triggers the bone-repair process
15.02.2018
Researchers of the ICN2 Oxide Nanophysics Group led by ICREA Prof. Gustau Catalan have resolved one of the great unknowns in bone remodelling: how the cells responsible for forming new bone tissue are called into action. Their work reveals the possible role of an electromechanical phenomenon at the nanoscale, flexoelectricity, not only in stimulating the […]
New evidence to the mechanism of vesicle fusion during neurotransmission
12.02.2018
Researchers from the Structural Biology Unit (SBU) provided high resolution snapshots of a protein complex involved in the regulation of synaptic vesicle fusion. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academic of Sciences journal (PNAS), the study sheds new light into the understanding of the neurotransmission mechanism. Neurons are able to communicate with others through […]
NEDxA, commercialized by Genomica
09.02.2018
Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) The Nano Electronic Diagnostic Array (NEDxA) is the result of the Joint Research Unit between IBEC’s Nanobioengineering group, led by Josep Samitier, and Genomica S.A.U. (Grupo Zeltia), the leading Spanish company in molecular diagnostics. NEDxA-HPV is a new in vitro diagnostics device for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing, a new […]