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IBEC expands its research program with a new line of stem cell investigation

The control of stem cell potency is the line of research most recently incorporated into the IBEC program under the leadership of Ángel Raya, a research professor at the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). This project, which represents an expansion of the institute’s work in the field, now forms part of IBEC’s Cellular Biotechnology research program.

UK-Iberia Nanomedicine Workshop

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office Science and Innovation Network and the Spanish Technology Platform on Nanomedicine (Nanomed Spain) have organized the UK-Iberia Nanomedicine Workshop. The meeting will be host at the British Embassy in Madrid on Dec 10th and 11th.

New IBEC Research Facility

As part of its current strategic plan, the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) is opening a new facility to accommodate four of its fifteen research teams.

Discovery of a New Function of the Prion Protein Improves our Understanding of Epilepsy

Cellular prion protein (PrPc) plays an essential role in maintaining neurotransmitter homeostasis in the central nervous system. This discovery has been made possible by the observation that both a deficiency and an excess of the protein have a considerable effect on this homeostasis.

Surprisingly, in both cases, the central nervous excitability threshold is altered to such an extent that an epileptic seizure may result. Thanks to this discovery, we now have more tools at our disposal that can help us to deepen our basic understanding of epilepsy.

Discovery of a Novel Cell Adhesion Mechanism

In a process essential to the immune system’s response to infection, dendritic cells responsible for identifying pathogens communicate with the T-cells that destroy the infectious agents.

To achieve this, the dendritic cells must be correctly activated and migrate to the lymph nodes where they must adhere firmly to T-cells.