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

‘Young’ transplanted stem cell neurons ease symptoms in rats

Skin cells from people with Parkinson’s disease were transformed into stem cells that could generate dopamine-producing neurons, the same type that’s progressively lost with the disease. The technique opens new avenues for cell therapies to treat Parkinson’s while avoiding possible immune rejections. The researchers used animal models of the…

Gaps in US healthcare bigger for certain Parkinson’s patients: Study

Gaps in healthcare for individuals with Parkinson’s disease in the U.S. have been identified, with notable disparities observed for women, individuals belonging to minority groups, and residents living in rural areas. That’s according to a study utilizing 2019 Medicare data, which includes approximately 90% of individuals living with Parkinson’s…

Improved software for deep brain stimulation wins FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Boston Scientific’s software called Vercise Neural Navigator 5, which provides visual guidance on how to best program deep brain stimulation (DBS) settings for Parkinson’s disease. The improved software features an enhanced user-friendly interface that presents simplified patient data and…