The CF is one of the Portuguese institutions whose projects were chosen as recipients of this first edition, for their capacitation efforts at the level of clinical research.

A diagnosis of breast cancer is not only an immediate life-threatening situation. It is also a psychological shock, whose repercussions can extend well past a patient’s recovery and jeopardise the leading of a normal life in the long run. However, not everyone reacts the same way to such a radical change of circumstances, which can imply invasive clinical interventions, radiotherapy and harsh chemotherapy regimens – and later strict surveillance to watch for recurrence.

The sound of an accelerating heartbeat can instantly send chills down your spine. You know that sound means trouble. We are so accustomed to the way our hearts seem to continuously mirror how we feel that we can easily imagine different hearts racing, aching or skipping a beat. 

But do the hearts of other animals actually follow the same rules when in danger? When it comes to our fellow vertebrates – frogs, cats, antelope – the answer has been long-known to be “yes”. But what about insects? 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it had quickly become apparent that disease severity is tightly correlated with age. Age, however, is not the only factor. There are multiple cases of older people who were spared and younger individuals who died. A team of international scientists, including Eduardo Moreno, of the Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown in Portugal, decided to investigate the reason for that.

"Art and science investigate the same fundamental questions - why are we here and how the world works. They also share the same basic approach - creative exploration. It is not surprising then that the benefits of the interactions between science and art are becoming increasingly more recognised", says Julia Salaroli, a professional dancer and choreographer who co-coordinates Bridges to the unknown - Crossing Art with Science with neuroscientist Patrícia Correia.

The kids appeared on the screen one square at a time. In the beginning, almost all the squares were black, excluding the ones of the teachers, who welcomed each new arrival alternating between "good morning" and "bom dia". First meetings are always a bit awkward, especially over zoom, but then, as soon as Danbee Kim, a former doctoral student at Champalimaud Foundation and one of the creators of Neuronautas, asked everyone to turn their cameras on, the screen suddenly lit up with the faces of the 2021 Class.