Hi folks!

It has been a while since the last post but I have been really busy during the last month. I have finished three course here at the UB so I'm please to let you know that this post will cover (1) what type of subjects you can choose at the UB if you are a KI exchange student and (2) what topics did these three courses cover!

As a KI exchange student for the third semester you are supposed to complete 25 credits, containing a 16 credits research project and 9 credits by taking courses. Of course, it is up to you to pick out the courses you fancy.

Go to the UB webpage for more info about the MSc in Biomedicine

For the research project, my advice is to start having a look at the groups you like as soon as possible, this means 2 months before your arrival. There are hundreds of research groups, so just see the offers at the UB webpage as well as the ones from the big science parks (more info in previous posts). Remember that you have to reach the agreement of the principal investigator, the tutor from the UB (in case you perform your research in a different place from the UB) and the KI supervisor. Therefore, plan this in advance!

Now, let's tal seriously about the courses. The MSc in biomedicine at the UB has two parts: a general part with general courses and a specialized one where you must choose a field to focus on (cancer, immunology, physiology, and so on). We are quite lucky here, because instead of being forced to pick out one field (like normal students), we can select directly the courses we like the most without any restriction. That's awesome! It means you can take one course from cancer, another from physiology and the last one from the general part :)


The courses may change from year to year, so you had better check them at the UB webpage.

 This is the outline of the subjects of the MSc in Biomedicine at KI

I chose Genomics and Proteomics (3 credits) where I deeply learnt about high throughput sequencing machines as well as several different approaches to analyze protein expression in cells. The second one, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (3 credits), dealt with the use of all classes of stem cells to medicine with the ultimate goal of curing patients. Finally, I finished today the general course in cancer that has consisted in a lot of lectures trying to highlight all the key features of cancer.

My adventure in Barcelona is about to finish since I only have two weeks left. What a pity! Anyway, I would be happy to know that you find this blog useful!

See you in Stockholm! :)

Exciting weekend going to PortAventura!!

Hi everybody again!

Today I will introduce you one of the most interesting activities you can do while living in Barcelona. It is one of the biggest theme parks in Europe, it has a lot of roller coasters…yes, I'm talking about PortAventura!!!

At the entrance of PortAventura!

This weekend my cousins and I decided to do something exciting so we agreed to go to PortAventura, the best theme park in Spain, which is in the province of Tarragona (south of Catalonia). PortAventura is a theme park and a resort in the well-known city for tourists of Salou; on the Costa Daurada, approximately an hour drive south-west of Barcelona. You can get there taking the highways AP-7/A-7 by car and by using the train (there is a nearby station). It attracts around 4 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in Spain.

Among all the attractions in PortAventura, there are some that outstand over the rest. These are: Furius Baco, Dragon Khan, Shambhala and Hurakan Condor Ride.

Furius Baco: This one will catapult you dramatically horizontal in a shuttle from 0 to 135 km/h in three seconds.

 

Dragon Khan on the left (red), Shambhala on the right (white)

Dragon Khan: The Dragon Khan ride of PortAventura theme park, consists of an impressive downhill drop and 8 loop the loops, defying the bravest on a journey of 110 km/h. Incredible!!
Shambhala: Totally insane, I cannot explain how crazy it is! Check this out:
The attraction beats three European records:
    1.    The highest rollercoaster in Europe (76 meters)
    2.    Rollercoaster with the longest fall in Europe (78 meters)
    3.    The fastest European hypercoaster, it will reach 134 km / h on the first descent.
Hurakan Condor Ride: The only attraction of the park that will rise to 100 meters for you to experience what its like during a true free fall. Scaring!

There are, of course, other attractions that are very good too, but these four are the most exciting ones. Be brave and try them all!

                                        With my new friend...but he wasn't very talkative





In addition, we were lucky enough to enter into the park when it was acclimated in a Halloween-fashion. So cool! You could see skulls, pumpkins, spiders and blood everywhere…but the best time was in the afternoon/night, when everyone got dressed and some crew of the park tried to scare you!!

For more information I recommend you to reach the website: http://www.portaventura.co.uk/

Enjoy PortAventura! :)

Some words about my research place!

Hi you all again!

Waiting for more info about my research in Barcelona? Let's go!

In this week's issue I will focus on the place where I'm currently doing my research project: at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB).

The door of my lab

IRB Barcelona is a research institution engaged in basic and applied biomedical science, with an special emphasis in promoting multidisciplinary research of excellence at the interface between biology, chemistry and medicine, that aims to improve quality of life by applying advances in this field. The center was founded by the Government of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Barcelona Science Park (Parc Científic de Barcelona) in October 2005.

The entrance to the Science Park I take everyday

From the previous paragraph you can foresee that the IRB Barcelona is within the complex of the Parc Científic of the UB. The whole research complex was built by the UB in 1997, being the first scientific park of Spain. Since then it has grown exponentially, being consolidated now, with more than 85.500m2 (43.537m2 exclusively for laboratories!) and 70 companies working there as one of the biggest in Europe.

*It is important to address that if you are planning to come to the UB as a KI exchange student, it is worth to check where you lectures are, since the "Campus Farmàcia/Biologia" is very close to the Parc Cientific UB! Otherwise you may have to take the metro to reach your classroom from here.*

The center is close to the University of Barcelona and to the Nou Camp (Barça's stadium) too!

Finally, I will give some information about my research group! The group is made up of five Spanish (all of them from Barcelona, except me), one Argentinian and two Italian. Therefore we have imposed the Mediterranean lifestyle...! Just joking! But I have to say that it is a very friendly group and I feel very lucky to work with them all. With regard to my research topic, it is about the unknown effect of an enzyme named ADAT2/3 (adenosine deaminase acting on tRNA) on the whole cell. It is well known that this enzyme deaminates A to I in the position of the tRNA anticodon, but several questions are unresolved so far: how does this affect cell translation? did it have a selection effect? do the organisms use always this modification or it depends on the cellular state?...The group belongs to the Molecular Medicine department of the IRB Barcelona, and it has a special focus on the gene translation studies.

PS: As I'm writing this there is a big storm upon me! That is scaring!

First blog entry!

This is my first blog entry. I would like to use this blog to show you all the cool things a young student can enjoy in the city of Barcelona. So get ready! :)

What can I say about Barcelona that you don't know yet? Leaving apart the most typical and well-known facts, I will summarize some of the features of this wonderful city I have seen so far.

Barcelona is a marvelous place to live in. It is big, colourful, friendly and charming. This city held the Olympic Games of 1992, showing the world that BCN was a global city ready to host one of these massive events. Barcelona is the second biggest city in Spain, after Madrid and ahead of the third one, Valencia. With a population of 1.6 million people (just in the city!) we are talking about one of the major cities in Southern Europe.

Without any doubt, one of the most prettiest sights in the capital of Catalonia is the port. You can see here some nice pictures:

Barcelona, as well as the whole region of Catalonia, has its own language named Catalan, which is co-oficial with Castillian (or Spanish). Other regions of Spain, like the Valencian Community and the Balearic Islands also share this language. It is a remainder of an old kingdom that once ruled a big part of the Iberian Peninsula: the Kingdom of Aragon.

The major of Barcelona decided to boost the percentage of technology and science in the overall economy of the city, that is the reason why there are so many chemical companies (like Almirall, Esteve and more), research centers (like IRB, CRG, Barcelona Supercomputing center and more) and innovative groups around the city (mainly aerospatial groups). Therefore, if you want to carry out scientific research, where else can you have top scientific groups, good weather, international environment and beaches all in one? Come soon! :)

Fortunately, I was lucky enought to see this week the end of La Mercè, which is an annual festival in Barcelona. This religious celebration has a medieval origin, when the city of Barcelona was saved from a plague of locusts thanks to their prays to the Virgin of Grace. After fours days, the festival ended up with an awesome performance of fireworks and water movements following the rythm of the music (Piromusical). Here you have both a picture and a video of that night! Enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FpVPBpt-V0

Note: Most of the pictures used are not of my property, therefore I don't take any credit from them.