Miguel Nicolelis, a visionary scientist

Miguel Angelo Laporta Nicolelis is a Brazilian neuroscientist who is developing researches in cerebral diseases. He works at University of Duke, USA and he is the first Brazilian scientist to get distinction in Science Magazine .The purpose of this researches is to release patients of colateral effects on treatments like Parkinson illness and others neural problems.

The device is to stimulate medulla oblongata in a semi-invasive surgery on the contrary of others techiniques as introduction of eletrodes into cerebral center. Nicolellis thinks that it's possible to conjugate medicine treatment with this stimulating treatment, as said in interview to O Estado de S.Paulo newspaper:"In one year we can start the clinical tests".

Nicolelis, 48, is nowadays a world-wide recognized neuroscientist. He is too a visionary scientist. Althought he is living abroud most part of his time, he planned and is director of International Institute of Neurosciences of Natal (IINN), a project sponsored by a bank and that available scientific education to childreen of 11 to 17 years old on their shcool-free time. The students are of poor families of Natal, a capital of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, on the Brazil's northeast region , one of the poorest of the country.

In IINN students build robots, have supplementary classes accompaning official curriculum and compute. All of them - circa 1,000 - are from public schools. And among the pupils of project there are distinct students with good averages, in spite of their social situation. This is a answer to some peoples in Brazil that say poor students haven't skills to follow other students with better material resources and in theory, more prepared to improve their scholarship. Nicolelis project is a proof that knowledge is the better way of social justice. "We have to give opportunities to students" he said recently on a interview to a Brazilian TV channel. For Nicolelis, efforts on education and science are what distinguish developed countries from ohters. We hope that Nicolelis work be a example of change, change of lifes, change of minds.