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II. Life and Chemical Sciences

Professor Antonín Holý, the discoverer of new antiviral drugs, has died

17 Jul 2012

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After a long illness, Professor Antonín Holý, one of the most important Czech scientists of the 20th century, died on Monday, 16 July 2012. He would have celebrated his 76th birthday on 1 September this year. Antonín Holý, whose professional career was connected particularly with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB) of the Academy of Sciences of the CR, discovered new antiviral drugs, which help cure millions of people all over the world. These substances are the basis for the production of the most effective medicines for AIDS available so far as well as medicines for smallpox, herpes zoster, viral infections of the eye membrane or hepatitis B.

Syncytin – A good servant but a bad master

29 Feb 2012

New knowledge from virologists from the Academy of Sciences of the CR
Endogenetic retroviruses, which attacked our ancestors millions of years ago and became components of human DNA, which thanks to evolution do not evoke infections in our organisms but some of their genes, on the other hand, benefit us, because they are models of the synthesis of several proteins enriching cells by a new essential function. Nevertheless, in ‘the wrong places’, this at other times welcome life-giving ability can work counterproductively and threaten our health. A team of virologists led by Dr Jiří Hejnar from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the ASCR has described the mechanisms regulating these processes.

White Nose Syndrome: Can Czech Bats Help American Bats?

20 Jan 2012

An Article by Czech Scientists in the Journal of Wildlife Diseases
Scientists from Moravian workplaces have proved that bats here suffer from white-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that is threatening the ecosystem in North America. In the Czech Republic as well as in other parts of Europe, bats with this syndrome die only very rarely and the disease has not yet caused a decline in the population numbers. Uncovering the cause of ‘European immunity’ could save North American bats and avert also the disruption of the biological balance in that part of the world.

The Discovery of the Principle of Timing the Activation of Memories in the Brain

13 Oct 2011

A Publication of a Czech Neurophysiologist in the Journal Nature
 
How is the relevant memory activated in the brain? An answer is provided by a just published work in the specialised journal Nature (Theta-paced flickering between place-cell maps in the hippocampus). Doctor Karel Ježek from the Institute of Physiology of the ASCR in cooperation with a team of researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim (NTNU) and the International Institute for Advanced Studies in Trieste (SISSA), led by Prof. Edvard Moser, discovered a method allowing the detailed description of the process of the activation of memory on the level of individual neurons.

Discussions on Wheat Improvement in Paris

20 Sep 2011

A Significant Contribution by a Czech Laboratory
 
The International Research Initiative for Wheat Improvement (IRIWI) held its first meeting on Thursday, 15 September 2011 in Paris at a meeting of the G20 group, associating the most advanced economies of the world. Distinguished scientists, directors of research organisations, food-industry experts and politicians gathered there. The initiative coordinates worldwide research leading to the improvement of better varieties of wheat. The aim is to increase their crop yields and avert a food crisis. Also Czech scientists from the Institute of Experimental Botany (ÚEB) of the Academy of Sciences of the CR and Centre of the Haná Region for Biotechnological and Agricultural Research cooperate within the IRIWI.

DNA decorated by attachment of other molecules

9 Jun 2010

Scientists from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry ASCR have developed a novel simple and efficient methodology for attachment of other molecules to DNA. They prepared DNA bearing very reactive chemical functional groups that can be readily (in one step) linked to diverse other molecules e.g. for studying of molecular mechanism of important biological processes or for labeling of DNA by color or electroactive markers. This methodology has a promising potential for a broad range of applications in interdisciplinary area between chemistry and biology.

CONDUCTING POLYMERS - Formation, structure, properties, and applications

9 Jun 2010

10–14 July 2011 - 75th Prague Meeting on Macromolecules be focused on the main topic - CONDUCTING POLYMERS - Formation, structure, properties, and applications. Characterization of conducting polymers by spectroscopic methods. Modelling and simulations. Molar masses and molecular architecture. Electrical, magnetic, mechanical, optical and other physical properties of conducting polymers.

Consequences of being rich: wealth and population are key drivers of invasive species in Europe

10 Jun 2010

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A new study of biological invasions in Europe found they were linked not so much to changes in climate or land cover, but to two dominant factors – more money and more people. Wealth and population density, along with an increase in international trade and commerce, were the forces most strongly associated with invasive species that can disrupt ecosystems and cause severe ecological or agricultural damage, scientists said.

Membrane lipids and cytoskeleton dynamics are intimately interconnected in plant cells

21 May 2010

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Membrane lipids and cytoskeleton dynamics are intimately interconnected in the eukaryotic cell, but only recently have the molecular mechanisms operating at this interface in plant cells been addressed experimentally. F-actin microfilaments and microtubules are major constituents of the cellular cytoskeleton in plant cells as well. Nevertheless, plant cells are strained by developmental as well as environmental mechanical challenges because of the crucial structural and regulatory function of the cell wall.

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