March 9, 2010 - We recently learned of the existence of something called CAMAG TLC-MS Interface. Definitely, nowadays the sciences advance at barbaric velocities (that's a Spanish joke).

February 20, 2010 - A necessary warning to bold navigators. It was not us who sank the idea of a dedicated lipidomics facility for the IBGM. Those who really know us, please do not be misled by the usual mermaid chants.

January 14, 2010 - The article that we have distinguished as Paper of the Year 2009 was published in the Feb 17 issue of PNAS (106: 2136–2141). In this article, Ejsing et al. reported the use of a shotgun lipidomics approach to study the lipidome of the yeast S. cerevisiae. They identified and quantified 250 unique molecular species, belonging to 21 different lipid classes under various growth conditions. This is quite an achievement, not only from a technical perspective, but also from a cell regulation context. As pointed out in a commentary that accompanied the paper (PNAS 106: 2089-2090), genes and transcripts do not always predict the precise levels of active proteins/enzymes, and knowledge of the actual lipid metabolite levels is more predictive of metabolic implications.

January 13, 2010 - The local newspaper El Norte de Castilla informed its readers a couple of days ago that, according to some sources, the University of Valladolid currently ranks 1,332 out of 2,000 centers in scientific productivity in Spain. Although none of our business, if true, this news is disturbing.

January 8, 2010 - "After changes upon changes, we are more or less the same" (Paul Simon, American songwriter). Winter 2010 group meeting schedule here.

2009

December 23, 2009 - Gema Pérez-Chacón just finished her tenure at the ERD.  While we are sad to see Gema go, we thank her for the hard and dedicated work, and wish her the best in her future endeavors.

December 22, 2009 -  There is no bad fifth (or so they say). Just one week ago, David Balgoma successfully defended his PhD dissertation, and the committee unanimously awarded him distinction. David will remain a member of the ERD for quite some time yet.

November 28, 2009 - Not succumbing to the temptation of joint ventures used to be difficult in the past. Not anymore. Roger Glover, bassist and songwriter extraordinaire, had it written some time ago: going nowhere sitting in a dream...

November 13, 2009 - A very instructive review on the advantages --and shortcomings-- of the lipidomics approach has recently been published in Nature Chemical Biology. Highly recommended reading (unsure, however, that the number of arachidonate-containing glycerophospholipids in macrophages exceeds 100!).

October 30, 2009 - Back from the Annual CIBERDEM meeting. Friendly people, nice place, excellent premises, and superb organization. What else could we ask for? Clara and David gave very good talks too. 2008 Annual Report (our part) here.

October 25, 2009 - A piece of musical advice from the ERD staff to a few of those who lurk around here from time to time: Metallica's Nothing Else Matters. Interesting lyrics, particularly those of the refrain.

October 22, 2009 - Yesterday José Pindado became our fourth student to earn a doctoral degree from the University of Valladolid (... for life can be wonderful!).

October 2, 2009 - "When your work is an extension of who you really are deep down inside, it is no longer a job or a career. It is a calling" (Lance Armstrong, 7-time Tour de France winner). Fall 2009 group meeting schedule here.

September 29, 2009 - Pic of Clara Meana talking about macrophages and phospholipases in Oviedo during the annual meeting of the Spanish Biochemical Society. Time for fun and old memories.