Live Research Fair: from photoactive drugs to apps to improve the quality of rivers
How do photoactive drugs work? What process does a water molecule undergo to get hydrogen and use it as a clean source of energy? Can we contribute to research on rivers and their preservation with our phones? These experiments and other science approaches can be carried out with the researches that take part in the 16th edition of the Live Research Fair, which takes place from April 11 to 14 in CosmoCaixa Barcelona.
How do photoactive drugs work? What process does a water molecule undergo to get hydrogen and use it as a clean source of energy? Can we contribute to research on rivers and their preservation with our phones? These experiments and other science approaches can be carried out with the researches that take part in the 16th edition of the Live Research Fair, which takes place from April 11 to 14 in CosmoCaixa Barcelona.
The new edition of this fair is organized by the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and Obra Social “la Caixa”, and has the support of the Barcelona City Council and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT). The UB is once more collaborating with the new edition of this fair, which will gather a total of eleven research groups in Catalonia to bring research at everyoneʼs reach, enable dialogue between the visitors and the researchers and promote vocations among youngsters.
A date with teacher Merlí
Framed within the fair, this Saturday, April 16, is a guided tour around the stands of the Fair with the participation of Ignasi Belda, director of the Barcelona Science Park; Jordi Portabella, director of the Area of Research and Knowledge of la Caixa banking Foundation; Lluís Noguera, director of CosmoCaixa, and Javier Hidalgo, head of Science Exhibitions of the mentioned foundation.
At 12 noon, the actor Francesc Orella -the charismatic teacher, Merlí, from the TV series in TV3- will offer an open lecture with two of his students from the series, Elisabeth Casanovas and Iñaki Mur (Tània and Oliver in the series) to comment on important aspects of scientific research.
Optopharmacology: drugs activated by light to treat Parkinsonʼs disease
Optopharmacology is an emerging discipline in pharmacology which is based on the use of light to control the activity of drugs. Within the frame of this fair, visitors can see how photoactive drugs work. This is one of the most important progresses in pharmacotherapy. By applying light on a photosensitive drug, its action process can be controlled in detail and some restrictions can be deleted within the field of traditional pharmacology (slow and imprecise distribution of the drug, difficulties to adjust the dose, etc.).
In the fair, visitors can learn about this technology and make an approach with light from a photosensitive molecule with the team led by the lecturer Francisco Ciruela, from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of the University of Barcelona, the Institute of Neurosciences of the UB (UBNeuro) and the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), which created the first photoactive drug to treat pain in animals.
RiuNet, an app to assess the ecological quality of rivers
The study of the ecology of water ecosystems is essential for a proper management and preservation. Participants in the Fair can take part in scientific research on this issue through the RiuNet app, which allows users to assess the ecological state of rivers through field observations to share this information with researchers.
In the fair, participants can see this citizen science technological tool with other members of the Freshwater Ecology Management research group (FEM) -led by Professor Narcís Prat, from the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences of the Faculty of Biology- affiliated to the Water Research Institute (IdRA) of the UB.