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Scientist turned science writer — and always a researcher
We hear that science is a common good and that it belongs to nobody and to everybody. Scientists may be the first to observe, find or understand something - and for a glimpse of time, they are the only ones to know it - but after science is communicated to their peers and to the public, that piece of knowledge becomes part of the world and follows its own path.
One of Rudyard Kipling's just so stories tells us about early humans domesticating animals and how the 'The Wild Dog' became the 'First Friend'. Kipling was right: archaeology and genetics evidence tell us that dogs were the first animals to be domesticated. They descend from wolves that lived about 23,000 years ago.
Every city has its unique charms: its weather, its views, its events, its landmarks - and evenits microbes. A study published earlier this year in the journal Cell analyzed the microbes present in 60 cities from six continents, and found that each city has its own unique set of microorganisms -its very own microbial signature, if you will.
Curiosity about the diversity of life has existed throughout human history. While ideas around species evolving through time were around before Charles Darwin, evolution was only established as a field of study with the publication of On the Origin of Species in 1859.
A new study traces the prevalence of a lactose-tolerance mutation through genetic analysis of Bronze Age bones
Researchers identify how fruit flies communicate safety to each other
Memory is the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information by the brain. Several studies indicate that fear memories are processed differently in male and female animals, but the basis of these differences are still mostly unknown.
Ants are a particularly numerous group of animals - there are approximately 13,000 named species of ants in the world - and they can be found almost everywhere. Their evolutionary success is frequently attributed to their division of labor and cooperation during foraging.
New research on island birds confirms key aspects of a 60-year-old theory
Peacock feathers are iridescent and colorful, but peahen (female peacock) feathers are not. Such visual differences between the sexes occur in many species, and several studies have addressed its evolution, yet the genetic basis of the differences is largely unknown. A new research study may have cracked the code.
Wind power is a promising renewable source of energy and wind farms are becoming increasingly more common. However, there is a concern for their impact on wildlife, in particular as collisions with them cause the deaths of thousands of bats and birds every year.
It reduced parasite load in clinical trial volunteers by 95%
COVID-19 is making travel impossible, but Netflix-based nature could help your mood
in Portuguese
Acho que a biologia é a ciência mais bonita. A minha opinião não é objetiva ou isenta. Para mim, não existe nada mais fascinante que o estudo da vida - dos ecossistemas, aos organismos e ao funcionamento das células. Mais bonita ainda é a a biologia vista numa perspectiva evolutiva - reconhecer que o mundo...
Ia ser engenheiro, mas preferiu matemática. Impedido de ser professor, foi matemático na TAP, mas nunca perdeu a paixão pelo ensino. Foi condecorado duas vezes. Morreu aos 94 anos. Este texto foi publicado originalmente a 29 de julho de 2016, a propósito da condecoração de Eduardo Veloso, e é republicado agora, no dia em que é conhecida a notícia da morte do matemático.
Os estudos arqueológicos dizem-nos que há entre 4000 e 6000 anos atrás já havia cavalos domesticados em várias regiões da Eurásia - nas estepes da Ásia Central, na Anatólia, na Sibéria e também aqui na Península Ibérica. No entanto, apesar da domesticação de cavalos selvagens ter começado em vários locais, novos dados genéticos mostram que...
Os lobos chegaram à Noruega há dez a doze mil anos, mas há cerca de 50 anos os humanos levaram-nos à extinção. Quando, na década de 1980 voltaram a aparecer lobos nessa região, houve quem pensasse que a população de lobos noruegueses tivesse, de alguma forma, recuperado. Infelizmente, não.
Aprendemos na escola que as bactérias são unicelulares - cada bactéria é uma só célula - e são tão pequenas que só as conseguimos ver ao microscópio. Por isso, só foram descobertas quando os microscópios começaram a ser construídos. Mas, como tantas coisas na natureza, existem excepções, são conhecidas umas raras "bactérias gigantes" que têm...
De há um ano para cá assistimos ao avanço da COVID-19 pelo mundo e agora surgem notícias do aparecimento de novas variantes - do Reino Unido, de África do Sul, do Brasil. Estamos, pois, a assistir à evolução do vírus.