B·Debate to hold twelve top-notch international scientific debates in 2013

By Biocat

Now entering its fourth year, B·Debate-International Center for Scientific Debate Barcelona —an initiative of Biocat and the “la Caixa” Foundation— will include twelve new scientific debates on its 2013 calendar of events, which will be held from this May through January of next year in Barcelona.

As in the previous editions, the debates will be organized in conjunction with national and international benchmark research centers and bodies, with the participation of more than 300 world-renowned scientists and experts from different areas of knowledge in the life sciences.

The program, which will be announced in the coming weeks on the B·Debate website and in the Biocat E-News, has been selected from submissions to the 2013 call for proposals by the B·Debate Scientific Committee. The selection process takes into account both the scientific relevance and social interest of the challenges posed, their potential to raise awareness of the knowledge and contents generated during the debates and to obtain solutions that address society’s needs. They have also considered the multidisciplinary nature of the topics and the international impact of the activity.

The topics to be debated in 2013 are highly varied and include various fields of biomedical research like epigenetics and cancer. In the field of infectious disease, debates will focus on the global threat of antimicrobial resistance and will analyze breakthroughs in research into the agents that cause malaria. Particular emphasis will be placed on the potential impact of nanotechnology on the development of diagnostic technology and therapeutic solutions both for human and animal health.

Regarding public health, participants will hold in-depth discussions on the impact of polluting emissions from road transit and the measures needed to curb or eliminate them. In the field of urban planning, debates will analyze various models for green cities, from an ecological point of view and in terms of environmental, economic, sociological and psychological impact, to establish sustainable, healthy urban models.

Also in the field of human health, and more specifically the neurosciences, debate will focus on the impact of ageing on mental health and quality of life. Top global experts in robotics, neuroscience and rehabilitation will meet in Barcelona to seek out innovative solutions to the challenges posed by neuroregeneration.

The debates will also cover challenges over the coming decade in supercomputing and virtual reality: What computational calculation needs must be addressed for biomedical research in the coming years? Can whole living organisms be simulated in order to study certain diseases? What role will simulation tools play in drug discovery and design?

Another line of debate will focus on cell death in plants, with the aim of contributing essential information to help understand the mechanisms of numerous pathologies seen in farmed plant species that are the foundation of the global food supply.

In line with B•Debate’s desire to bridge the gap between science and society, this year the center will hold a new series on evolutionary biology and culture. The goal of this series is to address the factors that govern human behavior and the impact of a person’s surroundings on generating them.

In 2012, B•Debate held twelve debates with some twenty national and international benchmark bodies, 210 speakers (60% from abroad) and 1,085 participants. The center made a significant leap from 2010 to 2011, going from 3 to 11 debates, 155 to 278 speakers, and 275 to 1,604 invited participants.

Over this time, many scientists that have participated in the B·Debate scientific debates have given positive feedback on the format that sets it apart from other initiatives. Jordi Garcia-Mas, head of the Plant Genetics Department at the Center for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) recently said, “The debate format, with few participants in a comfortable, secluded environment, isn’t what you normally find in congresses and scientific meetings. We get the chance to speak directly, calmly, with top international experts.” Lluís Torner, director of the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), said in an interview that B·Debate helps foster a multidisciplinary approach, “which is ever more important to finding solutions,” and Anna Veiga, head of the Stem-Cell Bank at the Center of Regenerative Medicine of Barcelona (CMRB), believes that the center is “an excellent way to foster progress in our scientific community.”