From African clawed frog oocytes... to drugs that are activated by light

This year Live Research Fair is bringing eleven research groups from several leading centres in Catalonia to this hallmark venue where visitors can take part in experiments connected with the researchers’ ongoing projects using the same instruments and materials that they normally employ. Each stand features a problem for the public to solve using the scientific method as way of enhancing interaction.

From the laboratory to CosmoCaixa

Developing a drug that is activated by light; examining African clawed frog oocytes to discover how proteins are formed; assessing the ecological quality of a river using an App; breaking down a water molecule to obtain hydrogen and using it as a clean energy source—these are just a few of the experiments that attendees will be able to participate in.

The eleven research groups attending this 16th event come from: the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), the Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona (IBMB-CSIC), the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (Miquel Crusafont Catalan Institute of Palaeontology, ICP), the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), La Salle-Ramon Llull University, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the Universitat de Barcelona (UB), the University of Vic (UVic-UCC) and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV).

In addition, the three prize winners from the BATX2LAB programme—aimed at upper secondary school students who carry out the practical part of their research project at the PCB—will have their own stand to talk about their projects.

This year the Live Research Fair is once again supported by Barcelona City Council and the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and partnered by the Universitat de Barcelona (UB). It is part of the Barcelona Science Park’s Research in Society programme which includes over 100 activities involving more than 5,000 people every year.

On 11, 12 and 13 April the event is aimed at schools, with advanced booking required. On Saturday 14 April no booking is required and visits are included in the entry fee to CosmoCaixa Barcelona.

Guided tour and class with the inimitable teacher Merlí

At 11 a.m. on Saturday 14 April there will be a guided tour of the Fair’s stands attended by Jordi Portabella, Director of the Science Popularization and CosmoCaixa Area; Javier Hidalgo, Head of Science Exhibitions at ”la Caixa” Foundation, and Ignasi Belda, Director of the Barcelona Science Park.

At 12 p.m. Francesc Orella—the actor who plays the charismatic teacher in the TV series Merlí—will be at the Fair with his students Elisabeth Casanovas and Iñaki Mur (Tània and Oliver in the series) to deliver an unprecedented, open-to-all class debate on the transcendent aspects of scientific research using his renowned “unorthodox” methods.