For an artificial vision machine to recognize human faces, for instance, it is typically necessary to previously train it by showing it thousands of images of human faces. However, not only is this process very time-consuming; it is also like a shot in the dark, because there is no control over what the machine learns during its training. Which facial features has it picked up to be able to do its job? No one really knows. The process works, but the machine itself behaves like black box.

It is well known that individuals who work night-shifts, or travel often across different time zones, have a higher tendency to become overweight and suffer from gut inflammation. The underlying cause for this robust phenomenon has been the subject of many studies that tried to relate physiological processes with the activity of the brain’s circadian clock, which is generated in response to the daylight cycle.

Lack of oxygen, or hypoxia, is a biological stressor that occurs under various conditions such as wound healing and stroke. To rescue the tissue, the body has innate mechanisms that “kick in” to make the cells of the hypoxic tissue more resistant and assist in tissue repair. One such mechanism is the expression of a protein called Hypoxia Induction Factor (HIF), which controls several processes such as glucose uptake, growth of blood vessels and cell proliferation.

For decades, scientists seeking to explain the emergence of complex group behaviours, such as schooling in fish, have been divided into two camps. The Collective Behaviour lab has found a way out of this dichotomy with a novel AI model that bridges across the two.

Image credit: Gil Costa

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Richard Vevers, a toilet paper salesman, decides that he’s had enough. He packs his bags and travels across the world to Australia, where he reinvents himself as an underwater photographer. All is well in the beginning, but before long, he starts realizing that something is not quite right. On each diving expedition, he comes across fewer and fewer of his favorite marine animals, and the vibrant colors of the corals seem to be fading away, leaving behind bright, white rocks.

You don’t usually notice it, but you are, in fact, continuously learning how to walk. It happens when you first step onto a slippery sidewalk in a pair of new shoes, or when you try to carry a tray full of drinks. Your brain quickly realises that the same routine isn’t going to cut it, and a new strategy must be implemented before something embarrassing, or painful, happens. With time and practice, you learn to store many different walking patterns, that allow movement across your body to stay coordinated and properly calibrated, no matter where you find yourself.

Radiotherapy can effectively reduce or even eliminate some tumours; others, however, show enduring resistance. Considering the potentially harmful side effects of radiotherapy, clinicians agree that it is paramount to be able to determine if a patient will benefit from radiotherapy before exposing them to any of the associated risks.

Despite significant efforts to develop biomarkers that can assess the potential efficacy of radiotherapy treatment for individual patients, there is currently no established diagnostic test that can provide a clear answer.

One of the main challenges in treating psychiatric disorders is the ability to predict which treatment will work best. The Neuropsychiatry Unit at the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown is using a procedure called TMS (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) to treat drug-resistant depression and to assess whether and how it could be used for personalizing patient treatment.

Sherlock Holmes is perhaps the most famous example of the power of inference – using indirect evidence to reveal hidden truths. Understanding the neural basis of this sophisticated cognitive skill has been a long-standing challenge for neuroscientists. Now, a clever experiment that comes in two flavors – human and mouse – offers a way forward with a promising set of results.

Illustration by: Diogo Matias.

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Thoughts, sensations, and emotions zap across the brain via a meshwork of fine nerve fibers called axons. Axon size is crucially important for general brain function as well as in certain neurological conditions. Experts have been striving to establish a means to non-invasively measure these fibers for many years. An international team of researchers has now developed a novel MRI method that manages to do just that.

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