Scientific news

Domestication involves raising animals in a different environment from their natural habitat, which ends up modifying their behaviour and physical appearance. Charles Darwin was the first to realize that domestic animals were not only more docile, but had common characteristics such as a shorter snout, drooping ears and lack of skin pigmentation in some areas. These changes are known as the "domestication syndrome".

Today, the Institut de Ciències del Mar (Institute of Marine Sciences - CSIC) celebrates a tribute to Pepita Castellví, one of her most projected and pioneer researchers in Antarctica, coinciding with her 84th anniversary. A pioneer of Spanish research in Antarctica, she led the installation of the Spanish Antarctic Base and was its first director.

Rafel Simó, researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona (ICM-CSIC), is one of the 222 scientists who have been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in the last call, the results of which have been announced today. It is the first time that the ICM gets an ERC grant.

The ERC Advanced Grants are given to consolidated scientists for innovative research projects. This is a very competitive call; of 2,052 submitted proposals this year in all Europe, only 11% have been selected.

From 11th to 15th of march, the ICM and CephRes co-organize the course "Biology and care of cephalopods as experimental animals", accredited by the Federation of European Laboratory Animal Science Association (FELASA).

Un estudi revela l'acumulació de compostos organofosforats en els teixits de mamífers marins, concretament en dofins del Mar d'Alborán. Els científics han trobat aquests contaminants en el cent per cent dels individus analitzats, i en diferents teixits com el greix, el múscul, el fetge o el cervell dels dofins, arribant a concentracions de fins a 25 micrograms per gram de greix.

ICM researchers Francesc Piferrer and Mercedes Blázquez have participated in the edition of the book Sex Control in Aquaculture, published in January.

According to the latest data from the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO 2018), aquaculture is the food production sector with the fastest growth (around 6% per year) and contributes more than 50 % of aquatic products consumed around the world. Among the cultivated species, the fish (54.1 million tonnes) and crustaceans (7.9 million tonnes), with an approximate market value of 175,000 million euros, stand out.