The special edition of the XXI anniversary of the Spanish medical newspaper ‘Diario Médico’ publishes two reports related with Vall d’Hebron Institute of Research (VHIR): an article about microbiota research done by Dr. Francisco Guarner, from the Physiology and Pathophysiology of the Digestive Tract group at VHIR, and another one about the changes in the public funding system of Catalan institutes of research, interviewing VHIR’s director, Dr. Joan X. Comella.The first report talks about the development of strategies based on microbiota as a preventive medicine. “Now we’ve got a broad view of the spectrum which is inside this ecosystem. Since 2011, these technologies are being applied in the study of specific disorders”, Dr. Guarner reports. Asked about fecal transplantation techniques to correct disorders as C.Difficile, VHIR’s researcher is cautious: “we don’t know many elements which are in a fecal sample. We can’t take risks”. On the other hand, in the second report VHIR’s director is satisfied with the change of criteria of the Catalan government for funding research centers: “whereas several small and very specialized centers can receive 10 million euros annually, bigger research centers can receive 10 times less”. With the new plan, the Catalan government will calculate the funding for each center regarding achievements and scientific results.