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Selected range: all newsSpace, fungi, and European languages – nine researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) were awarded for their contributions across diverse fields of study. At a ceremony held on 25 October 2024, three of these scientists received the Praemium Academiae from CAS President Eva Zažímalová, while six were awarded the Lumina Quaeruntur grant. The awards constitute financial support for their ongoing research.
Candles, lamps, microscopes… These all help shed light on the world around us. Properly “tamed” light, however, can uncover previously unimaginable depths. Read our feature, first published in the 3/2024 (Czech) issue of A / Magazine, on how microscopes, endoscopes, and lasers are used at the service of science, below.
Years ago, he inadvertently made a name for himself by swallowing tapeworm eggs, nurturing the parasite inside his body for years. Julius Lukeš lives and breathes parasitology and is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the field. He is not one to stick to conventions, though, nor is he afraid to stir the pot. Read our interview with the parasitologist, first published in the 2/2024 Czech issue of A / Magazine, below.
The academic startup VDI Technologies has reached a significant milestone, achieving ISO 13485 certification for activities that include developing, manufacturing, and selling medical devices for electrocardiography. The rigorous certification is a prerequisite for commercializing new ultra-high frequency ECG (VDI UHF-ECG) technology.
Since 1993, the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS) has been regularly performing internal evaluations of its scientific activities, constantly improving and developing the process. That is why in 2022, the CAS joined hundreds of organizations that signed the Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment. By doing so, it pledged to reflect the commitments it has now outlined in its Action Plan, which will be applied when evaluating its 54 institutes and more than 400 teams over the 2020–2024 period.
The trial-and-error method has long been the modus operandi for developing stronger and more ductile metallic materials. Computational technology has greatly accelerated and simplified their advancement. However, even the most powerful computers have their limits. Materials physicist Martin Friák sees the future in quantum computing, which holds the key to overcoming these obstacles.
The secrets of life at the molecular level and addressing the increasing energy demands of information technology – what the two Dioscuri Centers of Scientific Excellence established at the Institute of Physics of the CAS are focusing on. Led by Barbora Špačková and Helena Reichlová, these centers explore how international collaboration can advance Czech science and what their teams hope to achieve.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, up to one third of the food produced worldwide is thrown out each year. What are the impacts of food waste, and how can we prevent it?
It can be used in both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET). This breakthrough, contributed to significantly by researchers from the IOCB of the CAS, promises a substantial improvement in diagnostics and subsequent treatment, particularly for kidney diseases and tumors. The research was published in Angewandte Chemie.
In 1842, Swiss botanist Carl Wilhelm von Nägeli was the first to observe and describe chromosomes. Since then, research in genetics and imaging techniques has taken significant leaps forward. Over 180 years later, researchers from two institutes of the Czech Academy of Sciences – the Institute of Scientific Instruments and the Institute of Experimental Botany – have achieved a similarly groundbreaking milestone. Thanks to a new imaging method, they have managed to visualize a chromosome in its native state. Revealing its surface structure, consisting of tiny protrusions and chromatin fibers spatially organized in loops, could potentially impact fields such as medicine and agriculture. The researchers introduced their new method at a press conference in Brno on 18 July 2024.
The Czech Academy of Sciences (the CAS)
The mission of the CAS
The primary mission of the CAS is to conduct research in a broad spectrum of natural, technical and social sciences as well as humanities. This research aims to advance progress of scientific knowledge at the international level, considering, however, the specific needs of the Czech society and the national culture.
President of the CAS
Prof. Eva Zažímalová has started her second term of office in May 2021. She is a respected scientist, and a Professor of Plant Anatomy and Physiology.
She is also a part of GCSA of the EU.