Researchers have shown that a dried drop of fingertip blood—collected via a simple finger-prick—can reveal biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease, offering a less invasive, more accessible route to early diagnosis. Improving and validating blood-based tests remains a key research challenge to ensure sensitivity, specificity and clinical applicability compared with current invasive or costly methods.

Humberto Correia frames his presidential bid around his personal experience of poverty, presenting himself as a candidate who understands the everyday suffering of the Portuguese. He singles out the housing sector as a ‚disaster‘ and signals that addressing property, cost-of-living and related social stresses will be central to his campaign, positioning his lived experience as the basis for policy credibility.

AESE Business School has opened a new campus in Porto and is already preparing tailored programmes to serve the North of Portugal. The school's dean says Portuguese business leaders value continuous training but, given an economy with “some fragilities,” are often too absorbed in running their companies to commit time to development — a gap AESE aims to bridge through flexible executive education and qualification offerings that support regional business needs and economic resilience.

Maria de Fátima Carioca argues that Portugal needs a substantial overhaul of its labour legislation, saying flexibilisation of labour relations is unavoidable but must not undermine social protections. She warns the proposed new law is not a magic wand for boosting wages — structural reform is required alongside measures to safeguard workers. Her remarks come as the Government prepares a wide-ranging review of labour rules and the social safety net.

Real-time analytical coverage of financial markets and economic developments on 6 January, including market moves, key data releases and macro indicators. Commentary focuses on consumer confidence and cost pressures, investor sentiment and flows, implications for investors and expat households, and the significance of today’s indicators for policy and markets.

Justice is a central theme in the campaign of the five leading presidential candidates ahead of the 18 January election. Proposals range from Luís Marques Mendes’s call for structural reform, faster proceedings and cross‑institutional pacts to modernise courts, to competing ideas on statutes of limitations and the scope of presidential intervention in judicial matters. The debate frames trade‑offs between efficiency and safeguards, and highlights the need for parliamentary and judicial buy‑in to implement meaningful legal and procedural change.

After Portugal’s Tekever became a unicorn, 2026 looks set to remain a liquid year for investors despite geopolitical uncertainties that are reshaping financial markets. Venture capital will continue to favour AI startups, but a growing emphasis on dual‑use and defence‑adjacent technologies means investors will weigh strong commercial upside against ethical, regulatory and geopolitical risks. The year will therefore be defined by opportunities for tech and defence crossover, active deal‑making, and increased scrutiny from policymakers and funds alike.

Presidential candidate António Filipe says his left-wing bid has a legitimate ambition to contest the result and reach the second round, arguing voters should not choose candidates out of fear. He frames his campaign as a credible challenge with strategic implications for the race, appealing to supporters to vote on conviction rather than defensive calculations.

Traffic on National Road (EN) 10 in Vila Franca de Xira (Lisbon) was reopened after authorities halted movement when a section of pavement collapsed and caused a gas leak, the Civil Protection told Lusa. Emergency teams secured the scene, controlled the leak and carried out inspections before resuming traffic; investigations and repairs are ongoing to determine the cause and prevent further disruption.

In 2024 remittances from Venezuela to Portugal amounted to €9.8 million, a 15% decline on the previous year. The fall signals shifts in diaspora financial flows and can serve as an economic indicator of changing expatriate activity and cross‑border ties between the two countries.