This Gulbenkian Knowledge Academy is looking for young people ready to embark on an intergalactic journey into the future of neuroscience!

In this edition, candidates will be able to choose one of two possible trips - Long Flight (lasting about 4 weeks) or Short Flight (lasting around 2 weeks). For the first, 16 Neurocadets will be recruited and for the second, 8 Chimeras!

Cancer researcher Rita Fior uses zebrafish to study human cancer. Though this may seem like an unlikely match, her work shows great promise with forthcoming applications in personalised medicine. 

The basic principle of Fior's approach relies on transplanting human cancer cells into dozens of zebrafish larvae. The fish then serve as "living test tubes" where various treatments, such as different chemotherapy drugs, can be tested to reveal which works best. The assay is rapid, producing an answer within four short days.

A study led by scientists from the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, in Lisbon, concludes that bariatric surgery – that is, procedures used to treat severe obesity by reconfiguring the gastrointestinal tract –, leads to greater weight loss in patients who, before the surgery, had a heightened perception of sweetness.

American actor Robin Williams had a neurodegenerative brain disease called dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB): a distressing disease, with symptoms in common with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). But unlike these two conditions, DLB also entails prominent mood and cognitive swings, sleep disorders, and vivid, sometimes terrifying, visual hallucinations.

The INPDP provides students with an integrative, state-of-the-art education in either Neuroscience or Physiology & Cancer. Top evaluated candidates will receive full financial support to participate in classes and conduct research for 5 years with possible extensions.

If you type into a search engine - “why do men have to wait before having sex again?” - you will very quickly come across Prolactin. This little hormone is thought to be involved in hundreds of physiological processes in the body. Among them is the male post-ejaculatory refractory period. This period begins when a male ejaculates and ends when he recovers his sexual capacity. 

Since 2013, the charitable organisation Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa annually selects three research projects, led by scientists in Portugal. This year, the project of Noam Shemesh, a principal investigator at Champalimaud Foundation, was selected for one of the awards, called the Mantero Belard Prize.

Within a short span of time and with few instructions, people can solve complex problems from scratch. For instance, loading the trunk of a car with seemingly far too many objects. This is the core of human intelligence – its rapid and flexible nature. What is the cognitive scheme that allows us to create novel and complex strategies? And do “intelligent” machines use similar, or fundamentally different schemes?      

How can I be a better student? 

What is the best way to learn about topics that seem so complicated?

Am I using my full potential? 

How can I face the ever-changing world and future?

Aspiring to move beyond the “one-sentence” headline and get into the nitty gritty of the scientific process, CCU's Communication, Outreach and Events Team has created an animated science collection called "Inside the Unknown".

The collection kicks off with a selection of four projects, presenting studies from the three departments of Champalimaud Research. Mirroring the scientific work within, this collection will continue to evolve and grow over time. 

Welcome to your journey Inside the Unknown.