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Human society is dependent on electricity; we cannot imagine life without it. So it is no surprise that green energy is an ongoing hot topic. The era of fossil fuels is slowly coming to an end and we must look for new eco-friendly and sustainable sources. Small modular reactors are one possible way forward. Are they safe? What principle do they work on and where can they be put to use? The topic was discussed in a story published in the Czech issue of the CAS magazine A / Věda a výzkum.

Animations of jewels, 3D virtual models of long-gone architecture, and reconstructions of what the stronghold of Valy near Mikulčice might have looked like more than one thousand years ago. The virtual aspect of the Great Moravian Mikulčice Virtually exhibition is two-fold – it draws attention to the visually appealing format and also refers to the importance of modern technology for contemporary archaeology. Visitors will have the chance to examine the scientific findings and otherwise inaccessible artefacts up close. A Czech-English exhibition catalogue, published by the Institute of Archaeology of the CAS in Brno, is also available.

After working in Germany and the USA, she returned to the Czech Republic in 2022. She is now a lecturer at the Technical University Dresden and her research focuses on spintronics, specifically spin caloritronics. Helena Reichlová, an award-winning researcher working at the Institute of Physics of the CAS, is pioneering a new direction in her field of research while remaining an indomitable optimist.

The genetic map of western and central Eurasia changed significantly after the last glacial maximum about 20,000 years ago. Geneticists, together with anthropologists and archaeologists, studied the complete human genome of 356 individuals who lived 50,000–5,000 BCE. The study, published in Nature, also examined remains from the well-known triple burial at the Dolni Vestonice site, which were analysed by experts from the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Brno.

The Habsburg monarchy in the 19th century and the history of its local government, political culture, and education. These are the fields of study that are the subject of Peter Urbanitsch’s research. On 23 February 2023, he received the František Palacký Honorary Medal of Merit from the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Eva Zažímalová, for his contribution to historical sciences and his years of cooperation with Czech historians. The award ceremony, held at the Villa Lanna in Prague, was also attended by the Ambassador of Austria to the Czech Republic, Bettina Kirnbauer.

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science, which falls on 11 February, aims to promote gender equality in science. However, the proportion of female researchers in the Czech Republic is consistently among the lowest in the entire EU. In 2020, it was only 27%. Regarding Czech academia, while there are more female university lecturers than men, only 15% of professors are women. The situation is also unsatisfactory in terms of representation in decision-making bodies in research. For example, only 7% of women serve as directors of public research institutions.

According to the theory of anti-tumor immune surveillance, the immune system can neutralise most tumor cells before the disease ever develops. Despite this, nearly 90,000 cancer patients are diagnosed in the Czech Republic every year. The research of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology at the Institute of Microbiology of the CAS is contributing to the search for new treatment options making use of the immune system itself. We covered the topic in the CAS magazine A / Věda a výzkum. This story is being featured on the occasion of World Cancer Day, which falls on Saturday, 4 February this year.

The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS (IOCB) and Gilead Sciences announced today that the Gilead Sciences Research Centre (GSRC) at IOCB has been extended to address areas of high unmet medical need. Gilead Sciences will provide funding and collaborate on several projects at IOCB across virology, inflammation, and oncology.

Trilobite larvae played a vital role as a source of food for certain marine animals. Researchers discovered that the larvae served as an intermediary in the food chain for larger sea organisms that were unable to feed on plankton due to its size. The lead author of the study, published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, is paleontologist Lukáš Laibl from the Institute of Geology of the CAS. Farid Saleh and Francesc Pérez-Peris from the University of Lausanne also collaborated on the research.

Research results can unintentionally, often inadvertently, serve a purpose different to the one that gave rise to it. Below, David Honys from the Academy Council of the CAS explains what the influence operations of foreign powers in science can look like and why it’s prudent not to underestimate them.