Research news Archives - Page 21 of 31 - Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia

February 20, 2017

How tumor cells hijack healthy cells to promote metastasis

In a study published today in Nature Cell Biology and supported by Obra Social “la Caixa”, researchers at IBEC have identified an interaction between two proteins that enables cancerous cells to use the physical forces of healthy cells to start tumor metastasis.

Metastasis, responsible for the majority of deaths in patients with cancer, is the process by which cancer cells separate from the original tumor to form new tumors in other organs or tissues of the body.

February 13, 2017February 10, 2017

An optogenetic tool that directs cellular contractility using light

Researchers at IBEC have controlled the contractility of a group of epithelial cells using an optogenetic switch activated by light.

The study, published in Nature Communications, explains how this novel technique allows for rapid, local and reversible changes in the forces exerted by cells, as well as tissue contraction.

January 31, 2017

Light-regulated drugs as analgesics

A new study involving scientists from IBEC, IQAC/CSIC and CNRS in France uses light-regulated drugs to alleviate the negative emotions associated with chronic pain.

Chronic pain is pain that lasts more than six months. Its origin can be both physiological and emotional, and it is accompanied by symptoms such as hypersensitivity, anxiety and depressive behavior. It has no cure, treatment is difficult, and current drugs don’t alleviate the symptoms.

January 30, 2017January 20, 2017

New DNA-based technique for depositing materials with a resolution of less than 10 nanometers

A study led by CSIC and involving IBEC researchers proposes a new technique using molecules ‘a la carte’ to obtain nanoscale surfaces that will have many useful applications in microelectronics and biomedicine. The work has been published in the journal Advanced Materials.

The new method means that researchers can obtain nanoscale surfaces with many molecules arranged in an ordered way.

June 17, 2020December 1, 2016

Using EFM to probe the secrets of bacterial endospore survival strategies

An IBEC group has demonstrated, for the first time, that the hydration properties of a single bacterial endospore in varying environmental relative humidity can be determined with high accuracy and reproducibility, and in a non-destructive way, shedding new light on endospore survival strategies.

Endospores are recognized as the hardiest form of life on Earth, and are produced by certain bacterial cells in response to a lack of nutrients.

December 5, 2016November 22, 2016

Record-breaking nanojets that use safe fuel

IBEC group leader and ICREA research professor Samuel Sanchez’s latest nanojets have set a new world record for the smallest man-made jet engine ever.

As well as using a safe new method of propulsion, the tubular nanoscale engines are also three times smaller than the previous Guinness Book of Records entry – which was also set by Samuel, in a collaboration with colleagues at the Leibniz Institute for Solid State and Materials Research in Dresden.

October 27, 2016October 27, 2016

Molecules activated by light to control glutamate receptors

Researchers at IBEC, IQAC-CSIC and CNRS have developed molecules that can modulate the activity of glutamate receptors in the central nervous system, with important applications in biomedicine.

For the last few years the collaborators have been working on the development of molecules called targeted covalent photoswitches (TCPs), whose structure can be changed using light. This change in shape causes the molecule to be recognized – or not – by a biological receptor as a key is to a lock. This coupling activates the receptor or not, triggering the activity.

October 25, 2016October 13, 2016

Drug-loaded nanovectors covered with antibodies represent an innovative approach to combat malaria

A study led by Xavier Fernández Busquets, director of the joint ISGlobal-IBEC Nanomalaria unit, describes an innovative approach to selectively eliminate red blood cells infected by Plasmodium falciparum, avoid their aggregation, and inhibit parasite growth.

The strategy, based on the use of nanovesicles coated with antibodies that target a parasite protein, and loaded with an antimalarial drug, represents a promising alternative in the treatment of severe malaria.

October 13, 2016September 9, 2016

Cells move en masse towards rigid tissues

A new phenomenon, collective durotaxis, opens new avenues to control tumor growth and improve wound healing

In a study published today in the journal Science, researchers at IBEC have shown that several types of cells are attracted to the most rigid areas of tissues. The discovery contradicts the traditional view that cell movement is guided primarily by variations in the chemical concentration of proteins and ions.

July 21, 2016July 20, 2016

Vision restoration by molecular prostheses

A new route towards treatment to recover sight based on controlling the activity of small molecules

The groups of Pau Gorostiza, ICREA Research Professor at IBEC, and Amadeu Llebaria of IQAC-CSIC have developed molecules that can be applied as light-regulated molecular prostheses to help restore vision in cases of retinal degeneration.

Together with their collaborators at ICIQ, INA, IRB Barcelona, CIBER-BBN and the Miguel Hernández and Alcalá de Henares universities, the researchers reveal in Nature Communications today their development of a new class of light-regulated drug, targeted covalent photoswitches (TCPs), that act as prosthetic molecules that can restore photoresponses in degenerated retinas.