Tomáš Kohout of the Institute of Geology CAS, who has been also long working for University of Helsinki, delivered a speech at the conference Cosmic Projects taking place within the Czech Space Week in Villa Lanna, Prague, on November 12, 2021. His contribution was related to mapping of the asteroid Didymos. The conference programme and individual presentations are published here; specifically, the talk of T. Kohout can be viewed by clicking here (starting from 42 min. of the recording).

Respected scientific international journal Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology dedicated a special issue (Vol. 294) to important results of the international team of Czech and Chinese palaeobotanists and palynologists at the Wuda locality, Inner Mongolia, China. The international team collaborated on six excavations (2011–2018) of a tropical forest 298 Myr old. Two members of the Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Palaeocology, Jiří Bek and Jana Votočková-Frojdová are co-authors of nine papers from this special volume describing important finds of fossil lycophytes, sphenophytes and ferns as they have been buried by volcanic ash after a huge volcanic eruption like in the legendary Roman city of Pompeii.

A recent paper in Geomorphology was also contributed by Michal Filippi of the Institute of Geology. It presents a newly recognized weathering style of sandstone outcrops. Its essence lies in a disconnection of smaller parts of rock along lithological and other discontinuities, which allows the material to dilate and damage the protective bio-crust on the cliff face. This results in a more effective function of erosion factors in the disconnected parts and their accelerated disintegration.

Anna Žigová was awarded the Bronze medal of the Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences on 4 March 2021. This medal was awarded for an exceptional contribution to the development of science and research in the field of agriculture. For additional information click here. Congratulations!