Tumours have highly sophisticated ways of resisting treatment. Some can metastasise to other organs and tissues, hide from the immune system and influence other cells in the body, even modifying cell behaviour to promote their own growth.

The latter is the case of myeloid cells. Originating in the bone marrow, they play a key role in defending against microbes but they can switch sides when a tumour is present; instead of defending us, they hinder the immune response and help the tumour to grow, promoting the formation of blood vessels that feed it.

But how does this switch take place? The answer is provided in this edition of News From the Lab by Gabriel Rabinovich,

The ”la Caixa” Foundation has announced the results of the 2025 call for proposals for its CaixaImpulse programme, through which it supports 31 biomedical projects from research centres, hospitals and universities in Spain and Portugal. In total, the organisation will allocate 3.8 million euros to this initiative, which aims to speed up the arrival of these innovations on the market so they can reach the patients who may need them. CaixaImpulse also promotes the creation of new products, services and companies linked to the life sciences and health.

The winning projects – chosen from among 428 applications received – were assessed by six panels of international experts and professionals in the field.

On October 2 and 3, we will hold the fourth edition of the Health Research Meeting. This year, we will be joined by the researchers in charge of the projects selected in the 2021 Health Research call.

The event will take place in a unique and charming setting, the gardens of Cap Roig (Girona). A space designed to share advances, strengthen connections, and foster collaborations within a unique environment that brings together science, nature, and community.

Through round tables, working sessions, and open debates, we will address key issues for the present and future of research, biomedicine, and innovation in health with one goal: to explore and strengthen the knowledge ecosystem.

Did you know that your immune system works tirelessly to protect you? How does it do that? And what happens when it fails? This year, as a special feature and to mark the upcoming opening of the CaixaResearch Institute, the European Researchers’ Night at CosmoCaixa will include a dedicated session on immunology: “InmunoRevolución: From Research to the Medicine of the Future”. This series of short, engaging talks will highlight the vital role of the immune system in health and disease.

The session will take place in the Ágora Hall from 18:00 to 20:30, bringing together researchers from the CaixaResearch Institute and other centres supported by ”la Caixa” Foundation to unravel the secrets of the immune system.

You open your eyes one summer morning and discover several bites on your skin. Days later, you have a high temperature, feelings of nausea and your joints are incredibly painful. At the doctor’s, you receive a disturbing diagnosis: dengue fever. “But isn’t that an exotic disease?” you wonder. The answer is obvious: not anymore.

Although it may sound like the beginning of a dystopian novel, this could actually happen where you live. In Spain, for instance, there have been reports of some indigenous cases of tropical diseases that, until recently, had never set foot on European soil. However, what’s most worrying is that these aren’t isolated incidents but signs of a far-reaching change.