Research news

List of news published in the Press Room on research and innovation

  • Studying how to reduce the impact of maritime transport noise on marine species

    The UPC’s Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) participates in the European project SATURN, an initiative that brings together partners from ten countries to develop innovative solutions to reduce the negative effects of underwater noise on the ecosystem and move towards a cleaner and quieter maritime sector.

  • Digital twins for a more efficient, reliable and safe construction industry

    Researchers from the UPC’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, which is linked to the Barcelona School of Civil Engineering, are leading one of the work packages of the European project ASHVIN, an initiative that aims to make a more efficient, reliable and safe European construction industry by using digital twins. The project is already being implemented on a bridge on the Plasencia-Badajoz high-speed line and in several buildings in Barcelona.

  • A UPC study shows that human-generated noise can contribute to deplete seagrass posidonia populations

    When exposed to human noise, specimens of the seagrass Posidonia reveal permanent and severe lesions in their sensory organs—whose function is to sense gravity—that threaten their survival. This is the main conclusion of a recent study by the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya · BarcelonaTech (UPC), entitled “Seagrass Posidonia is impaired by human-generated noise”, which was published in Nature Communications Biology. These new findings demonstrate not only that plants have the physiological ability to perceive sounds, but also, and just as importantly, that commonly encountered sources of noise in the ocean can contribute to depleting their populations.

  • UPC researchers obtain for the first time solutions for a fluid capable of simulating any Turing machine

    Researchers from the UPC’s Geometry of Manifolds and Applications (GEOMVAP) research group and the CSIC’s Institute of Mathematical Sciences have managed, for the first time, to construct solutions for a fluid capable of simulating any Turing machine. The result of the study was published in the journal 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)'.

  • UPCommons among the world’s top 20 open document repositories

    The UPC’s open document repository, UPCommons, is ranked the world’s 20th in the latest edition of the Transparent Ranking of repositories. In the ranking of institutional repositories, UPCommons climbs to the 11th place worldwide and is once again the leader in Spain.

  • More investment for the UPC spin-off Cebiotex to advance its oncology treatment

    A 2.2 million euros investment will allow the biotech Cebiotex - a spin-off from the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital and the UPC - to continue clinical trials with CEB-01 in adult patients and initiate trials in pediatric oncology patients.

  • BIOCOM-SC: keeping a close eye on COVID-19

    For over a year now, the UPC’s Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group (BIOCOM-SC) has been working steadily, studying the data and making forecasts about the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia and Europe. A key task that has highlighted the value of science and technology and the need to make knowledge available to society.

  • For the first time in Barcelona, Sónar, the UPC and betevé organise the AI and Music Festival

    Sónar, the UPC and betevé will host the AI and Music Festival on site in Barcelona and online on 27 and 28 October. Within the framework of the S+T+ARTS programme of the European Commission, the festival will focus on the applications and challenges of artificial intelligence in creating music. Since the end of April, the UPC is leading an applied research laboratory to explore this relationship.

  • Molecular mechanism causing severe cardiac arrhythmia identified

    Researchers from the UPC’s Computational Biology and Complex Systems Group (BIOCOM-SC) and the Heart Rhythm Analysis and Control Group (ANCORA) and other international scientists have identified one of the molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac alternans. It is an alteration of heart rhythm that is critical to the induction of ventricular fibrillation, a potentially fatal arrhythmia. The discovery was published in the journal Circulation Research (AHA Journals) and paves the way for new pharmacological treatments.

  • UPC researchers reveal why modernist stained glass deteriorates using ALBA synchrotron light

    A team of UPC researchers has studied the materials and methods for producing the enamels used in Catalan modernist stained glass windows, with special regards to their degradation mechanisms. The data obtained at the MSPD beamline of the ALBA synchrotron was key to deciphering the structure and composition of the enamels and assessing their state of conservation with the aim of improving the preservation of this cultural heritage.

  • A round table discussion on art and science in the pandemic launches Hac Te hub

    Nine institutions in Barcelona came together last December to create an Art, Science and Technology hub in the city, Hac Te. The first event has taken place, just a few months after the launch of Hac Te: a performance and round table discussion in hybrid format entitled 'Art and science during the pandemic', on 27 April

  • Exploring connections between AI and music: Sónar and the UPC introduce the #ThinkingLab

    On Thursday 13 May, a panel of groundbreaking artists and leading experts in artificial intelligence have explored the connections between AI and music in a live-streamed event and that has marked the first activity of the #ThinkingLab created by Sónar and the UPC, ahead of the S+T+ARTS AI and Music Festival that is taking place in Barcelona this autumn.

  • The UPC ranked the world’s 23rd in Climate Action and 48th in Affordable and Clean Energy in the THE Impact Rankings

    In the third edition of the THE Impact Rankings, which assess the impact of universities’ contributions to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UPC is ranked the world’s 23rd university in Climate Action and the world’s 48th in Affordable and Clean Energy. In the global ranking, the UPC remains in the 201-300 band.

  • UPC’s Doctoral School Open Day on 20 May

    The event is aimed at people who are interested in continuing their education and are motivated to conduct research. It will be broadcast live on YouTube from 11 a.m. and requires advance registration.

  • The UPC among the world’s best universities in Architecture, Civil Engineering and Telecommunications, Electrical and Electronic Engineering in the QSWUR by Subject

    In the 2021 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject (QSWUR by Subject), which was published on 3 March, the UPC is ranked the world’s 20th best university in Architecture and Built Environment, 29th in Civil and Structural Engineering and 46th in Telecommunications, Electrical and Electronic Engineering. In the subject area Engineering and Technology, the University climbs from the world’s 76th best university in 2020 to the 67th this year and remains the top university in Spain.

  • The UPC has developed a payload for a United Arab Emirates satellite

    The NanoSat Lab at the UPC has developed one of the payloads for a United Arab Emirates satellite that is being developed by the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), at the UAE University (UAEU) in Al Ain, to explore new GNSS reflectometry and RF monitoring techniques for the measurement of soil moisture and ionospheric scintillation.

  • The UPC participated in the 3rd Unite! Dialogue Grenoble and will host the 4th instalment in Barcelona

    The UPC, as a partner university of the Unite! alliance, joined the third instalment of the Unite! Dialogue, which took place from 8th to 10th March 2021 in Grenoble. This regular meeting between the members of the alliance and key guests is a great opportunity to strengthen the links and foster further collaboration within the alliance.

  • Scientists sink dead dolphin to study effects on marine ecosystem

    The UPC’s OBSEA Underwater Observatory in Vilanova i la Geltrú sunk a dolphin that was found dead a few days ago on a beach in Blanes to study the effect of the carcass on benthic ecosystems and fish communities in the area. It is an experiment by the UPC, the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB).

  • UPC study demonstrates the effectiveness of raloxifene in treating inflammatory processes associated with COVID-19

    Researchers from the UPC’s Molecular Biotechnology Centre show that a drug for osteoporosis called raloxifene may inhibit molecules involved in the inflammatory processes associated with COVID-19.

  • UPC’s INTE research for improving the detection of radon gas in the atmosphere and soil to monitor its impact on health and climate change

    The researchers Claudia Grossi and Arturo Vargas, from the UPC’s Institute of Energy Technologies (INTE), and other European scientists are studying how to improve radon gas measurements in the atmosphere and soil to better control its impact on health and the environment.

  • Researcher Antonio González named Fellow by the Association for Computing Machinery

    The professor Antonio González, a researcher from the UPC’s Department of Computer Architecture who teaches at the Barcelona School of Informatics (FIB), has been named ACM Fellow by the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) for his outstanding scientific contributions in information technologies.

  • The Agricultural Machinery Unit studies the sustainable use of plant protection products in two European projects

    The UPC’s Agricultural Machinery Unit (UMA) coordinates the INNOSETA European project, which aims to establish an innovative thematic network on crop protection and the sustainable use of plant protection products. It also participates in the OPTIMA project for developing intelligent equipment for the safe application of plant protection products. Both are European research projects funded by the H2020 programme.

  • UPC, Esade and IED students join forces with CERN to create innovative solutions to the challenges of the pandemic

    Eight university teams consisting of 42 students from the UPC, Esade and the IED Barcelona present their prototypes after months of work with CERN scientists researching new solutions for the future of humanity.

  • Patient successfully implanted with the world’s first antitumour biomembrane, created by Cebiotex, the UPC’s INTEXTER and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital

    For the first time ever, an antitumour biomembrane made up of nanofibres, biocompatible and biodegradable has been implanted into a patient and has proved safe. This medical and technological milestone is the result of the collaboration between the biotech company Cebiotex, the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, the UPC’s INTEXTER and the Sant Pau Hospital in Barcelona. Cebiotex is now going to launch a funding round to raise 1.6 million euros to continue clinical trials.

  • UPC researcher Clara Prats and other scientists alert of the need for detailed COVID-19 data in Spain

    Researchers from the UPC, the CED-UAB, the Max Planck Institute and the IDAEA-CSIC alert of the need for detailed population data on COVID-19 in Spain in the scientific journal The Lancet Public Health.

  • The UPC leads a project to develop faster, lower-power processors for artificial intelligence

    The European Commission grants three million euros in funding to the WiPLASH project within the framework of the FET-Open call. It aims to prototype miniaturised wireless graphene antennas in the terahertz band to provide future computing platforms with plasticity and reconfigurability. The project involves seven European universities and companies, under the supervision of Sergi Abadal, a researcher at the UPC’s Department of Computer Architecture.

  • Nearby Computing, a spin-off from the BSC and the UPC, completes a funding round

    Cellnex, Elewit and Lenovo have led a funding round in Nearby Computing, a spin-off from the Barcelona Supercomputing Center and the UPC specialising in edge computing and 5G networks. The two million euros raised in this seed round will support the company’s growth by boosting its global sales.

  • 16 novel compounds of cannabis identified

    Researchers from the Smart Sustainable Resources research group at the UPC Campus in Manresa have characterised 16 novel compounds of cannabis that had not been identified so far. The discovery has been published in the journal Planta Medica. Characterising novel compounds of cannabis opens the door to discovering new medicinal uses of the plant’s active ingredients.

  • Scientists support the use of ultraviolet light to reduce SARS-CoV-2 transmission indoors

    An international team of researchers advocates the use of UV-C light in indoor spaces as a way to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 viruses. This solution meets the requirement for fast, scalable and affordable implementation to fulfil the need to disinfect work spaces such as offices, schools, healthcare facilities and public transport, to name a few.

  • The UPC joins the Planetary Health Alliance

    The UPC, through its Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB), is a new member of the Planetary Health Alliance (PHA), a consortium that promotes the planet’s health. The LAB will contribute technology to monitor biodiversity and alert of potential threats from climate change and human pressure on natural habitats.