The exploration of alternative therapeutics for hard-to-treat mental health disorders has brought into focus an array of psychedelics such as psilocybin, present in ‘magic mushrooms’, and LSD, substances once associated more with counterculture than clinical practice. Alongside ‘atypical’ psychedelics like ketamine and MDMA, these substances are increasingly being recognised for their potential therapeutic attributes.

The Constant Chatter of Neurons

“The brain isn’t like a computer that turns off when it’s not doing a particular task”, explains Alfonso Renart, the senior author of the study published in eLife. “There’s always a kind of background hum, a baseline activity that can sometimes make it seem as if the brain is chattering to itself”. The team’s study lifts the lid on how that baseline activity, the continuous stream of electrical impulses sent by neurons, impacts behaviour and decision-making.

Many animals rely on smell to identify and locate objects in their surroundings and to respond appropriately. To investigate this phenomenon further, Greg Jefferis’ group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division established a collaboration with the Behavior and Metabolism Lab, lead by Carlos Ribeiro, at the Champalimaud Foundation (CF) and the group of  Drosophila Connectomics at Cambridge University and together studied Drosophila flies.

Radiotherapy, or radiation therapy, is one of the pillars of cancer treatment. Radiotherapy preferentially uses X-rays to eliminate the solid manifestations of malignant tumours. 

It is estimated that 60% of cancer patients are treated with radiotherapy at a given phase of their disease, either as part of radical therapeutics (ablative) protocols or of symptomatic and palliative protocols.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer worldwide conferring high morbidity, mortality and costs. In Portugal, the scenario is no different. According to the World Health Organisation (Globocan), in 2020, 5415 new cases of Lung Cancer were diagnosed in our country, being the 4th most frequently diagnosed tumour in both genders (the 2nd if breast and prostate neoplasms are excluded), with greater relevance in males. 

A Call for four fellowships for Master's Students is open at Fundação D. Anna de Sommer Champalimaud e Dr. Carlos Montez Champalimaud (Champalimaud Foundation) in the context of the project entitled “NextGenAI: Center for Responsible AI”, with reference “PRR” - from the call Nº “crAI 64”, funded by the “Agendas Mobilizadoras para a Inovação Empresarial, Plano de Recuperação e Resiliência, Next Generation EU, IAPMEI”. We are a group of neuroscientists and machine learning experts at the Champalimaud Foundation with scientific partners covering a broad range of domain expertises.