Margarida Maia, PhD,  science writer—

Margarida is a biochemist (University of Porto, Portugal) with a PhD in biomedical sciences (VIB and KULeuven, Belgium). Her main interest is science communication. She is also passionate about design and the dialogue between art and science.

Articles by Margarida Maia

Dogs can smell Parkinson’s signature on skin: Study

Two trained dogs detected Parkinson’s disease with high accuracy by smelling skin swabs of patients who had not yet received treatment, adding to growing evidence that scent carries a chemical signature that could help enable early, noninvasive diagnosis. Bumper, a golden retriever, and Peanut, a black Labrador, were trained…

Aged neurons don’t respond normally to stress: Study

Aging interferes with the way neurons, or nerve cells, respond to stress, making them more susceptible to damage and more likely to contribute to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, according to a study in cells and brain tissue. “It’s the neuronal equivalent of being so stressed that you catch…

Stress sensor GADD45G may be new therapeutic target

Researchers in Texas have discovered a promising therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Using a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, they found that blocking the stress sensor GADD45G in astrocytes, which are star-shaped cells that support neurons, reduced the buildup of toxic proteins…