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Portraits O F A G E N E R A T I O N O N T H E M O V E CAREER : Sponsors

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On 27 November 2005, the Público newspaper presented as part of its main Sunday edition, the booklet "Career: scientist. Portraits of a generation on the move" .The work carried out by the Viver a Ciência team highlighted 14 young Portuguese scientists at the beginning of their career (up to 40 years old) and was distributed free of charge by the paper, to a circulation of 80,000.The preface, written by Carlos Fiolhais, powerfully explains the concept of the book « in science, young people are an inexhaustable source of creativity». The introductory note, written by the VaC scientists responsible for the project, highlights the fact that the booklet features work of exceptional quality but that is little known by the public in general, work which impacts on our day to day lives and work that shows great promise, that generates great expectations for the future. They are all presented, in this publication, in a language and a style that makes them accessible to the general public. As for the scientific areas involved, diversity and multidisciplinary approaches are key. We decided to show a range of scientific discoveries that stand out for being recent and made by Portuguese scientists, emcompassing areas such as Life Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics.From "remote control" flies to the use of mathematics to help in the fight against infectious diseases, via an explanation of why Venus turns the "wrong" way, they are stories of discovery that distinguish science. Made in Paris, Washington, Aveiro, Braga or Boston. The themes range from the conservation of nature to the evolution of the universe and mechanisms of memory. The applications of the research of these 14 scientists allow, for example, the prevention of blockages in petrol pipelines in the sea bed or the explanation of why certain medication is effective against AIDS. The ‘worlds' that are unveiled range from the most elementary particles ‘surfing' plasma to chick embryos that tell us about their own development, via the secrets of cell division and the ocult genetic evolution in the patterns on butterfly wings.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Career Scientist

PortraitsOF A GENERATION ON THE MOVE

CAREER:

Sponsors

Page 2: Career Scientist

Editor: Joana Barros

Team coordinator: Margarida Trindade

Editorial assistant: Rita Caré

Project design: António Jacinto, Sheila Vidal, Julie Contreras and Ana Paula Coutinho

Liaison with European Commission: Sheila Vidal

Text and interviews: Joana Barros, Margarida Trindade, Rita Caré and Vítor Faustino

Photography and illustrations: See individual captions

Proofreaders: Ana Coutinho, Leonor Saúde, Paula Macedo and Sheila Vidal

Scientific proofreaders: Researchers responsible for featured work

Design and creative production: Atelier Formas do Possível (www.formasdopossivel.com)

Illustrations of scientists: Rodrigo Prazeres Saias

Printing and production: M2, graphic arts

The contents of this publication are the exclusive responsibility of Associação Viver a Ciência and do not in any way

represent the official position of the European Commission, who is not responsible for any subsequent use of this

information.

All rights are reserved according to the law.

An Associação Viver a Ciência publication

Edifício Egas Moniz, Sala B-P3-40 - Av. Prof. Egas Moniz -1649-028 Lisboa

Tel. +351 217 999 513

Mob. +351 965 847 410

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.viveraciencia.org

Distribution: 80,000 copies

November 2005

Free distribution with the Público newspaper and electronic version available at www.viveraciencia.org

English translation available at www.viveraciencia.org

English translation: Julie Contreras

01

Page 3: Career Scientist

index 02

Preface 03

Introduction 04

Ana Rodrigues 05

Alexandre Correia 06

Gabriela Gomes 07

João Coutinho 08

Isabel Palmeirim 09

Lu!ís Oliveira 10

Helder Maiato 11

Miguel Sousa Costa 12

Rui Loja Fernandes 13

Patrícia Beldade 14

Susana Lima 15

Ana Cannas da Silva 16

Miguel Remondes 17

Miguel Castanho 18

Acknowledgements 19

Scientists

02

Page 4: Career Scientist

Great scientific advances are, as a rule, made by young people. In 1905, 100 years ago, the young Einstein –

who was just 26 – changed our ideas about the nature of light, what makes up the world, about the properties of

space and time and even about the nature of material and energy. This flurry of revolutionary ideas was proved

to be true.

However, having been the father of quantum theory in his youth, Einstein then distanced himself from it. He was

overtaken by new young blood: in 1925, a small group where Heisenberg, 24, and Schroedinger, 28, were

studying, established the quantum physics that has come to accurately describe the atomic world which led us to

the computer and the Internet, among other things. They did it by “standing on the shoulders of” Bohr, who was

40 at the time but had proposed his model of the atom when he was just 28.

Bohr suggested to some of his students that they try to understand what life was. This was the beginning of

Molecular Biology, which immediately turned out to be a new frontier of science and came to change our lives.

Crick was 37 in 1953 when he identified the molecular structure of DNA together with his friend Watson, who

was then 25.

It is not just in Physics, Chemistry and Biology that youth has triumphed: it is also true in Mathematics. In 1993,

Wiles, who was then 40, announced that he had demonstrated the famous “Fermat’s last theorem”, narrowly

missing out on winning the Fields Medal, the highest distinction in Mathematics which is only given to

mathematicians under the age of 40...

Young people in science are an inexhaustible source of creativity. It is they who come up with new ideas and

carry out new work, continually building the future. All over the world as well as, it goes without saying, here in

our midst. The young organisation “Associação Viver a Ciência” (barely a year old but we hope with a long and

brilliant future) has therefore acted wisely in choosing fourteen young Portuguese scientists to represent what is

best, most creative and most innovative in Portuguese science. They are merely given as examples, and several

others, in either the chosen disciplines or others, could have been highlighted.

The main resource of a country that wants to develop is its grey matter. Luckily, as this booklet shows, this is not

something that we lack. What is lacking is a greater care of them. We must give them and other young people

the opportunities and the means that they clearly deserve. In an age where wealth comes before knowledge,

encouraging and supporting careers in science is a national obligation. Science may be costly but the lack of it

would be much more so. Delaying or interrupting the path that these young people are following would mean

delaying or interrupting the future. They are on the move – and we with them- towards the future.

Carlos Fiolhais

Preface

03

Page 5: Career Scientist

This booklet has come about because of the desire of a group of scientists to communicate what they do, bygoing beyond their own laboratories and institutions. Here we reveal works of incredible ingenuity but little knownby the public in general. Work with a direct impact on our day-to-day lives and work that is very promising and isgenerating great expectations for the future. For all these reasons and others, they are putting Portugal on themap of competitive and quality science that is, and cannot afford to stop being, increasingly international.

These scientists – the men and women of this generation who are, by their nature, constantly on the move – arehere and there, jumping between laboratories, projects, topics and fellowships. They are everyday, curious,interesting and interested, well-travelled, persistent and hard-working people who believe in what they are doing.It will be worth getting to know them (and us)!

When Associação Viver a Ciência – a non-profit organisation formed by scientists in 2004 - accepted thechallenge of taking on this project, we came across numerous difficulties. How to choose? Who to choose? Whichsubjects to choose? So we had to establish criteria and make decisions.

We decided to include a range of recent scientific discoveries, made by Portuguese scientists, from the areas ofLife Sciences, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. We were faced with cases that were difficult to categorisebecause modern science is increasingly multidisciplinary and often the scientist’s skill lies in being able to link twopreviously distinct branches of knowledge which have until then remained separate.

We wanted to select scientists at the beginning of their career – up to 40 years old – and a range of profiles,alternating between young promising scientists and group leaders recently initiated in the adventure of headingtheir own research groups.

We looked for cases of scientists who had decided to return to Portugal, after long periods abroad. We alsolooked for stories of scientists who had never felt the need to leave but who nonetheless had remained in closecontact with the best research being carried out in their areas in other countries. And cases of scientists who willnever come back. For these are the dilemmas that all those who, motivated by the desire to do good science, endup facing.

We consulted members of the scientific community itself so that they could nominate, from their own respectiveareas, work that stood out as excellent. We consulted science journalists. We searched on the Internet andtirelessly used programs that identify publications most cited by peers, papers most recommended, scientistsmost highly awarded... in short, the things that matter in the world of science today. We were helped by a group ofpersonalities from the world of science, who guaranteed scientific excellence and impact on an international scalefor all the work presented here.

Many other stories have, for the meantime, been left out. Which can only mean that we will have material for a“Career: scientist” I, II, III...

The conception, research and elaboration of this booklet was a pleasure for all those involved.

We wanted to share with you all our enthusiasm for science and, in particular, for science that is ‘made inPortugal’.

This is the result. It is yours to enjoy.

Margarida Trindade and Joana BarrosAssociação Viver a CiêncA

Introduction

04

Page 6: Career Scientist

Career pathCareer path:1996 - Degree in Biology at the Faculty of Science, Universidade de Lisboa1999 - Masters in Mathematics Applied to Biological Sciences at the Instituto Superior de

Agronomia, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa2002 - PhD in Conservation Biology at the University of Sheffield, UK2002-2005 - Researcher with the non-governmental organisation Conservation

mmkInternational in Washington DC, USAPresent - Travel in Brazil and Thailand. In January she will begin a post-doctorate at the

mUniversity of Cambridge, UK

Free timeFree time: “Spending time with friends anywhere green”

Find out more…

IUCN red list - www.iucnredlist.orgBiodiversity Hotspots - www.biodiversityhotspots.org

Global Amphibian Assessment - www.globalamphibians.orgBirdLife International - www.birdlife.org

Ana Rodrigues wanted to be a paramedic. However, she has spent the last few years studying birds,amphibians, mammals, reptiles...and how they depend on each other and on us to ensure the sustainability ofthe Earth.

Since completing a placement during her degree at the Faculty of Sciences in Lisbon, Ana has focussed ondeveloping methods to select priority areas for conservation. While working as a researcher in the non-governmental organisation Conservation International, based in the USA, she lead a project to evaluate on aglobal scale the representation of land vertebrate species in protected areas all over the world. In collaborationwith 21 other scientists from 15 organisations across 8 different countries, she helped to identify the regionswhere expanding conservation areas is a priority. This incredibly wide-ranging study is based on data collectedby thousands of researchers all over the world. More than 11,000 species of birds, amphibians, mammals andreptiles were analysed from more than 100,000 protected areas.

The study, published in 2004 in the prestigious journals Nature and BioScience, coincided with theinternational announcement that more than 10% of the earth’s surface is protected. There was a feeling in theair that the mission had been accomplished – we did not need any more protected areas. In the meantime,Ana Rodrigues proved the opposite. Not only do we need more protected areas, we need them to bestrategically placed – quality rather than quantity.

These new data were used to put pressure on the approval of the Programme of Work for Protected Areas, bythe signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity. In this programme, nearly all the countries of theworld have committed to evaluating the gaps in their networks of protected areas (by 2006 for protected areason land or 2008 for marine protected areas) and expanding them strategically (by 2010 for protected areas onland or 2012 for marine protected areas). This kind of political commitment to create protected areas is withoutprecedent, and vital for the planet.

The variety and quantity of living beings inhabiting our planet is dramatically reducing. Nobody knows forcertain the rate of extinction but we know that 12% of bird species, 20% of mammals and 31% of reptiles arecurrently under threat of extinction forever.

Historically, direct capture (for example for food) and the introduction of exotic species (such as predators)were among the main causes for the extinction of various species. Today, however, the reason for theunprecedented disappearance of biodiversity is the loss of habitats – or rather the locations and specificconditions that each species need to survive. More than a third of the surface of the planet is occupied byurban or agricultural areas and this area is rapidly growing. The loss of habitats reduces and fragmentspopulations, leaving them particularly vulnerable to other threats – climate change, human exploitation, naturaldisasters and diseases – which can be the final cause of their extinction.

Instead of becoming a paramedic, Ana Rodrigues has ended up giving us another great contribution. Her workallows her to contribute towards the preservation of something that is incredibly valuable for us all -biodiversity. In her own words “in the end we all want to try to change the world for the better...”.

ANA RODR IGUESANA RODR IGUESAge: 32

ONEPLANETFORALL

ONEPLANETFORALL

05

Page 7: Career Scientist

Career path

1997 – Degree in Physics at the Universidade de Lisboa2001 – PhD at the Institut de Mécanique Celeste, Paris VI University2002 – Post-doctorate at the Institut de Mécanique Celeste, Paris VI University 20022002 – Researcher at the Centro de Astronomia e Astrofísica do Observatório Astronómicommmmde Lisboa

2003 – Researcher at the Observatoire de Genève, SwitzerlanPresent: Invited Lecturer and Researcher at the Department of Physics of the Universidademmmmmde Aveiro

Free time

Swimming, reading and travelling. If he had all the time in the world, he would devote it toanother scientific discipline such as the evolution of the species or history

Find out more…

Portal do Astrónomo - http://www.portaldoastronomo.orgInstitut de Mécanique Céléste –http://www.imcce.fr

Astronomy Picture of the Day - http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html

He was about six when he saw “Cosmos” on the television. “I was practically hypnotized, I wanted to knowmore and more”. When he was ten, he asked for a telescope. His parents asked him if he was prepared tosacrifice other presents in order to have it, Alexandre Correia didn’t hesitate, his fascination for the heavenswas too strong. Now, with a PhD from the Institut de Mécanique Celeste, Paris VII University, he reveals thesecrets of the dynamics of the solar system without gazing at the heavenly vault.

Hunched over his computer, Alexandre reconstructs the orbits of Venus, Mercury, Mars and the Earth.Contrary to what common sense has told us since the time of Galileo, the elliptical orbits of the planets aroundthe sun are not fixed. Gravitational games, of attraction and repulsion, between celestial bodies, disturb theirorbits around the sun (translation) influencing their rotation and consequently, their climate. “The system ischaotic, we can only manage to anticipate scenarios or reconstruct positionings within a margin of 20 millionyears”, the astrophysicist explains. Nevertheless, this “only” on a cosmic scale, allows astronomers to helptheir geologist colleagues calibrate measurements when studying climatic alterations in the Earth’s past. Whendealing with periods of time over 20 million years ago, it is the geologists who, in turn, supply data to theastronomers. By studying sediments, geologists are able to say when changes in climate occurred on a largescale; astronomers in turn are able to deduce the exact inclination of the axis of rotation of the Earth at thattime. This is why, explains Alexandre Correia, it is a stimulating challenge to study the rotation of Mars andfrom that draw conclusions about the history of its climate. The axis of rotation of the red planet presents avariation of 60 degrees (the axis of the earth only varies by two degrees, between 22o and 24o, enough tocause ice-ages), which is more than enough to cause ice to migrate over time from the poles to the equator.

But perhaps the major challenge that Alexandre has been faced with and solved is the mystery of the rotationof Venus, which had intrigued scientists for centuries. Why is it that Venus rotates on itself in the oppositedirection to all the other planets? When, in the “disk” which forms the solar system, the future planets all spinin the same direction around the sun as if in a tropical storm. The answer lies in the result of a combination ofdifferent factors. Firstly, the tidal effect caused by the gravitational pull of the sun on the permanently cloudyVenus, as happens with the Earth-Moon system. Secondly, another tidal effect caused by the differentialheating of the atmosphere of Venus by the Sun (the parts of the atmosphere facing the Sun become hotter)which causes a redistribution of air mass, from hotter to colder parts, causing friction on the surface. Thiseffect also happens on Earth, but with the atmosphere of Venus being 90 times denser than our’s (equivalentto having 1 km of ocean on top of our heads) this effect is much, much less on Earth. A third factor, frictionbetween layers of the planet (nucleus and mantle), causes heating, releases energy and also contributes tomodifying the rotation of the planet, which was previously much quicker and is nowadays at 243 days. Andlastly, the effect of disturbances from other planets, which had not until them been considered. It was alsowhen Alexandre and his colleagues from the Observatory of Paris introduced the variable of disturbances fromother planets on the orbit of Mercury, that we understood why it is that this planet turns three times on its ownaxis for every two orbits of the Sun, instead of one rotation each time as would be expected.

Now, Alexandre is exploring a new area: extra solar planets. The first was discovered about ten years ago.Since then nearly 150 new planets have been found, in stellar systems with dynamics very different to ourown. All are very different to the Earth – big, gaseous, situated very close to their star. “ In a few years, we willprobably discover planets the size of the Earth”, predicts Alexandre Correia, bearing in mind the rate thatdetection equipment is developing. The young astrophysicist is awaiting the first data to create models thatexplain the waves on a beach, somewhere millions of light-years away.

ONTHEBEACHINVENUS

ONTHEBEACHINVENUS

ALEXANDRE CORREIAALEXANDRE CORREIAAge: 30

06

Page 8: Career Scientist

Career path

1987 – Degree in Applied Mathematics at the Universidade do Porto1990 – Masters in Mathematics at the University of Warwick, UK1993 – PhD. in Mathematics at the University of Warwick, UK1997 – Post-doctorate at the University of Warwick, UK1998 – Invited researcher at the University of Minnesota, USA1999 – Post-doctorate at the Universidade do Porto2000 – Postgraduate diploma in Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Public Health at themmmmLondon School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK2002 – Researcher at the University of Warwick, UKPresent - Principal Investigator at the Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, in Oeiras

Free time

Her last holiday was spent on a windsurfing course with her three daughters and herhusband, in Scotland.

Find out more…

Personal website – www.igc.gulbenkian.pt/sites/ggomesGripePT – the journeys of a virus – www.gripept.net

For Gabriela Gomes, researcher at the Gulbenkian Institute of Science in Oeiras, Mathematics began as away of compensating for her “bad” memory. It was comforting to feel that she could work out, in the middle ofan exam, formulas that were possibly forgotten. Today, she uses Mathematics as an epidemiological weaponin the fight against diseases such as tuberculosis, which is responsible for the death of two million peopleevery year. In Africa, the rate of tuberculosis is growing daily at an alarming rate, being associated withinfections linked to the AIDS virus that weaken the body’s defences enormously. In Portugal the rate is one ofthe highest in Europe.

Scientific research is becoming increasingly multidisciplinary, with knowledge from very different areasmeeting to produce extraordinary results. The study of infectious diseases is one such area, in whichMathematics perfectly complements Biology, Chemistry, Sociology and Medicine, in order to build a moreaccurate picture of the causes and effects of the spread of these diseases.

Gabriela uses mathematical models as tools to help devise and test strategies to control diseases, givingpublic health services crucial information in the fight against disease. A good vaccine or programme of controlmust take into account numerous specific characteristics of the target group, as what may be effective in onegiven situation may be completely ineffective in others. For this reason, they resort to mathematical modelsthat take into account a large number of possible factors.

In the models developed by Gabriela, groups of individuals that are infected, recovering and vulnerable tobecoming infected are represented by compartments that fill and empty according to parameters associatedwith biological or socio-economic factors of the disease which affect the way it spreads in a given population.We are right in the midst of the mathematics of dynamic systems and differential equations, an area ofmathematics that Gabriela fully explored during her PhD. at the University of Warwick, in England.

In 2004, she coordinated a study on the variability of the effectiveness of the vaccine against tuberculosis indifferent areas of the world – in the UK it was 77% effective, while in India the same vaccine is practicallyuseless. Gabriela and her team identified for the first time the threshold for re-infection, above which thepotential for the spread of the disease is so high that it overwhelms the body’s defences (the immune systemis not efficient in fighting infection) making re-infection a certainty. Above this threshold, a vaccine would onlybe effective if extra immunity was given, on top of the natural immunity of the individual, which is not normallythe case. In such cases, it is not worth vaccinating. Diseases with recurrent infections such as whoopingcough, flu or malaria are also being analysed using this model.

Thanks to this discovery, Gabriela was last year awarded 1.9 million euros in European funding – a MarieCurie Excellence Team – in order to set up her own laboratory to work on Theoretical Epidemiology for fouryears. This highly prestigious prize was given to only 19 other scientists in the whole of Europe, none of whomgained as high a mark as Gabriela. This prize came as a result of the quality of her work but also through herarduous efforts to obtain funding in order to attract good scientists from other countries and by doing so,overcoming the scientific isolation she feared on returning to Portugal. The fruits of her work and dedicationare obvious: massive international financing, and one Dutch, two German, one Brazilian, one Mexican and twoFrench scientists on the way. With them will also come new ideas, one of which Gabriela has already seizedon. A project which brings together science communication and an epidemiological study of the flu in Portugal.

GABR IELA GOMESGABR IELA GOMESAge: 40

MATHEMATICSIN

MATHEMATICSINTHEFIGHTAGAINSTINFECTION

THEFIGHTAGAINSTINFECTION

07

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Career pathCareer path:1992 – Degree from the Faculty of Engineering at the Universidade do Porto1995 – Doctorate at the Technical University of Denmark1996 – Researcher at the Institut Français du Petrole1997 – Post-Doctorate at the Faculty of Sciences, Universidade do PortoPresent - Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Department of Chemistry, Universidade deAveiro

Free timeFree time:“I have various passions: photography, architecture, archaeology, jazz, cartoons… but myvice is reading “

Find out more…

WAXtracker – www.waxtracker.comAdventures in Energy – www.adventuresinenergy.org

IFP waxtrack – www.ifp.fr/IFP/en/files/rechercheindustrie/waxtrack.pdfInnovative Pigging Solutions For Pipelines –

www.pigtek.com/pdfs/PipelineandGasJournalArticle.pdf

Thermodynamics was for Einstein the only theory that he did not believe would ever change. This theory,which originated in the study of steam engines is, at heart, a transversal and very basic science that can beapplied to any branch of knowledge — from biological processes to the formation of the universe, or even tosocial organisation.

It was exactly this last application that awakened João Coutinho’s passion for thermodynamics. Nowadays it isused to explain “if molecules like or hate each other, how much they like or hate each other and how thisaffects the way they are distributed between different states (solid, liquid and gas) or in different divisions of anecosystem (air, sediments, water, biomass etc.)”.

His main area of study is petroleum, a mixture that originates from biological molecules of micro organismsand plants that existed a long time ago that, by a strike of destiny, happened to decompose in the right placeat the right time. The result is a compound that is very rich in hydrocarbons, which are able to release largequantities of energy when they combust. The way an engine works is basically not that different from the wayour bodies work, our bodies also obtain energy by burning molecules. Engines use hydrocarbons, we usecarbohydrates. “They are similar molecules”, explains João.

However, petroleum’s potential goes beyond this. It can easily be broken down and transformed into manyeveryday products and objects, from plastics to textiles, fertilizers and detergents. Among the differentcomponents that can be obtained, “waxes” (long-chain molecules) can be used to produce food additives,lubricants and even medication – because of this they represent a highly lucrative business for petroleumcompanies. On the flipside of the coin, these “waxes” could well be the source of many headaches and somebillions of dollars of damage. The main problems can occur during transport of petroleum via pipelines fromthe sea platforms to land. Low temperatures at the bottom of the sea and differences in pressure mean thatthe wax component of petroleum loses solubility and ends up crystallising. In the same way as cholesterol getsdeposited in our arteries, wax crystals get deposited on the walls of pipelines and end up blocking them ifprecautions are not taken. As the vast majority of deep sea petroleum is very heavy, this problem affects alarge number of refineries. Blocked pipes hundreds of meters deep in the sea are not easy to access forrepairs. The best option is definitely prevention.

At the Universidade de Aveiro, João Coutinho has been developing methods based on thermodynamic modelsthat allow us to predict the formation of these “waxes” in a particular type of petroleum and the conditions inwhich deposits build up. This valuable information thus allows petroleum companies to plan pipelines in amore appropriate way as well to take steps to take adequate measures to maintain pipelines. His workresulted in the development of software that has already been adopted by one of the biggest simulators in thepetroleum industry, Multiflash from the British company Infochem, and is used by companies such as Total,Repsol, Petrobras, Schlumberger, and Esso among others, with whom this researcher collaborates closely.João is also studying the dispersal of hydrocarbons in marine environments, in order to understand thedynamics of oil spills, that can cause so much devastation and to find solutions to remedy them.

João Coutinho loves studying petroleum but did not originally think about becoming a researcher. Heconsidered working for an oil company and, with this in mind, went to the Institut Français du Petrole (IFP). Itwas there that he understood that “I valued my freedom too highly to allow myself to be subject to the rules ofa company”, he says. So he decided he wanted to be a researcher. “What I really enjoy is coming hereeveryday and deciding what to do. We have to create our own path”. The Thermodynamics group at theUniversidade de Aveiro, which was founded in 1998 in conjunction with Isabel Marrucho, is very active withvarious collaborations with foreign companies and universities. Apart form studying petroleum, this group isinvolved in other adventures such as developing artificial blood from perfluorocarbons (compounds capable ofdissolving large quantities of oxygen), and discovering environmentally friendly insulating materials that can beused in fridges.

JOJO ÃO COUTINHOÃO COUTINHOAge: 36

FROMTHEBOTTOMOFTHESEA

FROMTHEBOTTOMOFTHESEA

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Career pathCareer path:1988 – Degree in Medicine at the Faculty of Medicine, Universidade de Lisboa1989 – General internship at the Hospital São Francisco Xavier, Lisbon1993 – Placement at the Paediatric unit, Hospital de São Marcos, Braga1994 – Academic year of the Gulbenkian Biology and Medicine PhD. Programme1998 – PhD. at the Institut d’Embryologie Cellulaire et Moléculaire, Paris, France1999 – Researcher at the Instituto Gulbenkian de CiênciaPresent - Lecturer and Researcher at the Escola de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade doMinho

Free timeFree time:Devoted to her family (husband and two children), reads and travels (when she can!). Lovesdancing

Find out more…

Nature Milestones Development – www.nature.com/milestones/development/milestones/Embryo Images Normal and Abnormal Mammalian Development –

www.med.unc.edu/embryo_imagesThe Cloning of Dolly – www.luc.edu/depts/biology/dev/shclone.htm

The visible Embryo – www.visembryo.com

Isabel Palmeirim studied Medicine, but always with a view to being a scientist. Little did she know that shewould spend hours on end looking at chick eggs. It was worth it: her discovery is one of the great milestones indevelopmental biology in the last 100 years.

Developmental biology is the study of how we are made – how we become the complex human beings that weare, with a head, torso and limbs. If we think about how it all begins, we have to realise that our existence hasa very humble beginning. Just one cell is enough to set in motion a series of events, that results in us! Aremarkable fact and as you would imagine, extremely complex.

With the objective of learning more about our own development, scientists concentrate on the study of otheranimals, who share similar processes in the embryo with human beings. Contrary to what you might think,there are many to choose from. We can count on chicks, mice, flies, frogs and even zebra fish whosedevelopment, incredible as it may seem, begins in a way that is very similar to our own. Isabel’s lot was tospend hours peering down the microscope observing the development of chick embryos, analysing inparticular the role of c-hairy1 gene – initially isolated by another Portuguese researcher – in a crucial phase ofthe development of an embryo, the formation of somites.

After fertilisation, the egg enters a frenetic process of cell division and within the space of a few days gives riseto millions of small cells that, after migrating and reorganising themselves, begin to form the future chick. At acertain point somites appear all along the future backbone of the chick – these are extremely importantcollections of cells that go on to form muscles, vertebrae and ribs. The intervals when somites are formed is aprocess that is strictly regulated and on which depends the success of subsequent stages of development.However, until Isabel’s study, there were no experimental data on the possible mechanisms involved in theregulation of these intervals.

During her PhD. in France, Isabel demonstrated that each cell involved in making somites is instructed fromearly on when the right time to do it is. The number of times that a cell begins and ends reading the c-hairy1gene (1 cycle), helps it to determine how old it is and thus, when to begin forming a somite. This processworks like an internal clock, with the programmed cell passing through a number of determined cycles, beforebecoming ready to form a somite.

Each cell goes through these cycles in way that is coordinated with all of the remaining cells involved in theformation of somites. What is surprising is that each one of them does it completely independently. It would belike being able to do a giant Mexican wave in a football stadium while blindfolded, each person holding a clocktelling them the exact moment to stand up and sit down.

This pioneering study revealed a new regulatory mechanism and, as usually happens in science whenanswers are found, gave rise to new questions. Now Isabel is interested in understanding the specific role ofthis gene in the clock. What signal triggers cyclical behaviour? What effect does it have in chemical terms?Dividing her time between teaching and research at the Universidade do Minho, Isabel is getting closer tothese answers every day. Understanding the mysteries of embryonic development could also help us tounderstand the origin of embryonic malformations and from that, how to correct them.

ISABEL PALMEIR IMISABEL PALMEIR IMAge: 39

THECLOCK

THECLOCK

09

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Career pathCareer path:1992 – Degree in Physics Engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon1997 – PhD. in Physics at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon1997 a 2001– Post-doctorate at the University of California, in Los Angeles, USAPresent - Senior Lecturer at the Department of Physics, Instituto Superior Técnico andresearcher in the Laser and Plasma Group of the Centro de Física dos Plasmas doLaboratório Associado para os Plasmas e a Fusão Nuclear

Free timeFree time:Collects records, books and modern Portuguese paintings. Likes theatre and cinema.Passionate about lomography and plays squash. Interested in science communication.

Find out more…

Perspectives on Plasmas – www.plasmas.orgGrupo de Lasers e Plasmas – http://cfp.ist.utl.pt/golp

Centro de Física de Plasmas – http://cfp.ist.utl.ptCentro de Fusão Nuclear – www.cfn.ist.utl.pt

When he was little, Luís Silva wanted to be an archaeologist but he ended up being enchanted by thefascinating world of physics. Today he heads a research team at the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, withthe curious name of Extreme Plasma Physics. In order to have a better understanding of what this means weneed to recap on some basic principles.Matter exists in three states: solid, liquid and gas. If we think of water, we can easily identify these three statesin ice (solid), rivers (liquid) and clouds (gas). So far so good. But what is surprising is that there is a fourthstate of matter. Plasma. Although unusual on our planet, the reality is that 99% of the visible universe exists inthis form. The stars, including the sun, are giant balls of ‘bubbling’ plasma and interstellar space is a hugemass of ‘cold’ plasma.Each one of these states of matter has unique properties. Atoms of solid materials are firmly fixed in a rigidnetwork. As temperature rises and the material approaches a liquid state, this rigidity reduces and the atomscan move more easily (this is why liquids can alter their shape). If the temperature is increased even further,the material will become a gas with all the atoms completely detached from one another and moving freely.Finally when the temperature is extremely high, the components of the atoms themselves begin to separate.The electrons are released and with the loss of negative charge the atoms, that were previously neutral,become positive ions.A great deal of energy is needed to free these electrons. It also needs to be maintained or else the electronswill return to atoms and the plasma will return to gas. That is what happens with the Auroras Borealis(Northern Lights) and Aurora Australis (Southern Lights). The poles attract solar dust charged with energy.This collides with atmospheric gases on reaching the Earth and ionizes them (releases electrons). As thisenergy is not constant, the electrons end up turning back into atoms and in the process release energy in theform of light, giving us an extraordinary display of light. The same mechanism explains lightning, where a largedischarge of energy crosses the air, ionizing the gases on its way. After passing, the atoms recover theirelectrons and energy is released in the form of light. This is also the principle of the neon lights that light upour corner café and the plasma screens of new televisions.But plasma has many other interesting properties that are at the basis of an increasing number of newtechnologies, with the most varied applications. Luís Silva and his team study, in particular, the possibility ofplasma being used as a base for developing new particle accelerators, which already earnt him the IBMscience prize in 2003. Particle accelerators have a very wide range of applications, from cathode ray tubes intelevisions, to the study of the fundamental forces of the universe, as sources of light to visualise molecules orfor treating tumours using radiotherapy. However, the technology used at the moment has various limitations.Accelerators used by Physics researchers are an example of this, they can reach tens of kilometres in length.The Extreme Plasma Physics team are making important steps in the production of a new generation ofaccelerators that are more compact and efficient (they could end up fitting on a desk), more powerful andmuch less costly.The technology uses high power lasers to leave a wavy trace when crossing the plasma, like a boat leaveswaves behind itself when sailing across water. Luís Silva focuses on searching for a more efficient way to usethis trace to accelerate particles. Or rather, to help the particles to ‘surf’ the waves in the most efficient waypossible. At the moment he has already developed a model, with a laser confined in a plasma optical fibre toprevent diffraction of the laser, in which the particles are capable of reaching in just 1 centimetre the speedthat they would have taken 100 meters to reach in conventional accelerators.The application of plasma physics and the interests of Luís Silva do not stop at particle accelerators. Amongother ‘small things’, he is researching the application of lasers for nuclear fusion in plasmas. It is hoped thatthis process, capable of generating huge amounts of energy (‘cleaner’ than that produced by nuclear fissionand fossil fuels), could be a source of energy in the future. In collaboration with a group studying PlasmaSimulation at the University of California in Los Angeles, where he spent four years , this researcher is seekingnew ways to turn this energy into a reality.

LULU ÍS SILVAS SILVAAge: 35

THEFOURTH

THEFOURTH

STATEOFMATTER

STATEOFMATTER

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Career pathCareer path:

1998 – Degree in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences, Porto1999 – Academic year on the Gulbenkian Biology and Medicine PhD. Programme2003 – Doctorate at the Universidade do Porto (experiments carried out at the Instituto de

Biologia Molecular e Celular – IBMC, Porto and at the University of Edinburgh, UK.2003 – Post-doctorate at the Wadsworth Centre, New York, USAPresent - Principal Investigator at the IBMC, Porto

Free timeFree time:

Climbing

Find out more…

Mitosis World – www.bio.unc .edu/faculty /salmon/ lab/mitos is /mitos is .htmlMicroscopia - www.mic roscopy .fsu.edu/ index .html

Mitosis tutorial - www.biology .arizona. edu/cell_bio/ tutorials /cell_cyc le/main .html

The first time that Helder Maiato saw a cell divide he was fascinated. From that moment on he has dedicatedhimself to the study of this biological ‘miracle’. Given that all cells originate from previously existing cells, celldivision – which allows one cell to divide in two – is at the basis of all pre-existing life.

If we go back far enough in our own development, we can see that it all started with one cell. This divided intwo, and these divided continuously, giving rise to the trillions of cells that make up a human being. Then,throughout our lives, we continue to be completely dependant on this process. It is estimated that 250 millioncells in our body are dividing at any given moment to, among other things, substitute tired cells and defend usagainst infections.

During cell division, the genetic information of the cell, compacted in the form of chromosomes and containingall the instructions necessary for life, must be correctly distributed to the two new cells, in a process calledmitosis. Errors in the distribution of this information usually have dramatic effects. Too few chromosomes canlead to the loss of fundamental pieces of information. While too many chromosomes cause instability at acellular level, with serious consequences for the body. Down’s Syndrome, also know as Trisomy 21, is anexample of this. It happens when three copies of chromosome 21 are made, instead of only two. In the sameway, while a normal human cell has 46 chromosomes, the majority of cancerous cells have an abnormalnumber of chromosomes. We do not yet know whether this is a cause of some cancers or a consequence. Atany rate, it is important to understand that any cell with missing or extra copies of chromosomes will acquirespecial qualities… which as a rule is never a good thing.

The mechanism which distributes chromosomes to daughter cells involves movement. We know that thismovement starts and is controlled by a tiny structure called the kinetochore which forms where chromosomesand microtubules meet, in a temporary structure known as a mitotic spindle. But how does this spindle form?How does the kinetochore coordinate the movement? How is the force for this movement generated? Thesecontinue to be some of the fundamental questions of Cell Biology, the answers to which have greatimplications for human health.

Helder Maiato has spent the last five years between Portugal, Scotland and the United States, perfecting hisknowledge of various important techniques in the study of these processes. Among these, a revolutionarymicro-surgery technique using sub-cellular laser combined with high resolution microscopy of living cells,which allowed him to analyse a new dimension in the process of chromosome distribution: time. Thus, in thesame way that an art critic would learn much more about a painting if they were present when it was beingpainted, this researcher learnt a great deal by observing mitosis in real-time and interfering with the process.

During his doctorate, Helder discovered a protein with a fundamental function in chromosome distribution. Theoriginal combination of approaches that he used to study its function allowed him to reveal very importantdetails about how the process works. The inevitable results of his work, already presented in a long list ofpublications, resolved an age-old controversy in the scientific world, by giving a molecular explanation for themicrotubule dynamics that allow the movement of chromosomes.

Now back in Portugal, but still maintaining close collaborations with foreign laboratories, Helder Maiato, who isjust 29 years old, heads a group of young scientists at the Instituto de Biologia Molecular e Celular, in the cityof Porto, in the discovery of more of the secrets of the miracle of multiplication.

HELDER MA IATOHELDER MA IATOAge: 29

THEMIRACLEOFMULTIPLICATION

THEMIRACLEOFMULTIPLICATION

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One big initial “bang”. A universe that is expanding, where stars are born and die between dark matter andclouds of dust. What more do we need to know about the origins of the cosmos? Miguel Costa, a physicist atthe Universidade do Porto, recognises that science has progressed a great deal since Copernicus: “Thepresent cosmological model represents one of the biggest successes of modern science”.

In fact, we now know that the universe is continuously expanding, which means that it was much smaller in thepast. Cosmology manages to describe in quantative terms the evolution from the primordial era to the presentday by explaining, for example, the appearance of structures such as galaxies. Obviously, there are stillquestions to be answered. One of these hinges on the initial state of the universe.

When it was extraordinarily small, dense and full of energy, the laws of physics as we know them ceased to bevalid. In order to understand its origins, we need to put together two well-known theories. On one handQuantum Mechanics, the physics of the atomic world and of high energies and on the other hand Gravitation(which comes from the Theory of General Relativity), which has a fundamental role in describing the dynamicsof the universe. From the combination of these two theories, was born a third: Super String Theory, whichMiguel Costa has been working on since the time of his PhD. in Cambridge.

Apparently, this merely involves changing the way that we view elementary particles, that are usuallyrepresented by dots. “In the first place, from a philosophical point of view, there is no reason for choosing dotsover structures with dimension. In fact, if we look at a small piece of elastic from a long way away, it looks likea dot. Then, if we use binoculars, we can see that it is a piece of elastic, that is to say an extended object.Something similar happens with elementary particles. If these were incredibly small pieces of string, or evenmembranes, we would not be able to distinguish them from dots,” explains the young physicist who wasawarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Science in 2004. His enthusiasm for this small detail is justified: “From atheoretical point of view, something fantastic happens if we assume that elementary particles are pieces ofstring— it is possible to derive Einstein’s equations to describe the field of gravitation. Moreover, it is possibleto describe the quantum process of interaction between gravitons — the particles responsible for gravitationalinteraction. This result is very important, as for the first time we have a quantum description of gravity and wecan begin to investigate questions such as the origin of the universe.”

Currently Miguel Costa is trying to apply Super String Theory to the area of cosmic singularities, such as thefamous “Big-Bang” (the moment of the big explosion that initiated the universe), to understand the evolution ofthe universe in its present form. “We manage to show that the interactions involving gravitons, can be well-defined in the presence of such singularities. We also put forward the theory that a cosmological singularity willbe apparent, due to what we call a cosmic horizon”.

To make the challenge more enticing, observations of supernova (explosions of stars with an elevated mass)allow us to conclude that the universe is not only expanding but that this expansion is very rapid! “Thisacceleration could be due to the cosmological constant, associated with the so called energy of empty space.However, there is not yet any satisfactory theoretical model that allows us to explain this constant”, explainsMiguel Costa, who hopes that Super String Theory, which is still incomplete, will be for Cosmology what theRosetta Stone was for Egyptology.“ Another question that Miguel is dealing with is related to the physics ofblack holes, that Super String Theory can also help to understand.

The theoretical science of Miguel Costa is done with pencil and paper. The most important methodology is, inhis opinion, talking with colleagues, “the Super String Theory community in Portugal is incredibly small and thismeans several trips overseas and lots of phone calls...”. Cosmology, the physics of black holes and highenergy are merely laboratories to understand physics in limited situations.

MIGUEL SOUSA COSTAMIGUEL SOU OSTAAge: 35

BIG?BANG.BLACKHOLES!

BIG?BANG.BLACKHOLES!

Career pathCareer path:

1994 – Degree in Physics and Applied Mathematics at the Faculty of Sciences, Universidadedo Porto

1995 – Certificate in Advanced Mathematical Studies at the University of Cambridge, UK1998 – PhD. at the University of Cambridge, UK1998-2000 – Post-doctorate at the University of Princeton, USA2000-02 – Post-doctorate at the Laboratoire de Physique Theorique de L’École Supérieure,

mllFrancePresent - Lecturer at the Department of Physics, Universidade do Porto

Free timeFree time:Travelling

Find out more…

On Super String Theory - http://superstringtheory.com/index.htmlAnother link: www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/

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Rui Loja Fernandes is a serene scientist. He knows that he speaks a ‘language’ that very few peopleunderstand and is used to this kind of intellectual solitude. And this happens, paradoxically, when it is preciselyhis kind of science that is the universal language par excellence: mathematics.

Rui began in the real world, where the laws of physics rule. “The problems that interest me originate inphysics”, he explains. However, while physics explains the forces in play when a pen thrown up in the air overa desk traces an arc and then falls, mathematics is concerned with the geometry of the space where ithappens. Newton summarised: mathematicians want to find out something more fundamental than theimpulse or effect of mass. They increase the degree of sophistication and give themselves the luxury of‘playing’ with Planck’s constant– a constant in the world of quantum mechanics -, but in the parallel world ofmathematics anything, or almost anything, is possible. Changing Planck’s constant to start with nothing andtransforming linear into non-linear phenomena, are sure ways of creating complex problems. Rui Lojaacknowledges that although the initial motivation comes from the attempt to solve concrete problems,sometimes he finds himself pursuing more aesthetical aspects: “we are a bit like artists, selfish in a way”. Thescenes described mathematically ‘ring so true and are so beautiful that we end up convinced that we arediscovering something that already exists and that is truly overwhelming”.

However, mathematics does not provide the solution to everything. “If we have learnt anything in the lasthundred years, it is that there are things that we simply cannot do”, says Rui. An example? “It is not possible tocreate a computer programme which checks without fail, the errors in other programmes; it would have tocheck itself and be faced with the possibility of finding at least one programming error, the result would becontradictory”, replied the mathematician who, in his youth used to swim 50 kilometres a week, in his hometown Coimbra, just for the pleasure of challenging himself because “school wasn’t stimulating enough”.

Today, after winning the Gulbenkian Prize for Science in 2001 and author of a “ISI highly cited paper”, Ruiconsiders the traditional division of mathematics into large areas to be artificial. Great advances in thediscipline, he says, come about through the “intelligent combination” of algebra (which involves manipulatingequations and formal structures), analysis (which involves variations of quantities), geometry and topology(which study shapes, be it a solar system or a bar of soap. This methodology implies that within one researchdepartment, the concern is to cover the maximum number of different areas of research, not involving morethan one or two mathematicians from each area.

However, scientific solitude is not a good way to produce knowledge. For this reason, internationalcollaborations are common practice in science, either through exchanges between scientists from two differentcountries or through frequent thematic programmes in institutions spread all over the world, where a criticalmass of mathematicians gather to study a very particular problem at a given time. His office at the InstitutoSuperior Técnico, is, for Rui Loja Fernandes, an space for reflexion before leaving for the United States, orJapan, or China ... it doesn’t matter where; after all, the language is not the problem, or Mathematics would notbe the Esperanto of the Universe.

RUI LOJA FERNANDESRUI LOJA FERNANDESAge: 40

THESOLITARYARTIST

Career pathCareer path:

1988 – Degree in Physical and Technical Engineering at the Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon1991 – Masters in Mathematics at the University of Minnesota, USA1994 – PhD. at the University of Minnesota, EUA2002 – Further PhD. in Mathematics at the Instituto Superior Técnico, LisbonPresent - Senior Lecturer and Researcher at the Department of Mathematics at the Instituto

Superior Técnico, Lisbon

Free timeFree time:Playing with his children, being with friends and open-air sports.

Find out more…

Atractor: www.atractor.pt/mat/fr-in.htmlPlanetMath: http://planetmath.org/

A brief excursion down Mathematicians Street: www.math.ist.utl.pt/~rfern/curso.pdf

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By “designing” butterfly wings, the biologist Patrícia Beldade reveals to us some of the secrets of the evolutionof living things.

The process of evolution requires changes in the genetic code. If a new alteration brings benefits to the carrier– in its social or environmental context – this will be more likely to survive and reproduce, passing this newcharacteristic on to its offspring. This is how populations evolve by natural selection.

In natural populations there generally exists a considerable variation in characteristics between individuals. Ifthis was not the case, there would nothing to select. However, the type and number of variations likely to occurseem to be limited, which suggests the existence of hindrances to their development. For example, a pig withwings has never been seen in the wild! Why this is, is subject to heated debate between evolutionaryscientists. As the process of building an organism is highly organised, there are certain alterations which maynot be feasible. In the same way that when building a house you cannot begin with the roof, you need to buildthe foundations first – and they cannot be made of jelly! If one gene was responsible for the development ofmore than one structure, it would be difficult to alter one without altering the other.

Patrícia Beldade approaches these fundamental questions by studying the circles of colour on butterfly wings.Using this animal as a model, which can have spectacular morphological variations (there are butterflies withvery different wing patterns), Patrícia tried to understand if there really were limitations on the variety ofdesigns that are available on the market, and exactly which genes are altered to give rise to the diversity ofpatterns in nature.

With much dedication, Patrícia spent days crossing and selecting butterflies. In the end she managed toproduce patterns that had never before been seen in the wild, demonstrating that they are possible. Animportant conclusion that supports the non-existence of limitations to the creative power of nature is that it isnatural selection itself that moulds the existing variations. At least as far as the wing patterns, that werepreviously considered “restricted”, are concerned.

Although it is clear that a genetic alteration needs to occur for evolution to take place, we hardly know anythingabout which (and how) genetic alterations are responsible for the appearance of certain characteristics. Whilestill completing her PhD. in the Netherlands, Patrícia established a series of collaborations with otherlaboratories to learn molecular genetics techniques which allowed her to reveal the origin of several variationsof wing patterns. In a piece of work praised by her peers, she discovered that the variation in the level ofactivity of one single gene (called Distalless), known for having an important role of the embryonicdevelopment of all insects, is enough to cause alterations in the size of the circles on butterfly wings. In thisway, Patrícia showed for the first time the relationship between pattern variations – source of evolutionarychange, and a gene. That is, she made a connection between genetic alterations and morphologicalvariations.

Patrícia is now focusing on exploring the genetic mechanisms which are at the origin of specific behaviour,such as courtship and sexual selection. One thing is for certain, we will be hearing much more about PatríciaBeldade in the future.

PATRPATRÍCIA BELDADEÍCIA BELDADEAge: 33

GENESANDBUTTERFLYWINGS

GENESANDBUTTERFLYWINGS

Career pathCareer path:

1995 – Degree in Biology at the Faculty of Sciences, Universidade de Lisboa1996 – Extra-curricular placement at the Universities of Paris and Montpellier, France2002 – PhD. at the Universiteit Leiden, Holland2004 – Post-doctorate at the University of California in Irvine, USAPresent - Assistant Lecturer at the Universiteit Leiden, Holland

Free timeFree time:She does not have a “favourite hobby”. At the moment, she likes moving to the sound of musicand on the two wheels typical of Holland (bicycles). More recently, she has taken up climbing,on high walls with coloured holds, and diving, preferably in tropical waters.

Find out more…

Personal Page - www.beldade.nlEvoNet – www.evonet.org

European Society for Evolutionary Biology – www.eseb.orgSociety for the Study of Evolution – www.evolutionsociety.org

Fórum de Biologia Evolutiva português –http://pwp.netcabo.pt/andrelevy/biologia_evolutiva.htmL

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Career pathCareer path:

1999 – Degree in Biochemistry at the Faculty of Sciences, Universidade do Porto

2000 – Academic year on the Gulbenkian Biology and Medicine PhD. Programme

2005 – PhD. at the Sloan Kettering Institute, New York and at the Yale University School of

Medicine, New Haven, EUA

Present - Post-doctorate at Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA

Free timeFree time:Walking, cooking, travelling, snorkelling.

Find out more…

FlyBase – Database of the Drosophila genome– http://flybase.bio.indiana.eduSociety for Neural Interfacing - http://www.ifi.unizh.ch/groups/ailab/sni/

A fly controlled by laser? No, it’s not the plot of a science-fiction film, merely a genetic modification designed toprovide a remote control which uses a well-known molecule and ultra-violet light. Welcome to the world ofSusana Lima.

Scientists are always looking for ways to reproduce biological phenomena, in order to be able to study and testthem in minute detail in the laboratory. In the field of Neuroscience this task is particularly challenging becauseof the nature of the object being studied – the nervous system. Susana Lima has ended up making thischallenge a little easier. During her recent PhD. at Yale, USA, she developed an ingenious tool which came torevolutionise the study of neurological processes.

Our nervous system works by electric impulses that carry information. In order to activate nervous conductionin a controlled manner and study the areas of the brain responsible for determined behaviour, scientiststraditionally had to resort to inserting electrodes in the brains of the animals being studied. Apart from beingextremely invasive, this method did not allow a very careful selection of the areas to be activated. A new tooldeveloped by Susana Lima allows a single type of neuron (or nerve cell) to be activated, using a genetic trick.The technique has already been tested in fruit flies but in the future it is hoped that it will be optimised for thestudy of more complex animals.

The technique consists of genetically modifying flies, in such a way that the neurons being studied, and onlythese, have an extra structure which allows them the possibility of producing nervous impulses in the presenceof an ATP molecule (Adenosine Triphosphate). In turn, the form of ATP used is encapsulated in a chemicalcompound which is only released when shined upon with an ultra-violet laser light. In this way Susana controlsthe availability of ATP in the brain of the fly. When ATP is released, nervous conduction is inactivated only inthe genetically modified neurons. A clever trick indeed.

Susana tested this new tool in neurons of a giant fibre responsible for the response in flies to situations ofimminent danger. She managed to achieve that a considerable percentage of flies started jumping andagitating their wings – behaviour associated with response to danger– without there being any kind of dangerpresent, simply by shining a laser on them. In this way, Susana confirmed the direct relationship between theactivity of certain neurons and specific behaviour.

The test was also successfully carried out on another type of nerve cell, this time those involved in theproduction of dopamine. This test was particularly interesting because a lack of dopamine is at the origin ofvarious neuronal syndromes, including Parkinson’s Disease which affects millions of people all over the world.

Susana Lima, together with her PhD. supervisor, thus developed a technological advance that will allowneuroscientists to clarify the functions of different types of neurons in determined behaviour, from smallmovements to very complex behaviour such as memory, aggression or even abstract thought. For this newchallenge, Susana has left flies behind and is now seeking to develop her technique in rats, in a laboratory inCold Spring Harbor, USA. The partnership with these animals promises to be interesting, Susana explains thatthese docile animals are gifted with great intelligence and are very patient when learning new tasks.

SUSANA LIMASUSANA LIMAAge: 29

OBEDIENTFLIES

OBEDIENTFLIES

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Career pathCareer path:

1990 - Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computing, Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon1996 - PhD. in Mathematics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA1997 - Member of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, Berkeley, USA1998 - Lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley, USA2001 - Member of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USAPresent - Senior Lecturer at the Instituto Superior Técnico, Lisbon

Free timeFree time:Community work in the local community centre where she lives in Lisbon

Find out more…

Personal webpage - www.math.ist.utl.pt/~acannas/Gulbenkian Programme "New Talent in Mathematics" - www.math.ist.utl.pt/talentos/

Centro de Anállise Matemática Geometria e Sistemas Dinâmicos - www.math.ist.utl.pt/cam/Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computing - http://mc.math.ist.utl.pt/

Beauty seems to be inseparable from mathematics. At least for Ana Cannas da Silva, one of the fewPortuguese women who dedicates her life to the search for universal mathematical concepts. Dividing her timebetween the Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon and the University of Princeton in the United States, Anacould not quite suppress a smile when commenting that we are living in the golden age of mathematics, and itis obvious she is joking.

In the last century, the major areas of mathematics benefited from a major boost thanks to the Cold War. Therivalry between the two great powers of the time – the United States and the Soviet Union – resulted inenormous investment in algebra, analysis and geometry, with applications for studying codes, buildingsubmarines and controlling missiles in mind. Traditionally considered a noble activity in Eastern countries,combined with the fact that it requires little more than paper and pencil to produce, and therefore cheaper thanall other sciences, Mathematics flourished in these countries. In the USA, mathematics benefited from thelarge-scale exodus of European scientists, namely mathematicians, during the Second World War.

The recent phenomenon of globalisation, especially in the areas of telecommunications and the mobility ofpeople, has given a new boost to this golden time: mathematicians that did not previously have the possibilityof leaving the country or contacting their colleagues can today work anywhere in the world and get a reply to amathematical question instantly, from any other part of the world.

The result is obvious. We are in contact everyday with the product of such grey matter and clear thinking. Inthe supermarket, it is impossible not to come across a thousand and one bar codes – a pure application of thetheory of codes. Watching the latest stock market news on the TV, we are seeing dynamic systems in action.And if we go to hospital for a CAT scan (Computerized Axial Tomography), we can take our hat off to analysisand geometry.

Ana Cannas’ interests focus on understanding spaces. This is symplectic geometry, an area of science thathas seen enormous growth since the 60’s. This researcher is fascinated by the universality of mathematicalconcepts – in her words ‘at the end of the day, mathematics was the language chosen by Nature”. Perhapsbecause of this, she is interested in describing and studying space geometrically. That which we know existsand that which we do not yet know. Space in its various dimensions.

Space can be a linear circle, where at any point you can only go forwards or backwards (one dimension), or itcan be a surface, of a tyre for example, where you can move in more directions (two-dimensional space).Dimension is one of space’s inherent properties, independently from the point you are looking at or themeasurements that you take. The space of the world we know apparently has three dimensions but, formathematicians, space can have four, five, six thousand dimensions.

For each dimension, there can be universal structures – structures that any space in this dimension allows.For example, the most universal geometric structure is called metric: any space (within reason) allows systemsto measure length and angles. In one, two and three dimensions other very useful structures are known, nowAna has found a universal structure which is common to all spaces of four dimensions: a double symplecticstructure. This structure has great potential for among other things, helping to analyse spaces of fourdimensions, highly sought after especially in interactions with physics.

Ana’s dedication to mathematics goes beyond research. Teaching, both here and overseas, has been a veryimportant element of her career path. In Portugal she is one of the instigators of the “Gulbenkian Programmefor New Talent in Mathematics”, which since 2000 has supported and encouraged young people to carry outresearch in this area. In 2005 she helped make possible the “Diagonal School – Summer MathematicsSchool”, open to all those interested, which happily have been many. This first session was a sell-out! Whosaid Mathematics wasn’t fun?

ANA CANNAS DA SILVAANA CANNAS DA SILVAAge: 37

GRASPINGATSPACE

GRASPINGATSPACE

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Career pathCareer path:

1993 – Degree in Veterinary Medicine at the Universidade Técnica, Lisbon

1993-1998 – Vet1998 – Academic year on the Gulbenkian Biology and Medicine PhD. Programme2004 – Ph.D. at the Faculty of Medicine at the Universidade de Coimbra (experimental work

carried out at the California Institute of Technology - Caltech, USA)Present - Post-doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA

Free timeFree time:

“I really like reading, going to the cinema, listening to music, talking and eating”.

Find out more…

Wikipedia – free encyclopaedia– www.wikipedia.orgThe Picower Institute for Learning and Memory – http://web.mit.edu/picower

Society for Neuroscience – http://web.sfn.orgNeuroscience for children (worth a visit whatever your age)–

http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/neurok.html

Where is information kept about the things that we live and learn? How do we retain the memory of a smell?These questions go beyond the boundaries of biology, crossing-over into areas of humanities such asphilosophy and religion and the quantative fields of physics and mathematics. For Miguel Remondes, aresearcher in the USA, the social and cultural implications of the debate on ‘the brain and the mind’ are so vastand interesting that he ended up leaving his previous job as a vet to devote himself to researching the subject.

Nowadays we know that the process of memory is based on a network of connections between nerve cells (orneurons) in different areas of the brain. For this, our brain has at its disposal 100 billion neurons –approximately the same as the number of stars that exist in the Milky Way – capable of communicatingbetween themselves, and each with more or less the same processing capacity as a computer! When wememorise things, we modify connections between specific neurons, thus facilitating the passage of a nervousimpulse along a determined circuit. However, there is not just one kind of memory, the process involvesseveral types of memory that come together.

When we need to call the bank, we look at the phone number, dial and then forget it. In this kind of situationwe are making use of what we call short-term memory, that “is living” for only a few minutes or hours. If usedor expressed repeatedly, the information may be consolidated and remain for months and years, as with long-term memory, such as childhood memories and things we learn at school. Miguel Remondes is interested inunderstanding how the brain manages to acquire short-term memories and, in particular, maintain long-termmemories.

There are people who, after suffering brain damage, are incapable of creating and retaining short or long-termmemories. These patients have been one of the main sources of data on the areas of the brain involved in themechanism of memory retention. We know that there are two areas of the brain that are essential for thisprocess – the neocortex and the hippocampus. During his PhD. in California, Miguel Remondes managed torefine this crude knowledge, by carrying out a series of experiments involving extremely meticulous surgery onthe brains of mice. The surgery training he had while working as a vet proved invaluable in order to make thisstudy possible.

Miguel managed to block the only direct nervous passage in these animals’ brains between the neocortex andthe hippocampus (the temporoammonic pathway or TA), without causing any damage to the animal. At theend of the experiment, the animals remained healthy… but without the ability to make memories! Therefore hestated that interrupting the TA pathway is sufficient to prevent the animals from having long-term memories,even when an alternative (indirect) pathway between these two areas of the brain remains in tact. This was thefirst time that it was shown that the TA pathway is fundamental in making memories and therefore Miguel’swork, which earned him two articles in the journal ‘Nature’, meant a new piece could be added to the intricatepuzzle of memory-making mechanisms.

Currently completing a post-doctorate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge (USA),Miguel is becoming more and more interested in the complex phenomena of memory. He is currently trying tounderstand how neuronal activity arises and how this activity evolves as an animal learns a new task. Miguelconfesses that he did very much enjoy working as a vet but the old desire to “discover” new things proved tobe a stronger pull and, at the moment, he is not contemplating leaving science.

MIGUEL REMONDESMIGUEL REMONDESAge: 37

THEPATHSOF

THEPATHSOFMEMORY

MEMORY

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Career pathCareer path:

1990 – Degree in Biochemistry at the Universidade de Lisboa

1993 – PhD. in Chemistry at the Universidade Técnica de Lisboa1999 – Further PhD. in Chemistry at the Universidade de LisboaPresent - Lecturer and Researcher at the Molecular Biophysics Laboratory at the Faculty of

LSciences, Universidade de Lisboa

Free timeFree time:

Aquarium enthusiast and likes fishing

Find out more…

Virtual laboratory on Nobel website – http://nobelprize.org/chemistry/educational/vblA física insultuosa no cinema - http://intuitor.com/moviephysics

O porquê das cores - http://webexhibits.org/causesofcolor

Looking at the Earth from a cosmic perspective reveals very little about the beauty of the world on “our” scale.In the same way, when we contemplate any living being, the beauty of the world at a microscopic levelescapes us. This is only accessible when we dive into the depths of the infinitely small.

All living beings are made up of cells. In the human body there is a huge array of different types, each with afundamental role in the greater objective of keeping everything “working”. Some transport oxygen, othersprotect us from infections, produce sweat, make our heart beat and a million other things. Each one is a small“factory” divided into departments, with workers, specialist equipment, production lines, etc.

Miguel Castanho is particularly interested in the “building” of a cell – the cellular membrane, a fascinatingstructure which surrounds and delimits the cell, working like a barrier between the interior and the exterior.Consisting mainly of lipids (fats) and proteins, the membrane has numerous functions. Apart from beingessential for the cell to exist, the membrane is indispensable for sticking to other cells - fundamental for theorganisation of tissues, for the reception and interpretation of messages from the outside, for selecting whichsubstances can enter and leave the cell etc. With a thickness of 0.000000005 metres, current technology doesnot allow us to view the molecular phenomena of membranes in detail. That means that his research requiresan enormous degree of skill. Miguel is constantly thinking up new approaches which allow him to draw detailedconclusions about how this structure functions.

Many substances, including some antibiotics, work at the level of the cell membrane. In order to understandthe details of this kind of interaction, Miguel uses optical spectroscopy which allows him to identify howmolecules are organised by the spectrum of light that they emit and absorb. He “constructs” models of theinteraction of the molecule being studied with the membrane and then creates experimental situations whichtest them. Frequently the experimental data do not confirm initial expectations of the models, but something isalways learnt on the way, which allows the hypothesis to be refined and in this way the models built areincreasingly improved. This process will continue until he is able to accurately predict how a molecule interactswith a membrane.

Miguel is excellent in this detective role. Recently, he coordinated a study which revealed how a new inhibitorof the AIDS virus works. (It may seem strange that we still do not know the mechanics of how some medicineswork but it is not unheard of: it was more than 70 years after we began using aspirin that we understood how itworked at a molecular level). The secret of the success of this medicine in the end lies in its ability to installitself in the cellular membrane of lymphocytes – part of our army fighting infections – and connect with thevirus, confusing it in the process. By doing this, it prevents it from entering in these cells. This work wasawarded with Luís Champalimaud prize, which each year distinguishes research on AIDS. The high qualityand originality obvious in all his work also earnt him the Vicente Seabra medal in 2004, from the PortugueseSociety of Chemistry.

Research aside, Miguel Castanho is an enthusiastic science communicator, maybe he will surprise usshortly…

MIGUELMIGUEL CASTANHOCASTANHOAge: 38

BEYONDTHEVISIBLE

BEYONDTHEVISIBLE

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Acknowledgements

Associação Viver a Ciência would like to extend its thanks to all those who contributed to making this project

possible:

Sponsors: the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission - “Researchers in Europe 2005”

initiative, Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Progama Operacional de Ciência e Inovação 2010, Fundo

Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.

The Institute of Molecular Medicine, partner in the European consortium established to produce this

publication, and in particular for the support given by Carmo Fonseca, Margarida Pinto Gago and Margarida

Martinez.

The Público newspaper, for distributing the publication. TSF – Rádio Jornal, for using material collated by

Associação Viver a Ciência to broadcast, after the 1pm news on Friday, a programme called “Selecção de

Esperanças” (Selection of Hopes) including interviews with the scientists featured in this publication. The

programme will remain available online at www.tsf.pt. The science journalists Clara Barata, António Granado

and José Milheiro, whose advice was invaluable.

The Science Museum of the University of Lisbon, the Pavilhão do Conhecimento – Ciência Viva and the

Visionarium – and Europarque Science Centre, for their support in publicising and help evaluating the

initiative.

The Portuguese scientific community who, by nominating important scientific achievements in their respective

areas of study and advising the Associação Viver a Ciência team, guaranteed the scientific quality of the work

featured in this publication. In particular, we would like to thank Alexandre Quintanilha, António Coutinho,

Carlos Fiolhais, Eurico Cabrita, Irene Fonseca, José António Perdigão Dias da Silva, Luís Magalhães,

Martinho Simões, Nuno Crato and Paulo Ribeiro Claro.

The fourteen scientists who accepted the challenge of being featured in this booklet.

And finally for the hard work and enthusiasm of all of the Associação Viver a Ciência team.

Maria Mota

(President)

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