Bargmann of Rockefeller University studies a primitive worm, C. elegans, which has only 302 neurons in its brain.

FORBES: Billionaires Anoint Biogeeks

"The scale of this is so outsized I think it will have a huge impact on the life sciences, " Ms Bargmann said.

BBC: $3m prizes from internet titans for disease research

However, stuck in traffic with his wife and assistant, Mr. Branson employed precisely the kind of grabbing at opportunity that Dr. Bargmann had described.

WSJ: Opportunities for Geniuses

We asked Dr. Bargmann how she would define the term genius.

WSJ: Opportunities for Geniuses

The most fashion forward of the geniuses were Dr. Bargmann, diaphanously dressed in Armani, and Dr. Aldrin, who wore a maroon tuxedo with a sterling-silver bow tie.

WSJ: Opportunities for Geniuses

In Pleistocene hunter-gatherer terms, the design community in Portland is more like a clan (100-200 members), small, but large enough for the neuronal effects described by Dr. Bargmann in the roundworm to take effect.

FORBES: Portland on the Brain: the Small City as Scale Model

In the seemingly infinite galaxy of philanthropy, the Liberty Science Center Genius Gala sparkled brightly on Friday night, not only honoring chess legend Garry Kasparov, brain-mapping scientist Dr. Cori Bargmann and entrepreneur Richard Branson, but with stratospherically smart award presenters like James Watson, best known for his co-discovery of DNA, election predictor Nate Silver and astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

WSJ: Opportunities for Geniuses