Our latest Cafe Cientifico, at Global Talent

One of the speakers at the Epidemiology cafe has been contacted by Global Talent for an interview. This is how she found the review this site has prepared on our latest cafe: Com influeix l'entorn en la salut.

Com influeix l'entorn en la salut - Global Talent

Thay have made quite a good summary of the cafe, too. Here's the opening lines:

L'epidemiologia és la ciència que busca respondre com l'ambient (familiar, laboral, ambiental, d'estil de vida) afecta la nostra salut. Una de les claus d'aquesta disciplina passa per determinar el percentatge de factors genètics i externs que influeixen en l'organisme i, sobretot, fins a quin punt són reversibles. En altres paraules, l'epidemiologia es troba encara en la dicotomia gen-entorn.

"Vivim envoltats de residus", va explicar la setmana passada Jordi Sunyer, epidemiòleg del Centre de Recerca en Epidemiologia Ambiental, al Cafè Científic organitzat pel Centre de Regulació Genòmica de Barcelona i el grup SmS (Science meets Society): Com influeix l’entorn en la teva salut? "La bona notícia és que la contaminació la generem nosaltres", va afegir.

[See rest of the article here]

Thank you, Ester, for sharing this link with us!

New scientific cafe on Thursday 15th: Epidemiology

The SmS Café Científico is back, and in a new location: The Centre Sant Pere Apòstol is collaborating with us for the next three sessions, offering their auditorium for the cafes.

Our next cafe is on epidemiology, and under the idea of How does our environment influence our health? we are going to have a chance to discuss the effects that our diet, work environment, social relations, or pollution may have on our physical and mental health... and how to prevent the negative effects and work on positive actions.

Speakers will be Jordi Sunyer, environmental researcher and co-director of the CREAL, Michelle Mendez, researcher on Epidemiology and Nutrition and Ester Villalonga, sociologist and epidemiologist.

• When? Thursday April 15th, 19:00 - 20:30h 

• Where? Auditori Centre Sant Pere Apòstol. C/Sant Pere més Alt, 25 - 08003 Barcelona

• Free admission - Please arrive on time 

PRBB Breakfast on 4th March: We need your ideas!

Trying to find new ideas, new activities and new concepts isn't easy. There are many people in SmS sharing thoughts, efforts and knowledge but we really need some more help...

Can you think of any activities, specific topics, posters, kids' workshops, visuals... related to  genetic diversity for this year's Open day?

Would you like to be part of the team working on the Open Day, giving ideas and taking care of some specific part of the activities?


Just share your ideas, never mind how wild or precise, by sending them  through this form. We shall gather all the ideas, names and emails of possible collaborators and see if we can build a strong team, as we have done in previous years. And if you'd only like to propose an activity, feel free to do so through the form!



See you at the PRBB breakfast on Thursday?

New ideas for 2010!

After the meeting on December 21st, new ideas came up for activities to carry out during 2010.

It is important to continue with initiatives that have worked out really well, although they suppose a great deal of work and we shall need new volunteers to help us and perhaps take over the organizing part. These are the cases of the Scientific Cafes, the Open Day or the Creative Writing Contest.

But there are also plans on setting up a new contest, related to art and science experiences, and creating an open source video game about the cell. As to communication, there is a group of people interested in preparing and running a multilingual blog with scientific news in Spanish, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese and English. There is also a suggestion to participate in the science week in Geneve.

As you know, the nature of our work at the PRBB often forces us to travel for congresses, for a few months in another institution or even change institutions once we finish our project / contract / internship... So some of those who started Science meets Society are now either working in other, more time-consuming positions or projects, are spending a lot of time away from Barcelona or aren't even working here any more. This is why we really need "new blood" among us, to help, organize, suggest new ideas and funding, write texts for us when we need something on your speciality, give support every now and then...

There are many ways you can contribute, as long as you want to!

SmS meeting: SmS 2010 proposals

It's time to think in what the SmS community wants to do during 2010!

Thus, Roser Pinyol proposes to meet on Monday 21st of December at 15:00 in the Seminar Room 2 (Room 470).

We need motivated people to push forward this fantastic initiative!

If you are interested, come!!

If you are interested but you can not come on Monday, leave a comment and we will keep you informed about the SmS 2010 proposals. We will also post a brief on what has been decided during this meeting

150 years from The Origin of Species

Today is the 150th anniverary of the first time On The Origin Of Species was published, in London, 1859.

If you feel like celebrating by reading it either in English or Spanish, you can find PDF versions here. You may also feel like going through The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online, or perhaps visit the modern art collective exhibition Darwin and Art, on its last day today at Galeria Montcada. Or just have a toast to good old Charles Darwin!

In any case, don't forget to jot down in your calendars the scientific cafe on Rare Diseases this Friday!

New Scientific Cafe: Rare diseases

On November 27th we'll have a new Café Científico, once again at La Pedrera and at our usual time, 19:30h.

What's the topic this time? As you can see in the poster below, it's going to be on rare diseases. What is a rare disease? How many are there? How do you detect them? Are there new ones springing up? What is the scientific community doing about them?

Speakers: 

• Isabel Calvo, from the Spanish federation of Rare Diseases
• Rafael Artuch, Researcher in Rare diseases at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu
• Celia Pérez-Cerdá, Researcher from the Diagnosis Center for Molecular Diseases CEDEM, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.

When? Friday the 27th November, 19.30h
Where? Entresol room, La Pedrera. Passeig de Gràcia, 92 - Barcelona

Free admission - Please arrive on time

I El.lipse Award for science communication: CONGRATULATIONS!

Today, November 13, we finally have the names of the winners for the I El·lipse Award , organized by Science meets Society. The awarded works, that will be published in the next edition of El.lipse, are:

1st Prize in the category of texts:

Letter to a young scientis -Author: Marga Nadal 

Award: 1000 €

1st Prize in the category of graphics:

Totipotent -Author: Ignaci Buch Mundó

Award: 1000 €

1st Consolation prize in the category of texts:

Once there was a cell - Author: David Mateos 

Award: Voucher of 200 € at the Herrero bookshop

2nd Consolation prize in the category of texts:

The first interview -Author: Joana Ribeiro 

Award: Voucher of 200 € at the Herrero bookshop

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A total of 21 works were presented between the two categories -text and graphics- and evaluated by the following jury:

Researcher: Anna Veiga
Science journalist: Xavier Duran
Graphic designer: Carles Puche
Representative of Science meets Society: Iris Uribesalgo
Representative from PRBB: Elvira López

Congratulations to the winners and thaks to everyone who participated!

Open Day in the Press and on the Web

The PRBB Open Day has been a great success once again!

Thank you for all the energy and time dedicated, it would have been impossible without the 100+ volunteers that shared their time and energy on Saturday to get Science and Society a bit closer!

But it was also really important to get the word around so that people could come. This year there was even more people talking about the Open Day during end of September - beguinning of October, so we are trying to gather in a list all those websites, blogs and general press that either announced the PRBB Open Day, or commented on it after visiting us on Saturday.

Please provide links to blogs/press coverage of the Open Day 2009 here, either editing this post or in the comment section.

www.btvnoticies.cat

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Institutions within PRBB:

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• PRBB: Éxit de la Jornada de Portes Obertes 2009
• CREAL: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB
• IMIM: Jornada de puertas abiertas en el PRBB
• IMIM'at!: Jornada de portes obertes al PRBB aquest dissabte
• Fundació Pascual Maragall, Alzheimer Internacional: Jornada de portes obertes al PRBB
• Fundació Pasqual Maragall: Gran èxit de la primera jornada de portes obertes de la fundació
  
• UPF: Open Day en el Parque de Investigación Biomédica de Barcelona (PRBB)
• IMAS, Institut Municipal d'Assistència Sanitaria: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB

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Websites and Blogs:

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• BioCat, BioRegió de Catalunya: ‘Ciencia para todos’: jornada de puertas abiertas en el Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, el 3 de octubre
• Global Talent: Diari digital de ciència, economia i societat: ‘Ciència per a tothom’: jornada de portes obertes al PRBB, el 3 d’octubre
• Biotecnologia.com: Jornada de puertas abiertas del PRBB
• Microsiervos: Segunda jornada de puertas abiertas en el Parque de Investigación Biomédica de Barcelona
• La Malla: EL Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona celebra la 2a jornada de portes obertes
• Club de lectura de Ciència Biblioteca Les Corts Miquel Llongueras: Portes obertes al Parc de Recerca Biomèdica
• Biblioteca Fundació Bonanova: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB
• Programa de Joves i Ciència de Caixa Catalunya: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB
• La agenda de la cultura científica: 03-10-2009 Puertas abiertas en el PRBB
• Ok, ok, it's me!: PRBB Open Day '09: casi a punto
• Scribd: PRBB Open Day Flyer
• Teknear: Jornada de puertas abiertas en el Parque de Investigación Biomédica de Barcelona

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Press:

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• El Periódico: Roser Pinyol: «A menudo, la sociedad ve a los científicos como cajas negras» - JORNADA DE PUERTAS ABIERTAS. Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona [PDF]
• ABC: El Parque de Investigación Biomédica celebra su 2ª jornada puertas abiertas
• BTV notícies: El Parc de Recerca Biomèdica homenatja a Darwin

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Also linking to the PRBB Open Day website:

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• Universitat de Vic: Jornada de Portes Obertes al Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona (PRBB)
• Butlletí FCRI de recerca i Innovació, Agenda: Jornada de Portes Obertes al Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona
• Red Heracles: Jornada de Puertas Abiertas PRBB, Barcelona
• Vorada: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB
• Jardí Botanic, Agenda: Open Day 2009, Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona
• Blog de l'AMPA de Sant Josep Oriol: Jornada de Portes Obertes al PRBB
• And loads of links and references at Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social websites!

PRBB OPEN DAY'09

October 3rd, PRBB Open Day: Are you going to miss it?

The PRBB Open Day, organized by Science Meets Society with the support of the PRBB and the institutions within it, is above all a great big party that allows people from the general public to talk directly with young researchers. Many of you were here last year, but for those who haven't experienced the atmosphere yet, make sure you come on Saturday and bring along your family, friends, neighbours... anyone who might be interested in seeing where you work, finding out about research at the PRBB, watching the short plays by PRBB members, or just feel like fiddling with little experiments they can do at the workshops!

To get an idea of what it will be like, see the images from last year

If you want to be part of the team of volunteers, put your name down here

Si quieres formar parte del equipo de voluntarios, apúntate en esta lista

3 de Octubre, Jornada de Puertas Abiertas del PRBB: ¿Te lo vas a perder?

La Jornada de Puertas Abiertas del PRBB, organizada por Science Meets Society con el apoyo del PRBB y las instituciones en él alojadas, es ante todo una gran fiesta donde los ciudadanos de la calle pueden conocer y hablar con jóvenes investigadores. Muchos de vosotros estuvisteis el año pasado, pero si te lo perdiste entonces asegúrate de venir este sábado con tu familia, amigos, vecinos... cualquiera a quien le interesaría ver dónde trabajas, enterarse de qué investigamos en el PRBB o simplemente quiera liarse a hacer experimentos sencillos en los talleres y casetas.

Viendo las imágenes de arriba, de la jornada de puertas abiertas del año pasado, os podéis hacer una idea del ambiente que hubo ;-)