BSC-CNS Newsletter January 2020

BSC researchers have participated in a study which has demonstrated that there is a relationship between a type of circular DNA, very rarely studied by scientists, and the biology of childhood cancer. These scientists have generated the first genetic map that includes circular DNA, and have answered questions that have remained unsolved for a long time. This study has been published in Nature Genetics.

Researchers from BSC, in collaboration with the Instituto de Catálisis y Petroleoquímica –CSIC, have created a new model of enzymes, PluriZymes, a significant advance in enzyme engineering where additional artificial active sites are added into one enzyme thanks to a successful research published by the journal Nature Catalysis.

Nadia Calviño visited BSC in December to know about the research being carried out. The centre's directors Mateo Valero amb Josep M. Martorell accompanied the minister during the visit and informed her of the most outstanding projects, including the future installation of the MareNostrum 5 supercomputer. During the visit, the minister was able to take a tour of the current BSC supercomputer, MareNostrum 4.

MareNostrum 4 provided 1,173 million processor hours during 2019. 80% of these hours (938 million) have been used by researchers who have gained access to the supercomputer through the European infrastructure network PRACE or the RES. The computing hours granted to both networks are valued at 8.5 million euros.

BSC will coordinate two out of the nine projects that will receive funding from European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), through the Pla Acció of the research and innovation strategy for smart specialization in Catalunya, RIS3CAT. These projects are DRAC and FusionCAT. BSC will also participate as a partner in four more projects, making it the center with the most representation of all emerging technology groupings.

Cutting-edge software technology developed by the European project CLASS is now being tested on connected cars in the Modena Automotive Smart Area, a real urban laboratory in northern Italy. The CLASS framework is powering compelling smart city applications, from digital traffic signs and smart parking to air pollution simulation and pedestrian avoidance applications.

BSC researchers released their developments on the occasion of the Supercomputing Conference (SC19), held in Denver in November. The Workflows and Distributed Computing team released the new version of COMPSs programming model and of the distributed object store dataClay. The Programming Models group released the latest version of OmpSs-2 programming model.

BSC researcher Marta Melé received the award for her work in the analysis of gene variations among individuals and their implications in diseases like breast cancer. Melé aims to find specific biomarkers and therapeutic targets for the prevention of this type of cancer. This program awards projects developed by women under 40 who are investigating some of the great scientific challenges of Humanity.

Carlos P. García-Pando, the head of the Atmospheric Composition Group and AXA Chair on Sand and Dust Storms, has been appointed as an ICREA professor. The researcher currently has a European Research Council (ERC) Consolidator Grant for his project FRAGMENT: “Frontiers in Dust Mineralogical Composition and its Effects upon Climate”.