Católica at the forefront of science communication

On 22 December last, the Portuguese Society of Microbiology (SPM) promoted a public session where the winners of the 2nd edition of the contest Comunicação de Ciência em Microbiologia (Communication of Science in Microbiology) were announced. For the second year running, the Faculty of Dentistry won the competition, in the Junior category. The competition is part of the celebration of the international day of microorganism and aims to promote the communication of current topics in the area of microbiology, aiming to disseminate the scientific culture and arouse the interest of the population in general.

The winning work, entitled "The virus with alcohol or soap: a history of inactivation!", resulted from a collaboration between professors Ana Sofia Duarte and Raquel Silva from the Faculty of Dentistry of the Catholic University, researcher Ana Cristina Esteves from the Department of Biology of the University of Aveiro and the talented illustrator Sara Costa, collaborator at the Interdisciplinary Health Research Centre (CIIS - Católica).

The content of the award-winning comic strip aims to train young people on the science involved in good hand hygiene and how it can stop the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In a simple and appealing way, molecular and cellular aspects are highlighted during the infection process and, at the same time, it is clarified that although the viruses are studied in microbiology, they are not living beings. 

This team of the Faculty of Dentistry has been committed to the dissemination of science with and for the community, promoting scientific literacy from the youngest to the senior public (collaborating with schools, homes and social solidarity associations). The motivation has been to present diverse scientific knowledge uncomplicated through art. The strategy consists very often in the presentation of concepts and processes in the form of comic strips or explanatory animations.