The biochemist Joan Oró, the guiding thread of the 28th Science Week

November is one of the months with an unavoidable appointment with the scientific culture. Every year, in the middle of the month, Science Week is held, an initiative coordinated by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI) that has the support of numerous institutions and organizations. In this edition, the twenty-eighth, Science Week will be held in Barcelona and the rest of Catalonia from 10 to 19 November. As a central axis, several themes have been proposed to coincide with scientific anniversaries, of which the headliner is the centenary of the birth of the Lleida biochemist Joan Oró.
The Science Week is an event aimed at all audiences, with the fundamental objectives of bringing science and technology to the public and encouraging scientific vocations among the younger population. In its framework a lot of outreach activities are organized throughout the territory, such as open days, virtual activities, exhibitions, scientific workshops, experiments, lectures, shows…
In each edition, the Week adopts several themes coinciding with the anniversaries of the year of celebration. In 2023, the Generalitat de Catalunya promotes the commemoration of the Joan Oró Year, on the occasion of the centenary of the birth of this biochemist who made outstanding contributions to the study of the origin of life on Earth and was internationally recognized for his work. Thus, Joan Oró is the guiding thread of this Science Week, so it stars in the poster of the edition, but it is not the only theme around which the activities are articulated.
This year also pays tribute to the astronomers Cecilia Payne, who demonstrated that the Sun is composed of hydrogen and helium gas, and Reysa Bernson, founder of the Association Astronomique du Nord in 1923. It also commemorates the centenary of Albert Einstein‘s visit to Barcelona and the discovery of the Compton effect by Arthur Holly Compton, and the bicentenary of the death of Edward Jenner, discoverer of the smallpox vaccine. All this, coinciding with a 2023 that has been declared by UNESCO as the International Year of Millet, which will also be present in this Science Week.
The Week in Barcelona’s facilities
This year, Barcelona and its surroundings gather a large number of proposals to enjoy research, dissemination and knowledge during the 28th Science Week. Many of them take place in facilities such as libraries and civic centers.
In the case of Barcelona Libraries, the proposals include a small cycle on astronomy around Halley’s comet, children’s workshops on camouflage strategies of living beings, conferences and talks on the relationship between artificial intelligence and quantum computing, the difficulties encountered by LGTBIQ+ people in the world of science, the research being done on the effects of cannabis or what research on biomarkers consists of, among other proposals.
Several facilities in the district of Les Corts also offer proposals, such as a drawing workshop and a children’s show about the world on the nano staircase, science experiments with violin music or a talk that combines music with the periodic table. Likewise, the Vil·la Urània Civic Center, with science as one of its main thematic axes, hosts an experiment on forensic research, the broadcasting of the program Fenòmens naturals, by Ràdio Farró, a talk on mental health diagnostics or another one on the link between art and science.
Check out the programme and participate!