Projectes

Over the last decade we have made significant progress in understanding the role of genetics in cancer predisposition, evolution andtreatment. We now have thousands of germline variants associated with different types of cancer and we have also identified a fewhundred genes that, when somatically mutated, drive the growth of cancer cells.However, there are also many open...

Air pollution continues to be one of the main issues in urban areas. In the particular case of Barcelona (Spain), chronic NO2 and PM2.5 exceedances are still recorded in urban traffic stations, highlighting the contribution of the road transport sector to population exposure to ambient concentrations. At the same time, several studies have shown that the urban plume of...

The mesopelagic layer of the oceans, also known as the Twilight Zone, extends between ~200 and 1000 m depth and is one of the vastest contiguous ecosystems on Earth. It plays a pivotal role in global biogeochemical cycles and climate, and hosts a massive biomass of zooplankton and small fish. However, scientific understanding and predictive capacity of biogeochemical...

In this project, we present PluriZymes, enzymes containing multiple (engineered) catalytic actives sites in a single scaffold, as one of the next breakthroughs in enzymatic catalysis. We show clear preliminary evidence of the potential role of PluriZymes in optimizing complex biochemical processes, such as cellulose degradation, or to group cascade reactions into one single...

Gene expression determines the identity of cells and it thus governs the process by which organs and tissues are formed and organized in an individual. Furthermore, differences in gene expression between individuals are known to play a crucial role in determining disease risk. However, the mechanisms of how such differences in gene expression are associated with disease...

Digital twins, along with the Internet of Things and Edge computing , are expected to play a decisive role in the nextdecade s industrial markets (Industry 4.0) enabling dramatic improvements in complex systems design and operation.However, this technology has not been yet widely implemented, since it requires the collaboration of experts in multiple fieldsand costly...

Cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is a rare type of cancer and the second most common hepatobiliary malignancy, accounting for 10 to 20% of primary liver cancers. In the recent years, different groups have published data on the molecular biology of CCA, describing a complex pathogenesis, involving various molecular pathways, some of them potential therapeutic targets, such as...

Es esencial diseñar antivirales capaces de inhibir, a la vez, diversos coronaviruses, introduciendo así una serie de moléculas que puedan actuar como primera línea de choque en mutaciones de SARS-CoV-2 y en las pandemia venideras. Para ello, es imprescindible localizar dianas con alta similitud, bien caracterizadas estructuralmente, y realizar un...

The EXSCALATE4CoV (E4C) project aims to exploit the most powerful computing resources currently based in Europe to empowersmart in-silico drug design. Advanced Computer-Aided Drug Design (CADD) in combination with the high throughput biochemicaland phenotypic screening will allow the rapid evaluation of the simulations results and the reduction of time for the discovery ofnew...

The HBP is now poised to start the last of four multi-year work plans, which will take it to the end of its original incarnation asan EU Future and Emerging Technology Flagship. Our plan is that the end of the Flagship will see the start of a new life forthe HBP, as an enduring European scientific research infrastructure, EBRAINS, that is on the European Strategy Forum on...