On Wednesday 10 June, Dídac Ramírez, Rector of the UB, and Olivier Christin, Rector of the Lumière University (Lyon II) signed a collaboration agreement concerning the development of the MINERVA program (Mobility of Teaching and Research Institutions for the Creation of a European Teaching Area) in the fields of Spanish economy and law.

Identifying and producing plant compounds for the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases is the aim of the project “Plant terpenoids for human health: a chemical and genomic approach to identify and produce bioactive compounds” (TERPMED), funded by the 7th Framework Program of the EU. The project is coordinated by the Research Group in the Molecular Biology and Biotechnology of Isoprenoids at the UB, headed by professors Albert Ferrer and Albert Boronat of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculties of Pharmacy and Biology.

The early stages of the process by which massive stars are formed are governed by the interstellar magnetic fields, in a process similar to the formation of stars like the Sun. A paper on the subject has recently been published in Science, co-authored by the researcher Robert Estalella of the Department of Astronomy and Meteorology. Massive stars (stars that are more massive than 8 solar masses) represent only 1% of our galaxy; however, they dominate the appearance and evolution of the interstellar medium and are responsible for the production of heavy elements.