On Friday 30 September, once again, the Ri.MED Foundation was protagonist at Sharper, the European Researchers’ Night, which took place in Viale delle Scienze from 6pm until late in the evening. Despite the rain, many people participated in the event. Marc Tachelet, was also present: among hundreds of projects and cities throughout Europe, the Director of the European Research Executive Agency chosed to visit Palermo and very impressed by the audience participation.
A special thanks to the Ri.MED “testimonials” of this edition: Maria De Rosa, Simona Di Martino and Giovanna Li Petri from the Medicinal Chemistry group, Walter Arancio and Claudia Coronnello from the Advanced Data Analysis group, Rosario Corso, Paolo Giaccone, Ali Muhammad, Camille Mazzara, Giovanni Piraino and Albert Comelli of the Biomedical Imaging and Radiomics group.
Our researchers revealed the secrets of the human brain: from the exploration of the molecules that regulate normal neuronal processes, up to the synthetic one used in clinics. Laboratory gloves and glasses for those who wanted to try small chemical experiments, or a simple touch for the children who wanted to “trigger” the “domino process” of transmission of neuronal impulses with their own hands!
A bioinformatic and artificial Intelligence approach was also proposed to discover the “grammar of the brain”, starting from the regulation of the DNA activities of each single neuron, up to morphological and functional imaging to map the neuronal networks of the brain. Curiosity and fun also for perceptive games, useful to remember that we don’t see with our eyes, but with our brain.
The “little researcher” diploma will be a nice souvenir for our young participants!
The European Researchers’ Night is a public event, promoted by the European Union, and it’s dedicated to scientific dissemination and playful learning. It takes place every year, on the last Friday of September. Over 30 European countries and more than 300 cities participate.
