Àngels López 
We all know how emotive smells can be; just the mere whiff of candy floss or plasticine can transport you back decades in a moment. But how does our olfactory system recognise odours even at very low doses?
This week the NanoBio&Med 2014 international conference, co-organised and sponsored by IBEC, is taking place in Barcelona. The four-day event aims to cover current research and recent developments in the fields of nanobiotechnology and nanomedicine.
Miguel Angel Mateos from the Biomaterials for Regenerative Therapies group was interviewed for Televisió L’Hospitalet after his participation in this year’s Setmana de la Ciència, for which he gave a talk entitled “Regeneració de teixits : com nou” at the Centre Cultural Sant Josep on Wednesday. Awarded biennially by the CIBER-BBN-Young Scientist Forum in Biomaterials, the prize recognizes, encourages and stimulates outstanding research contributions to the field of biomaterials by young scientists working in Spanish institutions who incorporate an international dimension and perspective into their research.
The Fundación Española para la Ciencia y la Tecnología (FECYT) received 881 proposals from 383 public and private organisations for the call, which offers a total funding pot of €3,25 million for ideas and activities aimed at the promotion of scientific culture, technology and innovation.
IBEC’s Molecular and Cellular Neurobiotechnology group is to receive funding from 2013’s La Marató de TV3 for their project “Role of the cellular prion protein as “cross-talk” protein between a-syn/ LRRK2 and p-Tau in sporadic and familiar Parkinson´s disease.”The group’s proposal was one of 44 selected for funding under the annual award, which in its 2013 call focused on neurodegenerative diseases.
Not only that, but the institute was ranked top among the applicants, meaning it will receive one of the two largest portions of the total grant money, the other going to the ISCIII.
Tomorrow night IBEC group leader and ICREA professor Ángel Raya will give a public lecture at the CCCB in Barcelona entitled “Células madre y medicina regenerativa: realidades y promesas” (“Stem cells and regenerative medicine: realities and promises”). Ángel, who is also director of the Barcelona Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CMRB), is contributing the lecture as part of the fourth ICREA-CCCB Debates series, taking place from 21 October to 11 November, which this year is devoted to “Stem Cells: a Future without Diseases?”.
IBEC’s Core Facilities have been included in MINECO’s updated ICTS (Infraestructuras Científicas y Técnicas Singulares) map as part of NANBIOSIS, an integrated platform for research-oriented medical applications. Created by combining the service platforms within the CIBER-BBN and CCMIJU (the Center for Minimally Invasive Surgery Jesus Uson), NANBIOSIS (Infraestructuras Integrada de Producción y Caracterización de Nanomateriales, Biomateriales y Sistemas en Biomedicina) aims to be a ‘one-stop-shop’ service facility for the design and production of biomaterials and nanomaterials, among other applications.
Josep A. Planell, rector of the UOC and Research Fellow at IBEC, appears in a new documentary about technology transfer in Catalonia, Inversió de Futur.Presented by Pere Estupinyà, the hour-long documentary, made in by Televisió de Catalunya in collaboration with the CERCA centers, also features other notable names in the Catalan research arena, such as Hble. Sr. Andreu Mas-Colell and director of the PCB Montserrat Vendrell.