ISGlobal and its Allied Center, CREAL, Participate in the Barcelona Science Festival

How can we bring science closer to society and make it interesting and attractive? The Barcelona Science Festival, with more than 100 activities in its 10^th edition, is a good example where scientists explain their research in a simple and friendly manner to a public that is increasingly informed and interested in scientific questions.

ISGlobal and its allied center, CREAL, did not want to miss the opportunity to participate in the Science Festival that took place in the Parc de la Ciutadella on June 18 and 19, and held several activities including brief talks and workshops. On Saturday morning, the ISGlobal undergraduate studentsSelena Alonso and Marta Cova, together with other researchers from the malaria group, organized the workshop “ What is malaria?”. They explained to the public what the disease is about, which countries and regions are affected, and what we are doing at ISGlobal to fight against it. Through different games and tests, the public discovered how the parasite can infect us. During the afternoon, the CREAL undergraduate student Ione Avila-Palencia, gave a small talk on “Mobility and Health in the City of Barcelona”, where she explained how the pollutants derived from city traffic can affect our health. “By cycling or walking to work, we increase our daily physical activity” the researcher told the public. “A greater quality of life depends on more green areas in the city” she added.

On the following day, ISGlobal researcher Clara Ballesté and other members from the antibiotic resistance group coordinated a workshop called “Design your own bacterium”, where the public could create a bacterium with different characteristics. Starting by questions such as “What type of bacterium are you?” or “What superpowers do you have?” the researchers introduced the public to the different types of bacteria that exist. In turn, Ignasi Roca, Assistant Research Professor at ISGlobal, gave a short talk called “Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria: The Phantom Menace” to more than 50 people that were present in the stand. Finally,Elena Lantero, undergraduate researcher at ISGlobal andIBEC, gave a brief talk on “ Nanotechnology, a New Weapon against Malaria”, where she explained the importance of nanotechnology in the development of new treatments against the disease.

ISGlobal and CREAL’s participation in the Science Festival concluded on June 20 at the PRBB with a satellite event on how to communicate science: the ESAIRE/Café mundial workshop: “What colour is the air?” coordinated by Irene Eleta, postdoctoral researcher at CREAL.

More information:

La ciencia vuelve a invadir la Ciutadella (BigVang – La Vanguardia)