Diet and aerobic exercise are highly effective for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but not for obese subjects that have developed the disease when very young. A study at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and Trinity College in Dublin demonstrates that obese subjects between 18 and 25 years of age carry mitochondrial proteins and genes that work abnormally and that these anomalies contribute to generating insulin resistance and a reduced response to physical exercise. Produced by the American Diabetes Association, the journal ‘Diabetes Care’, which disseminates the clinical studies of greatest relevance, will publish the results of this research in its March issue.

11 March 2010

On the 26th of February, the Biopol Coordination Committee was constituted, composed by all the consortium organizations and attached to the Biopol space. The Coordinating Committee is the advisory body of the Biopol Consortium, whose mission is to analyze and coordinate the activities in an integrated way of each of the entities located in the Biopol space.

10 March 2010

This edition of the congress of the biotechnology partnership, being the most important in Europe, the BIO-Europe Spring, was held in Barcelona, and has become the most successful in its history: 1,061 companies, 1,800 attendees and 9,000 'one-to- one' are a sign of the expectation that has risen among all international agents in the sector. Carola Schropp, President of the EBD Group, explained that "these figures represent an increase of 15% compared to last year's congress in Milan" and "demonstrate the power of partnership, which will allow attendees at BIO-Europe Barcelona to establish an average of 10 meetings for each delegate and 16 per company".

10 March 2010

The classroom simulation of a pharmacy of the Unit of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacotherapy, directed by Professor Edward L. Marino has been named one of the best initiatives of Pharmacy of the Year for 'E Pharmaceuticals', under the heading of Education. The winners received their awards at a ceremony held in March the 8th at the 'Circulo de Bellas Artes' in Madrid.

10 March 2010

Tomorrow, Wednesday 10 March, at six o'clock, the hall Prat de la Riba of the IEC (Carrer del Carme, 47) host the Awards event for High School Research Works 2009 and the awards for the twenty one selected to represent Catalonia in the state phase of the International Physics Olympics. The Awards are granted by the Catalan Society of Physics, a subsidiary of the Institut d'Estudis Catalans (IEC), and aims to stimulate interest in physics research in prospective students of the Catalan-speaking territories.

9 march 2010

This Saturday, the 6th of March the Casino Masnou (Maresme) will host a scientific activity aimed at boys and girls between 7 and 16 years from the Maresme area. The activity is part of the Activa project, an initiative within the Avanza plan of the Ministry of Industry, coordinated by Jordi Villa, main researcher of the project by the UPF and researcher at the Laboratory of Biophysics and Computational Biochemistry Research Group in Biomedical Informatics ( GRIB) of the UPF-IMIM.

9 March 2010

Preliminary results of a study carried out by professionals of the Cardiology Service of the University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, in collaboration with Philips Healthcare, show that the application of telemedicine into the everyday life of people with chronic heart failure decreases by nearly 70% the time that these patients need to be hospitalized. Through an interactive platform based on the transmission of broadband data between home and hospital patients, researchers have found not only the reduction of income and therefore improved efficiency but also demonstrate that patients have more quality of life.

9 March 2010

While a high cholesterol level is a risk factor for cardiovascular and brain-vascular disease, cholesterol may also have a beneficial role in the recovery and prognosis of patients with stroke. Neurologists at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona have published a study in the journal 'Stroke' which demonstrates that patients with high cholesterol and triglycerides (hyperlipidemia) show less degeneration of brain white matter, also called leukoaraiosis.

9 March 2010

While in the year 2000 the number of women who for the first time enrolled at the Open University of Catalonia (UOC) was 45.4%, the first semester of this academic year 2009-2010, the percentage of women enrolled in one of the training options in Catalan is 55.5%. This percentage certifies the upward trend of new enrolment by women in the UOC, according to a study by the Department of Analysis and Market Research.

9 March 2010