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.

Cannabinoids have a strong influence on how our brains work and how we behave. Many people are only aware of the recreational aspect of cannabinoids. But in fact these molecules naturally exist in our brains where they participate in various intrinsic processes.

Altered cannabinoid signalling, for instance due to chronic use of marijuana, results in a range of impairments. Similarly, mice lacking cannabinoid receptors exhibit reduced activity levels, as well as deficits in learning and memory.