In 1492 Christopher Columbus set sail to find India, but never did. Roll forward the centuries, and the suave biological pirate, Vivek Malhotra, a more successful veteran of Indo-Spanish reconnaissance, will shortly attempt landfall in Bangalore. Vivek, also professor at the Centre for Genomic Regulation, is one of a crew of 11 scientists from Barcelona, and he shares co-captaining duties with Enrique Martin-Blanc, professor at The Molecular Biology Institute of Barcelona. What draws the Indian and Spanish teams together is a commitment to fundamental biological research of the highest calibre. Over the course of two days, April 6-7, the visiting scientists will deliver lectures at NCBS and participate in discussions with their colleagues aimed at forging collaborative scientific links between the two sides. Full details and the programme can be accessed using this link.