A paper on markers to announce own abortions has won the 6th edition of the Basque Research website. Thesis Contest

2008/06/16 Lopez Viña, Rakel - Marketin sailaElhuyar Fundazioa

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Estibaliz Alegre (left) and Carolina Cebrián, winner and second of the Thesis Awards (Photo: R. López).

Biochemistry Estibaliz Alegre has researched in her doctoral thesis on miscarriages. Specifically, a marker has been sought to identify the risk of miscarriage. In addition to a readable and understandable summary, the researcher places the subject well. It is one of the reasons that the jury has given to reward this work. For this summary, Alegre has received a laptop and a weekend stay thanks to the collaboration of Sistek Informatika and Microsistemas and Nekatur.

The second prize went to the researcher of the same university Carolina Cebrián, for her work entitled Implications in axonic branching in Parkinson (Consequences of Axones bifurcation in Parkinson). According to studies carried out so far, the axons (tails) of neurons reach the only area of the brain. Cebrián, for his part, proposes the hypothesis that the axons of the neurons can branch out, which allows them to develop simultaneously in the activity of several zones. This would explain some of the Parkinson's conclusions that so far have no explanation. In addition, it seems that neurons with more branched axons are the most likely to suffer damage to Parkinson's disease. In relation to this thesis, the jury stressed that reading is understandable and pleasant. However, it touched on the background of the introductory thesis, too general or far. With this summary, Carolina Cebrián has won second place and has won a digital camera and a weekend stay thanks to the sponsorship of the Cooperative Society Eroski and Nekatur.

Finally, the special mention in Basque has been transferred to the University of the Basque Country, specifically to the linguist Adam Zawiszewski. This researcher presented the work Discovering the hidden aspects of the brain: the case and concordance in neuroimages.

The brains of Basque natives and those who have learned Basque between 1-3 years do not respond in the same way to linguistic errors

Image courtesy of: UPV/EHU

In this work he has investigated what happens in our brain when we process Basque and in general any language. In his doctoral thesis, Zawiszewski concludes that the brain perceives certain types of errors, depending on the age at which the speaker has learned a language. In this case, the jury highlighted the correction of the text and the clarifying use of the examples, although terminology appears in some cases without explanation. Thanks to this work he has won an MP4 and a weekend card in a Basque country house, by the hand of Eroski Kooperatiba Elkartea and Nekatur.

This year 38 papers have been submitted: Twenty-four works of the University of the Basque Country, ten of the University of Navarra and two of Mondragon Unibertsitatea and Deusto. These award-winning works, as well as those of other participants, are available on the Basque Research website.

About the Thesis Prize

The Elhuyar Foundation organizes this award through the Basque Research website, with the aim of attractively and understandably socializing the summaries of doctoral theses, that is, disseminating the research, so "the jury does not judge the thesis itself, but the author's informative capacity". The jury is composed of five people, all with scientific or technological studies and experts in dissemination. When evaluating the work, the jury took into account the following criteria: capacity for synthesis, correction and appeal of explanations, ease of reading, transmission of ideas, difficulty in the dissemination of topics, title, etc.