Úplné zatmění Měsíce: výletu na Žalov nikdo neželel
Ondřejovská observatoř přivítala 15. června 2011 desítky hvězdářských nadšenců i odborníků, kteří se na kopci Žalov sešli, aby společně pozorovali úplné zatmění našeho věčného souputníka - Měsíce. Ten nad jihovýchodním obzorem vycházel krátce po deváté hodině večerní, ovšem kvůli oblačnému počasí jej nebylo možné sledovat. Byla to škoda tím víc, že se jednalo o jediné úplné zatmění, které lze na našem území pozorovat až do roku 2015, a také o jedno z nejdelších zatmění v tomto století vůbec - fáze úplného zatmění trvala přes hodinu a 40 minut. Návštěvníci Astronomického ústavu AV ČR ale neodcházeli domů s prázdnou: ondřejovští hvězdáři pro ně zpřístupnili obě historické pozorovací kopule a astronomické muzeum, na zvídavé otázky odpovídal popularizátor Pavel Suchan z ASÚ AV ČR. Příjemného večera se zúčastnil také legendární Krtek, který nedávno doprovázel amerického astronauta Andrewa Feustela na poslední misi raketoplánu Endeavour.
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6 Sep 2012 Comprehensive transcriptome analysis of human ENCODE cells
ENCODE, an international research project led by the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), has produced and analyzed 1649 data sets designed to annotate functional elements of the entire human genome. Data on transcription starting sites (TSS) contributed by a research team at the RIKEN Omics Science Center provided key anchor points linking the epigenetic status of genes observed at the 5' end directly to their RNA output.
25 Aug 2012 Armstrong's small step a giant leap for humanity
Professor Čestmír Šimáně, Czech nuclear research founder, who focused on experimental nuclear physics, construction and use of accelerators, construction of radiation detectors and nuclear reactors technology, died on July 26, aged 93.
17 Jul 2012 Euroscience Open Forum 2012
The Euroscience Open Forum took place at the Convention Centre Dublin and it was officially opened by President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins. More than 500 speakers addressed over 150 science, careers and business to business sessions including Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation & Science; Prof. Rolf-Dieter Heuer, Director General of CERN, Charles F. Bolden Jr., NASA Administrator; and Mary Robinson Former President of Ireland and former UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights. The opening ceremony also featured the first keynote address of the conference by Nobel Laureate Jules Hoffmann entitled From Insects to Mammals, reflections on a European journey through basic research on immune defences. Professor Hoffmann is Research Director of the National Centre of Scientific Research (CNRS), France and winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology.
16 Jul 2012 Czech world-renowned chemist Antonín Holý passed away
Professor Antonín Holý from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the ASCR – the Czech researcher of world importance who discovered preparations that help heal millions of patients worldwide – died on July 16, 2012 at age 75. The preparations developed by Antonín Holý are part of the most efficient and also accessible medicines against AIDS, smallpox virus, shingles, eye inflammation and hepatitis B.
The Czechoslovak Society of Arts & Sciences (SVU) was founded in Washington, DC in 1958. The main goal of the society was ‘to provide a forum for the free development of Czechoslovak culture in exile and make the world aware of Czech and Slovak cultural traditions, which date back more than a millennium.’ Since the fall of the communist regime in Czechoslovakia in 1989, the Society has been instrumental in assisting the fledgling democracies in reestablishing the normal functions of a free society, through material assistance, lectures, seminars, and workshops, and most of all, through the personal expertise and experience of its members.
9 Jul 2012 The Josef Hlávka Prize for 2011
Foundation of Josef, Marie and Zdeňka Hlávka together with the Czech Literary Fund Foundation annually awards the Prize for an original book of the scientific literature published in the Czech Republic. The Prize is awarded in four disciplines (in the field of Social sciences, in the field of Medical sciences, in the field of Mathematics, Physics and Earth Sciences and Milan Sojka Prize).
27 Jun 2012 The first Czech scientist to receive EMBO Gold Medal 2012
European Molecular Biology Laboratory announced Jiří Friml of the Department of Plant Systems Biology, VIB and Ghent University, Belgium and Central European Institute of Technology, University Brno, Czech Republic as the winner of the 2012 EMBO Gold Medal. Friml receives the award for defining how the plant hormone auxin functions to regulate plant development. He was also recognized for showing how the auxin-governed molecular processes optimise adaptation of plant development and growth to ever-changing environmental conditions.
On the 1th June 2012, Prof. Jiří Drahoš, president of the ASCR, awarded professor Johann Arnason the Palacký Medal for social sciences by the Czech Academy of Sciences. Prof. Arnason cooperates over a long period with the Czech scientists, especially the Institute of Philosophy of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Faculty of Humanities Charles University. Currently he is a visiting professor at the Institute of Philosophy ASCR, where he focuses on the specification of the concept of “multiple modernities”.
19 Jun 2012 Expedition Svalbard 2012 starting on June 24th
The expeditions and field work research on Svalbard take place each summer season approximately from the end of June to the end of September. This year's expedition led by prof. Josef Elster from the Institute of Botany ASCR will be held from 24th June 2012 to 1 September 2012. There will be about 20–24 students in total. Petuniabukta Station is situated in the High Arctic. Petunia bay is located in the central part of Svalbard archipelago, which is more continental and drier than the western part. In the meantime the laboratory and data analysis are carried out in the different research institutions in Czech Republic.
Four laureates of the Nobel Prize from Israel – Ada Yonath (Weizmann Instiute, Rehovot, Nobel Prize 2009), Aaron Ciechaonover (Technion, Nobel Prize 2004), Avram Hershko (Rappaport Institute, Haifa, Nobel Prize 2004) and Dan Schechtman (Technion, Nobel Prize 2011) – visited Prague on the last days of May. They attended the conference Prague Nobel Get-Together at Prague’ National Technical Library (30–31 May), which was jointly arranged by the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the ASCR, The Academy of Sciences of the CR and the Embassy of the State of Israel in the CR.
Remarkable Czech women scientists have received the L’Oréal Award. The ceremonial act took place at the Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague May 17, 2012. The awards were presented to Zuzana Kratinová from Institute of Geophysics of the Academy of Sciences, Natália Martínková from the Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Academy of Sciences, and Karolína Pecková from the Faculty of Science of Charles University in Prague.
26 May 2012 Graphene Ten Years Later
The 4th Dvořák Lecture by Professor Allan H. MacDonald, University of Texas at Austin, USA Graphene Ten Years Later will take place on June 6, 2012 at 3:00 pm in the Institute of Physics of the AS CR, v. v. i., Na Slovance 2, CZ-182 21 Praha 8, Czech Republic.
22 May 2012 The S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology celebrates its eightieth
The S.I. Vavilov Institute for the History of Science and Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences that was in 1991 named in honour of S.I. Vavilov, the prominent Russian botanist and geneticist and was also engaged in history of science, celebrated eighties anniversary. Recently discovered archive documents established that the Institute was created on February 28, 1932. By this occasion the international assembly took place in Moscow on February 28, 2012 and at the end of the festive meeting the foreign guests and some Russian scholars were awarded a Medal for Contribution to History of Science. One of them was president of ESHS Soňa Štrbáňová from the Institute for Contemporary History ASCR.
21 May 2012 His Majesty King Carl XIV Gustav of Sweden visited the Institute of Botany ASCR
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences organized a Royal Technology Mission (RTM) to the Czech Republic on May 8–11, 2012. As the patron of the Academy, His Majesty King Carl XIV Gustaf of Sweden is participating in the delegation together with representatives from Swedish business, government authorities and academia. The purpose of the RTM 2012 to the Czech Republic is to gain insights into strategies, initiatives and opportunities in an EU country that has a strong industrial, technological and academic tradition. Of the newer EU countries the Czech Republic is Sweden’s second largest trading partner and about 200 Swedish companies are currently represented in the Czech Republic.
The Czech Society for Mechanics instituted a prize named Z.P. Bazant Prize for Engineering Mechanics. The Prize is given annually and includes a monetary award of 1200 USD.
9 May 2012 XL. ACADEMY ASSEMBLY
The Academy Assembly, the Academy of Science’s highest body responsible for the highest priority decisions related to the ASCR, held its XL meeting on April 19, 2012. Among invited guests were Petr Fiala, the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor; Miroslava Němcová, the Chairwoman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Parliament of the Czech Republic; Alena Gajdůšková, the 1st Vice-President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic; Václav Pačes, the President of the Learned Society of the Czech Republic; Rudolf Zahradník, the Honorary President of the ASCR; Helena Illnerová, the former President of the ASCR, and others.
The CZELO office will celebrate its seven years anniversary on 30 May 2012 in Brussels. On this occasion, six European and regional centres of excellence that are currently being build in the Czech Republic with the financial support from Structural Funds and SYLICA project demonstrating the synergies between SF and FP7, will be presented. For more information click here.
26 Apr 2012 Czech Academy joins JRC initiative on scientific support to Danube strategy
The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic has joined today the JRC initiative to provide scientific support to the Danube strategy. The President of this Academy, Jiří Drahoš, and the JRC Director General, Dominique Ristori, signed the agreement in the context of a high-level conference organised in Brussels. The conference brought together 100 attendees, among whom policy makers, the scientists and interested stakeholders, including Maroš Šefčovič, vice president of the European Commission. Attendees discussed key challenges in implementing the EU Danube strategy during this meeting, focusing on the four pillars of the initiative: environmental protection, irrigation and agricultural development, navigability and energy production. The need for better European governance in the area, as already identified by the European Council was also addressed, and concrete cooperation and coordination actions were discussed.
The 19th Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists will be held in Prague on June 27-30, 2012. The conference is jointly organized by the Environment Center of Charles University in Prague and the University of Economics. The conference will cover all areas of environmental and natural resource economics and is held under the patronage of Mr. Janez Potočnik, European Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Petr Nečas, the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Mr. Bohuslav Svoboda, the Mayor of Prague and the Ministry of the Environment of the Czech Republic.
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