Street banners in Barcelona advertise the Euroscience conference.
More than 3,000 attendees are now descending on Barcelona for the fourth
Euroscience Open Forum.
That list includes me. In my role as reporter, observer and synthesizer, I will be sending back articles, photos and podcasts with highlights of a conference that – although held only every other year – is fast becoming a required gathering for anyone interested in trends, new research and science communication.
I have written about the
Euroscience meeting in
previous posts, and while the content is always rich and useful, it is the perspective on science that I find most refreshing. Just consider these topics, and you will understand what I mean: “Building networks: how to support science journalists in developing countries”; “What can nanotechnology do for health care?”; “Bionics versus regenerative medicine”; “What are the ethical and social responsibilities of scientists?”
Workers begin installing the Euroscience 2008 sign outside Barcelona’s Exhibition Hall.
Over the next five days, I will give you a seat at the conference and a window on Catalonia’s big push to become a “California-style” biomedical research nexus. Everyone, it seems, is now keen on discovering the big cures or developing the big ideas that will win a city instant recognition as an international research center. And with fame will come more scientists and more discoveries.
San Francisco and UCSF, look out.
Barcelona is on a hot streak, and after staging a hugely successful Olympics in 1992, no one should bet against them this time, either.
