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Opinion

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Business / Economy /

Inflation strikes again

Inflation strikes again

Are we back to the 1970s price crisis? The Russian invasion of Ukraine has soared inflationary expectations. Portuguese economist Sérgio Rebelo assesses the repercussions of the conflict on a European economy that, by the end of 2022, was struggling with high inflation.
Close up view Portrait of Ulysses S. Grant on the one fifty dollar bill. Background of the money. 50 dollar bill with Ulysses S. Grant eyes macro shot. Money background. Face portrait
Society / Culture /

Money Talks

Money Talks

Money was around for at least two millennia before the first coins appeared. However, looking at it in tandem with human life down through the ages, you soon see that “all that glitters is not gold”. Territorial conquests, colonial trade and the quest for freedom are just a few of the many stories behind what we today call money.
Darwinism - Principle of Natural Selection of Living Organisms by Charles Darwin (English naturalist, 1809-1882): 1 - 4) in animals of the same breed and environment - Bumblebee (Bombus confusus); 5 - 7) Climatic transformations between southern and northern Europe - Small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae); 8 - 9) Transformations between the seasons (seasonal dimorphism) - Map butterfly (Araschnia levana); 10 - 16) Gender-specific transformations (Sexual dimorphism) - Ancyluris inca (female 10, male 11), Scarab beetle (Phanaeus festivus, 12 male, 13-16 male); 17 - 19) Crossbreed between of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction (Bastardization) - Primula auricula (17) and Primula hirsuta (18) are the parents of Primula pubescens (19); 20 - 25) Adaptation to the aquatic life - Water chestnut (Trapa natans), plant (20) and nut (21), Water-crowfoot (Ranunculus aquatilis, 22), Mayfly (Ephemera vulgata, 23) and its gill larva (24), Backswimmer (Notonecta glauca, 25); 26 - 27) Adapting to the parasite life - Toothwort (Lathraea squamaria, 26), Dutchman's pipe (Monotropa Hypopithys, 27). Lithograph, published in 1897.
Society / Science /

Secrets, Beyond Evolution

Secrets, Beyond Evolution

When the first humans arose on Earth, viruses were already here. For a long time, they lived in a delicate balance but human disruption in ecological environments of wildlife unravelled it. Colombian physician and epidemiologist Manuel Tiberio Ayala decodes this intricate evolutionary game.
Milky way galaxy with Bright Stars and space dust
Society / Science /

A Journey of Wonder

A Journey of Wonder

The near future is packed with exciting life detection missions. By looking to the same organic molecules that make up life on Earth, scientists try to find signs of extraterrestrial life in the solar system. Portuguese astrobiologist Zita Martins discusses the challenges of these quests.
A woman walks past a mural painting by graffiti artist Eme Freethinker depicting a likeness of the Gollum/Smeagol of the "Lord of the Rings" epic, worhsipping a toilet paper roll with a speech bubble reading "My darling", at Berlin's Mauer Park on March 21, 2020, amidst the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.
Society / Culture /

A Precious Fear

A Precious Fear

Fear depends on our notion of it. José Palma-Oliveira, specialist in psychology and risk perception, reflects on the way fear affected us collectively in the peak of the pandemic, leading to erratic shopping patterns and panic buying.
Society / Science /

Go Away

Go Away

António Araújo, expert in contemporary history, draws a connection between humankind and the Greenland shark, a 7-meter long predator capable of living for several hundred years, but incapable of stopping a parasite the size of a penny.