The weather’s getting warmer so you step outside and spring’s in the air; everything’s green, bright and blooming. You take a deep breath and… you sneeze. With the arrival of the new season, one word is on everyone’s lips wherever you go: allergy. 

But what many people experience as a seasonal nuisance is actually a condition afflicting an increasing number of people all year round. The fact is that allergies have risen dramatically in recent decades and are still far from reaching their peak. Today, it’s estimated that allergic rhinitis affects 32% of Europe’s population, whilst the World Health Organisation estimates this figure could reach 50% of the global population by 2050.

What do a micrograph of a cell and a Persian rug have in common? At first glance, both are geometric representations of a fabric, a weave of chromatic patterns. 

In this instalment of Snapshot of the Month, we’ll discover how this metaphor is connected through the symbolism of cinema and what the study to which the image belongs has actually revealed. For behind the apparent stillness of this image lies a cellular ‘battle’ worthy of a film script, with its heroes, its villains and a narrative tempo that sets the pace. In this case the actors are senescent cells, veritable ‘zombie cells’ that stop dividing but don’t die.

• His Majesty the King has inaugurated the new CaixaResearch Institute in an official ceremony attended by the President of the Government of Catalonia, Salvador Illa; the Minister of Health, Mónica García; the Spanish Government Delegate in Catalonia, Carlos Prieto; and the Chairman of the ”la Caixa” Foundation, Isidro Fainé.
• With an investment of 100 million euros, the new research centre will have 20,000 m² dedicated to immunology and is expected to host 500 professionals, 425 of whom will be scientists. Conceived as a space for collaborative creation with a cross-disciplinary approach, the institute aims to bring its discoveries from the laboratory to patients in the form of more precise diagnostics and better therapies.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being. But what happens when we broaden the scope of this definition and examine it from different disciplines and perspectives? And how can such health be achieved? 

Beyond the obvious, health has many frontiers which are constantly being explored. The Colombian doctor Héctor Abad Gómez, a public health specialist and human rights activist, once said that “clean water saves more lives than the best of surgeons”. Because, if health is wellbeing, then it’s not only achieved by doctors and hospitals; it’s also shaped by those who design more in cities,

Held in Barcelona, the two-day event gathered foundations and research leaders to discuss governance, sustainability, and the role of philanthropy in research centres.

A Research Forum organised by Philea (Philanthropy Europe Association) took place in Barcelona on 26–27 March 2026, bringing together representatives from foundations and research organisations across Europe to reflect on the governance of philanthropy-funded research centres and share experiences from different institutional models. Held at CosmoCaixa Science Museum and just ahead of the inauguration of the CaixaResearch Institute, the event provided a particularly relevant setting for Fundación ”la Caixa” to contribute to this European conversation — both as host and participant — sharing its experience in supporting research and opening a dialogue around the development of the CaixaResearch Institute as one of its most recent initiatives.