For the fourth episode of the Zoom-In series, meet Francisco (Paco) Romero. Curious about Paco’s research? Check out the Collective Behaviour Lab.

Photo credits (by order of appearance): Megan Carey, Zoe Orger, Rosa Reis.

We make countless decisions each hour, each minute. Most of these decisions are made without our active awareness and while they may be inconsequential to us, they can impact other people. For instance, when we choose a seat on the train next to people who look most similar to ourselves or how much eye contact we make (or don’t make). 

Henrique Veiga-Fernandes, Immunologist, Principal Investigator and one of the Directors of Champalimaud Research; and Ana Paula Pêgo, group leader at i3S - Institute for Research and Innovation in Health, now join an elite group of world-renowned scientists on the Science Review Editors Council.

In many species, including humans and mice, the fluctuating levels of the hormones progesterone and estrogen determine whether the female is fertile or not. And in the case of mice, whether she’s sexually receptive or not. 

The change in receptivity is striking. Female mice shift from accepting sexual partners to aggressively rejecting them across a cycle of six short days. How can the female reproductive hormones bring about such a radical behavioural change?

One year after the COVID-19 pandemic started in Portugal, the campaign "Conversas com Cientistas - Décadas de Ciência para Dias de Vacinas" kicks off.