Announcing miscarriages, VI. Thesis Contest

2008/07/01 Kortabitarte Egiguren, Irati - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Unibertsitateak
• Sariak

Estibaliz Alegre Martínez is a biochemist from the University of Navarra and has investigated his own abortions in his doctoral thesis. Specifically, we have tried to find evidence to identify the risk of miscarriage. The HLA-G molecule as a marker of miscarriage (HLA-G molecule, marker of miscarriage) has been the first prize.

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, the researcher has won a laptop and a weekend stay in a Basque country house, thanks to the collaboration of Sistek Informatica and microsystems and the Nekatur association.

Approximately 15% of pregnancies occur in the first trimester. In many cases it is due to a problem in the mechanisms that protect the fetus. The objective of this work has been to analyze how certain protective mechanisms develop during pregnancy and whether any of them can be used as a marker to predict natural abortions.

Among the most outstanding results are those related to the HLA-G molecule. In fact, the Alava researcher has found that the degree of this molecule that produces the embryo increases during the initial weeks of pregnancy. But this only happens in women who continue with pregnancy and not in women at risk of miscarriage. Alegre believes that this molecule could be useful as a marker of miscarriages.

From Axones to Parkinson

Carolina Cebrián has been the second classified thanks to the summary of the thesis presented at the University of Navarra. The researcher presented the summary entitled Implications for axonic branching in Parkinson (effects of Axons bifurcation in Parkinson's) and won a digital camera and a weekend stay thanks to Eroski and Nekaturri. Regarding this summary, the jury stressed that reading is understandable and enjoyable. However, it touched on the background of the introductory thesis, too general or far.

Previous studies indicate that axons (tails) of neurons reach the only area of the brain. Cebrián, for his part, hypothesises that the axons of neurons can branch out and, in this way, they can develop simultaneously in the activity of several zones. This would explain some of the consequences of Parkinson's that so far have no explanation. In addition, it seems that neurons with more branched axons are the ones that cause the most damage in Parkinson's disease.

Best summary in Basque

Without leaving the brain, but leaving aside health issues, this year's last prize focuses on the interaction between brain and language, a special mention.

Adam Zawiszewski received a special mention in Basque for his work Discovering the hidden aspects of the brain: case and concordance in neuroimages. He has won an MP4 and a weekend stay in a Basque country house, hand in hand with the cooperative society Eroski and the association Nekatur. 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.

This thesis has analyzed what happens in our brain when we process Basque and in general any language. Indeed, the application of a certain stimulus to a speaker can mean a change of tension in the brain. This change is represented through a wave that lets you know when and how it has occurred.

According to the results obtained in the experiments carried out, in the sentence "You have read the book", for example, congenital speakers immediately realize the grammatical error of that sentence, but in the case of those who have learned the language at the age of three, the brain does not perceive them. In sentences with errors like "I've only seen you", a similar electrophysiological response can be observed between the two groups of speakers. Therefore, the brain perceives certain types of errors or others.

VI. The Thesis Prize has received 38 works. The award-winning works and other participants can be consulted on the Basque Research website.