But there’s more! During the interview, they also told us about great places to visit, cool music, fascinating podcasts and other discoveries they made this year. We couldn’t fit everything in the final cut, so we’ve listed their top recommendations below.

To view all 2021 individual episodes, tune in to the Zoom-In on Champalimaud YouTube playlist.

Smell has the power to transport us across time and space. It could be the sweet fragrance of jasmine, or the musty scent of algae. Suddenly, you are back at your childhood home, or under the burning sun of a distant shore.

This association between smells and places seems to be a deeply embedded aspect of human cognition. But how are the two linked in the brain? A study published today (December 22nd) in the scientific journal Nature presents a potential explanation.

A series of landmark studies by Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, Director of the Champalimaud Cancer Research Programme, led to the formation of LiMM Therapeutics in 2018. The young company is geared towards generating first-in-class therapeutic products for cancer, inflammatory, and metabolic diseases. 

The Ocean Campus will involve the redevelopment of a total of 64 hectares, in Lisbon and Oeiras. With an investment of 300 million euros, from mostly private funds, the campus will create multifunctional and environmentally sustainable spaces and teaching units, and will promote technological development and innovative research.

Once in a while, we hear that the Physics world is overjoyed with the discovery of a new elementary particle, often decades after theoretical models have predicted its existence. But Neuroscience news has a different stroke, with novel insight mainly emerging through experiments. Can theoretical approaches also provide testable predictions about how the brain works? 

Nearly all types of cancers have the potential to form metastatic growths. However, the exact moment when metastasis emerges is highly variable. While some patients develop metastatic disease soon after the primary tumour appears, others can see decades pass before it happens. What is the source of this variability?