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.

For the first episode of the Zoom-In series, meet Catarina Pimentel.

Created in 2018, the ALBA Network is committed to promoting equality and diversity in brain sciences. ALBA provides a global network for sharing best practices and providing better visibility, networking and mentoring opportunities to scientists from underrepresented groups.

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.

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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?      

Today, the growing consensus among experts is that surgery should no longer be the only therapeutic option in rectal cancer treatment. A non-invasive approach, the Watch-and-Wait protocol – which drastically reduces the toll of the disease on patients’ quality of life – has increasingly shown promising results for the treatment of such tumours. A new study now explores the next logical step: whether these patients should be submitted for life or just for a certain period to the stringent follow-up required by the protocol.

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?