Synthesis and processing of nanomaterials for optoelectronics, photonics and energy

The research group was created in 2016 with the aim to deepen on the study of the role of human intestinal microbiota in the health of the host and how food modulates this interaction. To this aim we study the intestinal microbiota in different population groups and the effect of food and medical interventions upon this microbiota. This approach allows us to identify alterations associated with an increased risk of disease. Such alterations become then targets for the development of nutritional interventions, mainly based on the use of probiotics and prebiotics.

The NANOMIDAS research group (Nanofabrication and advanced microscopies) is a group recognized by the Dirección General de Aragon (DGA) dedicated to cutting-edge research into different types of nanomaterials from an advanced microscopy point of view (Focused Ion Beam FIB, (Scanning) Transmission Electron Microscopy STEM and Scanning Tunneling Microscopy STM).

The group of Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change of the IdAB represents a line of new creation in 2016. The general objective of the group is to characterize the effect of environmental variables (drought, temperature, CO2 and nutritional deficit) on the yield, efficiency in the use of resources and quality of crops. With a multidisciplinary nature, the working methodologies of this group encompass the most traditional agronomic characterization with the new tools of molecular biology.

We are major contributors to the growing realization that hundreds of thousands of small ORFs (smORFs) of 10 to 100 amino-acids (aa) exist in every metazoan genome; that thousands of smORFs are translated; and that smORF peptides can have important functions and be widely conserved across metazoans. We are one of the few groups worldwide that can apply functional genomics to the study of smORFs, due to our expertise in functional genetic analysis, bioinformatics, and ribosomal profiling.

The group lead by Salvador Conejero and Amor Rodríguez has been established in December 2016 with the name “Design of Organometallic Molecules and Applications”. The aim of this group is to develop organometallic catalysts and to study the mechanisms by which these molecules operate. Both Salvador Conejero and Amor Rodríguez have a very broad experience in organometallic chemistry and catalysis, an expertise that has been acquired over the years in renowned research centers in Spain, France and USA.

Our research is focussed in neurogenesis and oligodendrogliogenesis during development (embreo, postnatal) and in the adult CNS. Some of these aspects are also relevant for the pathogenesis of demyelination and, therefore, are targets for the development of neuroreparative therapies for Multiple Sclerosis and eventually other demyelinating diseases.

We are focused on the study of molecular motors involved in DNA and protein transport across biological membranes. These nanomotors are able to couple the free energy generated by ATP hydrolysis to mechanical work. Our aim is to elucidate their mechanism and apply this knowledge to develop new applications in the area of Biomedicine and Nanobiotechnology

Morphological description of seeds. Seed morphology quantification. Quantification based in the comparison wito geometric models. Models based in the cardioid curve have been described for the quantification of seed shape in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana as well as in the model legumes Medicago truncatula and Lotus japonicus.

The goal of our research is to better understand the molecular mechanisms of depression and of new fast-acting antidepressant treatments (deep brain stimulation [DBS], ketamine, subunit selective NMDA receptor antagonists). We use animal models of this disorder to identify the ways in which long-term exposure to stress changes the brain to lead to depression-like syndromes. In this regard, we also study in detail the role of the projections from the prefrontal cortex to the monoaminergic nuclei of the brainstem in the pathophysiology of depression and its pharmacological treatment.