Sarah Moreira 
Duchenne Parent Project Spain has invested €247,000 in the BEAT project, which will be carried out by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC). Cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of death in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Around 20,000 new Duchenne cases are diagnosed globally each year.
On 30 April, the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia held the twelfth reSEARCH4TALENT event, which is aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in pursuing a career in research. The event brought together close to 50 people, who were able to learn about life at the institute, speak with researchers, and tour the laboratories.
Un equipo internacional liderado por investigadores del Instituto de Bioingeniería de Cataluña ha conseguido algo que hasta ahora solo se había imaginado en la ciencia ficción, crear tejidos vivos que son capaces de cambiar de manera programada. La clave está en controlar la orientación de las células. Declaraciones de Xavier Trepat, Investigador del Instituto de Bioingeniería Cataluña; Pau Guillamat, investigador Instituto de Bioingenieria de Cataluña.
Scientists from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and King’s College London have discovered that cells do not just sense mechanical forces but also measure how long those forces last before responding. The findings, published in Nature Materials, reveal a timing mechanism that allows cells to ignore brief mechanical noise while reacting to sustained changes, a process that is crucial in diseases such as cancer and fibrosis.
From 21 to 24 April 2026, IBEC had a significant presence at TERMISEU 2026, the leading European conference on tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Held at the Palma Conference Centre in Mallorca, the event brought together more than 1,600 researchers.
Investigadores españoles logran dirigir las fuerzas mecánicas de las células para que adopten la forma tridimensional que ellos quieran. El trabajo, publicado en ‘Science’, podría aplicarse a la generación de órganos o en robótica biohíbrida.
Researchers at the Institute for Bioengineering for Catalonia (IBEC), the Polytechnic University of Catalonia – BarcelonaTech (UPC) and the International Centre for Numerical Methods in Engineering (CIMNE) have developed a new strategy for ‘programming’ the shape of biological tissues in vitro. The study, published in the journal Science, is the first to demonstrate that it is possible to guide the forces and final shape of living tissue by controlling the orientation of its cells. The research opens the door to new applications in tissue engineering, biohybrid robotics, and the design of smart living materials.
La sala d’actes de Camprodon ha acollit una xerrada sobre els debats ètics de la salut. L’acte neix de la iniciativa ‘Ciència al territori’, de l’Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya.
A study by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has created a mutational map of the hormone amylin, the aggregation of which can damage pancreatic cells and lead to type 2 diabetes. The team analysed 1,916 variants of the protein and compared the results of this mutational map with genetic and clinical data from 500,000 individuals. The study, published in Nature Communications, sheds new light on the role of genetics in diabetes and could lead to the development of safer and more effective drugs.
Research carried out at IBEC by Samuel Sánchez and his team has led to the development of a new generation of therapeutic nanorobots. These nanorobots can move through the body, reach tumours and deliver drugs with great precision. These nanorobots have already reduced bladder tumours by up to 90% in preclinical models and are being investigated for use in treating other diseases. They were presented to the public at MWC26 through an immersive experience demonstrating how this technology could transform future treatments.