Research

FZU researchers are taking part in developing a system for a timely detection of melanoma in humans

Abstract

A device that uses a single blood drop to determine whether a patient has a melanoma, and, possibly, at what stage, is being developed by an international research team that includes researchers from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences led by the researcher Jakub Dostálek. As part of the VerSiLiB project, they are building a device capable of capturing and detecting even very small amounts of molecules produced by tumour cells, which can be used as biomarkers.

First Cherenkov Telescopes in Czechia

Abstract

Unique Cherenkov telescopes have successfully been installed at the Ondřejov Observatory near Prague. There are two telescopes at the site, which are now the largest optical telescopes in the Czech Republic. They have been developed in the frame of the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory, and evaluated as performing telescopes in the high energy region above 1 TeV.

Three MSCA grant holders arrive at the FZU, bringing Half a Million Euros for Physical Research

Abstract

A total of 11 postdoctoral researchers have headed back from abroad to Czechia as grant holders of the Horizon Europe’s “Excellent Science” programme. Three of the researchers who will be developing their career path at the Institute of Physics have received a total of 498 836,16 Euros awarded to them as part of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships in order to finance their research in physics. In addition to this, the FZU has received an ERA Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Cherenkov telescopes at the Ondřejov Observatory capture their first data

Abstract

On Wednesday, February 23, the Cherenkov telescope SST-1M recorded its first events initiated by high-energy particles (of hadronic origin or originating from gamma-rays). Two telescopes are gradually being built at the Ondřejov Observatory since 2021. Among the key institutions involved in those activities are Université de Genève, Instytut Fizyki Jądrowej PAN, Krakow and the Czech Academy of Sciences.

Czech physicists have been able to "move" a quasi-particle soliton

Abstract

Scientists from the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in collaboration with their Korean colleagues successfully demonstrated an experiment to create and destroy solitons with non-integer charge. They achieved this by using electrical pulses from the tip of a scanning microscope. The new procedure is an important step in the development of quantum computers based on solitons. The result was published in the Nature Nanotechnology journal.

A revolutionary rechargeable battery design: high-capacity battery that doesn’t catch on fire or explode

Abstract

Researchers from the Czech Academy of Sciences have patented an invention that might fix the problem with batteries catching on fire. The experimental high-voltage aqueous battery is based on dual-ion electrochemical reactions. The new battery provides a life-cycle of 500 discharge/charge cycles, and its capacity is comparable to that of the commercially available nickel-metal hydride batteries. But unlike them, the aqueous battery is made of extremely cheap materials.