Biotech and Space: Interview with Francesc Gòdia, director of the MELiSSA pilot plant

Francesc Gòdia is a Full Professor of Chemical Engineering at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) since 1993. Teaching activities in Biotechnology and Chemical Engineering. Coordinator of the Biotechnology Doctoral Program at UAB. His research activity is focussed on Regenerative Technology for Life Support in Space and Animal Cell Technology for the production of biopharmaceuticals, recombinant … Read more

COVID-19 vaccines: factors contributing to a ‘fast-track’ development

Domenica Sardone, Regulatory Program Associate Director, Roche Ltd. The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a new global approach to vaccine development. There has been unprecedented international attention, cooperation and especially use of resources, enabling pharmaceutical companies and governmental bodies to act at speed in the interest of public health. During this challenging times and considering the … Read more

Interviewing Enrico Costanzo, Group Innovation Manager at Cereal Docks

What is the activity of your company? Cereal Docks Group is a family business generating eight hundred million euros of revenues. Our core business is focused on the primary transformation: transforming agricultural raw materials (like soy, sunflower and rapeseed) into ingredients like cakes, oils and lecithins mainly for feed and food industries but also for … Read more

Life After Ph.D. 2nd edition: Highlights.

by Paula Hernández. How much do you know about the career possibilities after completing a PhD? Could you imagine that life after a research doctorate can continue and shine outside Academia? The second edition of Life after PhD organized by YEBN and IBMB brought us delighting examples of professionals making their path outside the lab … Read more

Interview with the Nature Italy team

The YEBN has had the pleasure of interviewing two members of the Nature Italy team, Joffrey Planchard and Nicola Nosengo. Joffrey Planchard is Strategic Partnerships Manager at Nature Research in charge of relationships with institutions in the UK, Western and Southern Europe and Africa. He has 20 years of experience studying and working in the … Read more

Interview with Magdalini Theodoridou, Civil Engineer and PhD in Conservation Science

I was born and raised in Greece. I hold a PhD in Conservation Science from the University of Bologna in Italy and diploma in Civil Engineering (5-year studies) from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece. I have worked as a research and teaching fellow in Italy, Hungary and Cyprus, with scientific contributions to the design … Read more

Highlights of the debate “Academia vs Industry”!

Written by Paula Hernández. It is crucial that Academia and Industry work in collaboration to keep the loop of Technology and Knowledge Transfer going. This was one of the core conclusions reached by the participants in the “Academia vs Industry” Round Table which took place last Wednesday 16th December as an exciting closing event of … Read more

Interview with Lorena de Oñate, postodoctoral researcher in the Innovative Genomics Institute, led by Prof. Doudna, winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

Laura Moro, Ph.D. As you all know, this year Nobel Prize in Chemistry was recently awarded to Prof. Emmanuelle Charpentier and Prof. Jennifer A. Doudna who discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. We spoke with Lorena de Oñate, PhD, a postdoctoral researcher from Barcelona currently working at the Innovative Genomics … Read more

Bioethics and Genetic Modification: Back to Gattaca

Alexandre Bretel In the common imaginary, genetic modifications belong above all to the field of science fiction. But some techniques have already been in use for several decades, and new ones raise unprecedented ethical questions. The CRISPR-Cas9 technique thus allows very precise modifications to be made to the genome, which would make it possible to … Read more

ESOF 2020, Trieste

Some YEBN members had the opportunity to join ESOF’s conferences this past week! Want to know more about this initiative? Read below! The EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) is a biennial, pan-European, general science conference dedicated to scientific research and innovation. Each conference aims to deliver stimulating content and lively debate around the latest advancements and … Read more

Are gene-based vaccines the future of immunisation?

Traditional or conventional vaccines exploit two approaches: either the introduction of live attenuated infectious agents that replicate within the host without causing disease or the introduction of specific antigens that trigger an immune response. Recently, a revolutionary strategy based on gene-based vaccines −either DNA- or RNA-based− has been proposed. This strategy involves the direct introduction of a DNA or RNA sequence encoding the antigen or antigens against which an immune response is sought, and relies on the in situ production of the target antigen (1). This means that the cell’s machinery uses the instructions contained in the introduced genetic material to make virus antigens that the immune system reacts to.