Clearly, location isn't the only impressive aspect of the Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona, but it surely is one that sets it apart from other high-profile institutes. With its extravagant architecture, situated right on the Mediterranean beach in the center of Barcelona it provides an unrivalled atmosphere:



Alex Gomez, a postdoc in the lab of Matthieu Louis in the Center for Genomic Regulation, was so kind to invite me to their institute to present some of my work. Their lab does amazing work tracking the movements of Drosophila larvae in high spatial and temporal resolution while at the same time measuring very precisely the conentration of an odorant which they have placed on the platform where the animal is moving about. They use this to accurately determine the odor concentration the animals perceives and derive the rules by which the animals locates the odor source. Using sophisticated and cleverly designed genetic experiments, they want to elucidate how the larval brain circuits solve the odor localization task.

While I was there, I also had the great pleasure to meet ScienceBlogger Tobias Maier who writes the highly recommended WeiterGen blog. After showing me their research and, of course, talking about scientific blogging, Tobias and his colleagues showed me around the more touristy places of Barcelona, more specifically the plentiful nightlife of the city. Thanks, Tobias, for a great night on the town!