Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST)

⏳ Last week to register! Enhance your visual communication skills as a scientist. Do you want to make your research more compelling and easier to understand? Join our 8-hour workshop on Graphic Design and learn to design figures, posters, and presentations that communicate your research clearly and effectively. Register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/dFepNSDs What you’ll learn: ✅ Principles of effective scientific design ✅ Skills to create publication-ready figures, posters, and presentations ✅ Hands-on experience with GraphPad, Adobe Illustrator, and Affinity Designer ✅ Strategies to visually communicate complex information 📌 Don’t miss this opportunity to elevate the impact of your research!

Researchers at Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2) have co-led a study showing that adding salt to regular ice considerably boosts its ability to produce electricity when bent. The discovery could pave the way for new electronic devices or for generating power in extreme environments such as polar regions. Published in #NatureMaterials Nature Magazine #BISTCommunity #flexoelectricity 👉 https://lnkd.in/dppz8M75

Ten years after LIGO Laboratory first detected #GravitationalWaves from a pair of merging black holes, the instruments have now provided the cleanest detection of a black hole merger yet, allowing researchers to verify Stephen Hawking’s black hole area theorem with unprecedented confidence. The #BISTCommunity centre IFAE is part of the international collaborations that have made this work possible. #KAGRA #Virgo #BlackHole #BlackHoleResearch ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g5p2zQFT

Congratulations to the 28 #BISTMaster #MMRES students who have just graduated! 🎉👏 Their exciting Master’s year came to a close last Tuesday with a Graduation Ceremony at Parc Científic de Barcelona A huge thank you to everyone who made this programme possible 🙌 And to our talented new graduates: we wish you every success in your #science careers. As BIST General Director Dr Eduard Vallory reminded us at the ceremony: “do not lose the joy of discovering!” 🌟 https://lnkd.in/d4UzZZWm

🚀 Last days to apply! Last Friday, we held the first Meet Up with students from previous editions of the Scientific Project Management course! The next edition closes this Friday, and we have now opened a 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀. 🔗 Don’t miss this chance to join and boost your professional growth! https://lnkd.in/dFTAUGrR Thank you everyone for joining us!

Hi new #BISTCommunity members! BIST collaborates with the Barcelona International Welcome Desk, a very useful service to help you settle into the city #Barcelona. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dg9t5cKp

Is it possible to treat obesity without reducing food intake? A new study from IRB Barcelona has found that Neuritin 1, a protein produced by brown adipose tissue, protects against obesity, insulin resistance, and liver inflammation in animal models. 📝 Published in #NatureCommunications #BISTCommunity Learn more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gEXcAaqU

Six #BISTcommunity early-career researchers have secured prestigious ERC grants 👏 These awards highlight the ability of BIST Community centres to attract and nurture outstanding young international talent. Congratulations to the researchers! We're looking forward to the discoveries to come! 👉https://lnkd.in/gD6AtNAz

🧪 New strategy to tackle obesity by activating brown fat 👇 A new study co-led by Dr. Antonio Zorzano and Dr. Manuela Sanchez-Feutrie from #IRBBarcelona suggests the use of Neuritin 1 to treat obesity without reducing food intake. The research unveils a new mechanism of action and has been published in #NatureCommunications. 🗣️ “By increasing the levels of Neuritin 1 specifically in brown fat, we observed that the animals burned more energy, which helped prevent fat accumulation,” explains Dr. Zorzano, who is also a professor at the University of Barcelona and a researcher at CIBERDEM. This metabolic boost led to significant improvements in several health indicators, including reduced weight gain, improved insulin sensitivity, and lower liver inflammation, even in animals fed high-calorie diets. 🗣️ “These findings point to Neuritin 1 as a promising therapeutic candidate for treating obesity and its associated conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease, through a mechanism that differs from current approaches,” highlights Dr. Sánchez-Feutrie. Read the news here 👉 https://lnkd.in/ehWHH-rq - - - - -  Related article: Identification of Neuritin 1 as a local metabolic regulator of brown adipose tissue. Nature Communications (2025) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62255-2 CNRS Karolinska Institutet University of Houston

A study co-led by the Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia (ICN2) finds that ice generates electricity when bent — a clue to how lightning forms. The research team has revealed that ice is a flexoelectric material, meaning it can produce electricity when unevenly deformed. This discovery could have major technological implications while also shedding light on natural phenomena such as lightning. 📝 Published in #NaturePhysics #BISTCommunity Learn more ➡️ https://lnkd.in/dHB9bR9y