Diary of a Scientist - reader's favourite stories
The Diary of a Scientist project brought together Biopolis researchers and Público journalists to share their research in new and creative ways. This collaboration spanned several platforms - online, print and podcast - enriched with illustrations by André Carrilho. During August, the articles garnered over 200,000 reads on Público. Additionally, the Diary of a Scientist podcast was a resounding success, ranking number one science podcast in Portugal on Apple Podcasts for most of the month.
The success of this initiative is a testament not only to the exceptional work and dedication of the 26 participants but also to the diversity and quality of research at Biopolis. As part of this project, Público readers were invited to vote for their favourite articles. Voting took place from September 5th to 15th with more than 2,500 votes cast. We are delighted to announce the top three articles:
1. How a dog gene might have helped the Iberian wolf survive: a 3,000-year-old story (Diana Lobo) – 1st place (€1,000)
2. The jay: an acorn thief or a discreet forester? (João Rosa) – 2nd place (€750)
3. Cats are everywhere, but this one is facing extinction in Portugal (Beatriz Alves) – 3rd place (€500)
Congratulations to Diana, João, and Beatriz for being the winners of this first edition of Diary of a Scientist, and to all participants for pioneering this memorable initiative in science communication in Portugal. You can read more, including an interview with Diana, in this Público article.