02/2006

Academic bulletin 02/2006

EVENTS
The ceremonious concert organised by Academy of Science and the Czech Philharmonic took place in Dvorak Hall in Rudofinum on 4^th January 2006.

SCIENCE AND RESEARCH
Cloning in Public
Nine years have passed since the birth of Dolly, the first cloned sheep, but European experts hold different views centred primarily on cloning methods. The conference, Ethical and legal aspects of farm animal cloning, organized by the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the ASCR, featured positive and negative aspects of farm animal cloning.

Botanists from Academy of Science ČR move to Antarctica
On James Ross Island in the northeast part of Antarctic continent, a Czech science station is due to be completed during these Antarctic summer months. We did an interview with one of the Czech botanists, Josef Elstner before he left for Antarctica.

How to support women in science?
Proposals on this question were presented at the conference, The way of the labyrinth: Why so few women are in science, which took place 10^th October 2005 at the Chamber of Deputies, Parliament of the Czech Republic.

INTERVIEW
From fibre cells to cortex
An interview with the well-known Czech neurophysiologist, Prof. Josef Syka.

BRUSSELS
Financial Perspective for 2007–2013
On December 17^th, the leaders of the European Council agreed on a maximum European Union budget of just over 862 billion euro for the period of the Union’s next so-called Financial Perspective for 2007–2013.

Risk-Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF)
The Czech Liaison Office for Research and Development (CZELO) sponsored a seminar for the Informal Group of RTD Liaison Offices (IGLO) members entitled EIB and EIF instruments in support of RTD & I in FP7 & CIP. The main talk was delivered by Mr. Gunnar Muent from the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxemburg who described the EIB, its functioning, programmes, and primarily its loans in the area of innovative entrepreneurship. A major part of his presentation was devoted to new instrument of the Seventh Framework Program called Risk-Sharing Finance Facility (RSFF).

NEWS FROM THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
Summary, 12th session, Academic Council, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMNENT COUNCIL OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Report, 209^th session, Czech Government’s Research and Development Council.

Scientific societies
The Czech Astronomical Society (CAS) is a voluntary association of professional and amateur astronomers and friends of astronomy and related sciences in the Czech Republic. Among CAS‘s corporate members is the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic. CAS was founded on 8^th December 1917 in Prague.