The Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics is focused on research connected with both natural rocks and rock environment on the Earth´s crust, as well as with artificially produced geomaterials, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. and Zuzana Weishauptová.
Člověk trpí méněcenností ve vztahu k mocným zvířatům, která ho předstihují silou a rychlostí. Dokladem toho je i paleolitická soška, na které je zobrazena lví hlava s lidským tělem. Pokrok představují egyptské sfingy, kde z obrazu člověka zůstává alespoň hlava, sídlo jeho svébytnosti. Nejrůznější zvířecí motivy, jako chiméry, se podařilo pomíchat až Řekům. Tak jako v Evropě kraloval lev a orel, na Dálném východě - zvláště v posledním století - nastoupil tygr coby představitel útočnosti a vítězství. Příkladem uveďme japonského císařského generála, který pronikl Malajskem, a byl proto vzýván jako malajský tygr, než bídně zhynul při americké invazi na jednom z tichomořských atolů. and Jan Svoboda.
Representatives of the Academy of Science of Czech Republic and Charles University have subscribed to the Founding Contract of the Biotechnological and Biomedical Center (BIOCEV) that will be situated in the vicinity of Vestec. and Luděk Svoboda.
The Biotechnology and Biomedicine Center of the Academy of Sciences of CR and Charles University in Vestec is a joint project of six institutes of the ASCR (Institutes of Molecular Genetics, of Biotechnology, Microbiology, Physiology, Experimental Medicine, and of Macromolecular Chemistry) and two faculties of Charles University in Prague (Faculty of Science and 1st Faculty of Medicine). The Research programme is aimed at the study of cellular mechanisms at the molecular level, research and development of novel therapeutic strategies, early diagnostics, biologically active agents including chemotherapeutics, protein engineering and other technologies with an impact on the quality of life, development of a knowledge economy and the competitive capacity of the Czech Republic. and Ivana Sýkorová.
The text introduces the Council for European Integration (REI in Czech), whose main task is supporting participation of ASCR institutes and their research teams in European Framework Programmes. and Alena Štiková.
The aim of the Center is to focus on selected branches of basic research in developmental biology, biocompatible polymer synthesis, neuroscience and transplant surgery into one organic whole. This scan serve as an experimental foundation for cell therapy and tissue repair research on a level qualitatively comparable to research in the developed countries of the EU and the USA. and Eva Syková.
Excellence in European Research and Science was celebrated in Brussels on 12 March 2008 during the European Science Awards ceremony. With the launch of the new framework program, it has been decided to give separate indentities to the prizes that are awarded in the areas of excellence in collaborative research and excellence in science communication. Both prizes will continue and will now be awarded but at a new event: The European Science Awards. and Anna Vosečková.
Czech Head is aimed at supporting and promoting Czech science and technology. The project annually awards the best scientists and engineers. Prof. Antonín Holý (Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry) has been awarded by National Prize of the Czech Government., [Gabriela Štefániková]., and Autor užívá šifru srd
CZELO (Czech Liaison Office for Development and Research), the Technology Center AS CR and the Czech Biotechnology Association Biotrin organized a one-day seminar entitled Czech Republic - Your Partner in Agrobiotechnology Research in Brussels on November 22. This seminar brought an overview of selected biotechnology activities and food biotechnology sector in the Czech Republic. and [Táňa Perglová].
In this issue, we feature an interview with Phillipe Lebaube, head of the CORDIS Unit of EU’s Publication, for a detailed view on its activities. CORDIS, information space devoted to European research and development and technology transfer, has been in operation for nearly two decades now. and Anna Vosečková.
The CzechGlobe project will seek to shed new light on a crucial and sometimes controversial environmental problem: monitoring Global Climate Change (GCC) and assessing its impact on the basic thematic segments of the atmosphere, and ecosystems and socioeconomic systems. The project will establish a centre of excellence within the framework of EU structural funds called Operational Programme of Research and Development for Innovations in the Czech Republic involving spatially distributed research infrastructure within the Czech Republic. CzechGlobe project is based on an international research team and partnerships with important foreign institutions, such as Helmholz Gemeinschaft Research Centre Jülich, Germany; Institute for Agroenvironmental and Forest Biology Research Rome, and the University of Zurich. One of the partners in this project is the Institute of Atmospheric Physics ASCR. and Mirka Šprtová.
The National Technical Library in cooperation with the Czech Technical University and Instutute of Chemical Technology in Prague cosponsored the international conference Knowledge, Research and Education on September 8-9, 2011. Research metrics was the topic of this meeting. Organizers sought to draw attention to the often controversial mechanisms for evaluating the results of research and their subsequent impact on its continued financing and institutional support. The conference brought together university dignitaries, senior members of the faculties, library staff and representatives of the publishing industry for the purpose of facilitating discussion of research trends and policies that inform their respective fields of interest shared by all. One of the key lectures was given by the co-Director of CERGE-EI Štěpán Jurajda. He reviewed currend evidence of the productivity of Czech science (by field) based on bibliometric data, pointed to typical mistakes made in recent evaluation exercises and analyses, illustrated these by using examples typically drawn from social sciences, and offered a few tentative bibliometric facts. and Luděk Svoboda.
The European Academies Science Advisory Council was formed by the national science academies of EU Member States to enable them to collaborate with each other in providing advice to European policy-makers. It thus offers the means for the collective voice of European science to be heard. The EASAC covers all scientific and technical disciplines, and its experts are drawn from all coutries of the European Union. The most recent EASAC meeting was held in June 2008 in Prague. and Luděk Svoboda, Gabriela Adámková.
More than 700 specialists from around the world took part in this event at the Prague Congress Centre on September 13-17, 2011. Wide-ranging critical areas in current glial research were discussed in plenary lectures, symposia and workshops. In addition, outstanding scientists and their students presented posters throughout the meeting. Glial cells of varying types support neurons by providing support and nutrition. The conference was organised by the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the ASCR. and Eva Syková.
The Second Argentine - Czech Biennale Workshop E-Golem took place in Buenos Aires on September 24-26, 2007. It was organized by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Secretariat for Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of the Argentine Republic, with suppport from the Czech Embassy in Argentine and the Argentine Embassy in the Czech Republic. Its general subject was Society of information and Communication - Emerging technologies and their applications in society and the arts. The aim of this event was to discuss this issue in detail such topics as, artificial intelligence, image processing, web-technologies, nano-technologies for life sciences, eco-technologies and so forth. More information on this project can be found in an interview in this issue with the Ambassador of the Argentine Republic in the Czech Republic, Ambassador Juan Eduardo Fleming. and Marina Hužvárová.
The first beam in the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was successfully steered around the full 27 kilometers of the world´s most powerful particle accelerator on September 10. This historic event marks a key moment in the transition from over two decades of preparation to a new era of scientific discovery. and Jiří Niederle.
IMI is a unique Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the pharmaceutical industry, represented by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), and the European Communities represented by the European Commission. The First Call of the IMI Joint Undertaking was launched by European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Potočnik and EFPIA President Arthur Higgins on April 30. and Táňa Perglová.
CEFRES Platform and its new premises within the Czech Academy of Sciences were inaugurated on October 7-8, 2015. In 2015, theCAS built a brand newlibrary in order to hostCEFRES’smore than 6,000 volumes alongwith its teamand Prague’s Francophone readers. The new library was inaugurated during a ceremony in the presence of French Ambassador Jean-Pierre Asvazadourian, President of CAS Jiří Drahoš and Rector of Charles University Tomáš Zima. CEFRES (French Research Center in Humanities and Social Sciences) was founded in Prague in 1991 with the aim to restart scientific exchanges between France and Central Europe as the latter underwent major changes after the fall of communism. One of CEFRES’s tasks since then has been to build up a network of research teams between France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. and Luděk Svoboda.
The final conference of project ProAct, a Coordination Action financed within the Regions of Knowledge activity of the European Commission, took place on 20th of September 2007 in Prague. In ProAct, four old and four new EU member states join forces in search of the best innovation of regional innovation policy implementation. The key factors of success in the South Moravian Region in the Czech Republic are political commitment, funding and appropriate regional conditions. The regional weaknesses are the lack of skilled people for business development support. and Jiří Loudín.
The National Technical Library in cooperation with the Czech Technical University and Instutute of Chemical Technology in Prague cosponsored the international conference Knowledge, Research and Education on September 8-9, 2011. Research metrics was the topic of this meeting. Organizers sought to draw attention to the often controversial mechanisms for evaluating the results of research and their subsequent impact on its continued financing and institutional support. The conference brought together university dignitaries, senior members of the faculties, library staff and representatives of the publishing industry for the purpose of facilitating discussion of research trends and policies that inform their respective fields of interest shared by all. One of the key lectures was given by the co-Director of CERGE-EI Štěpán Jurajda. He reviewed currend evidence of the productivity of Czech science (by field) based on bibliometric data, pointed to typical mistakes made in recent evaluation exercises and analyses, illustrated these by using examples typically drawn from social sciences, and offered a few tentative bibliometric facts. and Štěpán Jurajda.
Results of research by scientists from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the ASCR have been published on the U.S. National Library of Medicine website. Their work on the STIM1-directed reorganization of microtubules in activated mast cells could help in fighting allergies. The study reports that activation of bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMCs) induced by FcεRI aggregation or treatment with pervanadate or thapsigargin results in the generation of protrusions containing microtubules (microtubule protrusions). In the study, formation of these protrusions depended on the influx of extracellular Ca(2+). Changes in cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration also affected microtubule plus-end dynamics detected by microtubule plus-end tracking protein EB1. Experiments with knockdown or reexpression of STIM1, the key regulator of SOCE, confirmed the important role of STIM1 in the formation of microtubule protrusions. Although STIM1 in activated cells formed puncta associated with microtubules in protrusions, relocastion of STIM1 to a close proximity of cell membrane was independent of growing microtubules. In accordance with the inhibition of Ag-induced Ca(2+) response and decreased formation of microtubule protrusions in BMMCs with reduced STIM1, the cells also exhibited impaired chemotactic response to Ag. Institute geneticists proposed that rearrangement of microtubules in activated mast cells depends on STIM1-induced SOCE, and that Ca(2+) plays an important role in the formation of microtubule protrusions in BMMCs. and Petr Dráber a Pavel Dráber.
In the presence of Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Stanislav Štech, Rector of Charles University Tomáš Zima, Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Vladimír Mareček, and other important guests, the implementation phase of the BIOCEV project - the Biotechnology and Biomedicine Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Charles University in Vestec was concluded on December 18, 2015. Full operation is beginning in January 2016. BIOCEV currently implements five research programmes and consists of six sets of research infrastructure and service laboratories. By 2020, as many as 450 researchers, including 200 post-graduate students, are supposed to work at the BIOCEV Centre. The Centre´s objective is to leam details about organisms at the molecular level that can be used in applied research and in the development of new therapeutic procedures. and Marina Hužvárová.
Another article is by Associate Professor Stanislav Kozubek, the director of the Institute of Biophysics of the ASCR. He explores one of the possibilities of evaluating the quality of basic research and points out some defects of the methodology utilized by the Research and Development Council. and Stanislav Kozubek.
Present medicine considers the embryonic stem cell to be a great hope for various immedicable illnesses. However that topic includes lot of biological and ethical problems that need to be answered. and Josef Fulka jr., Tibor Moško, Helena Fulková, Eva Syková.
On 15-16 January 2007, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) has hosted in the Internationales Kongresszentrum Bonn a national kick-off event of the 7th framework programme. On the first day of the conference high-ranking international speakers incl. German Minister for Education & Research, Mrs. Annette Schavan, and EU Commissioner for R&D, Mr. Janez Potocnik, have presented an overview of all the elements of the new research framework programme. The second day has given the participants the opportunity to take a more detailed look at a variety of topics of the framework programme via individual workshop. and Marie Kolmanová.
Evropa je celosvětově největším producentem vědeckých poznatků. Přitom však data, která generuje výzkum a průmysl v zemích Evropské unie, často zpracovávají a dále využívají vědci a podnikatelé jinde ve světě. Evropští výzkumní pracovníci a inovátoři proto mají tendenci odcházet do míst, kde je kvalitní datová a výpočetní kapacita pohotověji k dispozici. Evropská komise (EK) tudíž nyní vypracovává rozsáhlou iniciativu v oblasti datových infrastruktur, širokopásmových sítí a vysoce výkonné výpočetní techniky, pomocí nichž budou data postupně k dispozici nejen akademické obci, ale také uživatelům z orgánů veřejné správy a podniků. and Soňa Jarošová.
The 8th Science and Technology Week was organized for the public by the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic on November 3-9 and took place in Brno, České Budějovice, Plzeň, Hradec Králové and Praha. The program included speeches by scientific professionals, presentations of noteworthy experiments, workshops, non-traditional exhibitions, science cafés, and visits to laboratories and academic workplaces. and Luděk Svoboda.
Dne 1. listopadu 2014 se ujala funkce nová Evropská komise pod vedením bývalého lucemburského premiéra Jean-Claude Junckera. Portfolio komisaře pro výzkum, vědu a inovace nyní obsadil portugalský bankéř a politik Carlos Moedas. Digitální agendu, která s VaVaI souvisí, převzal komisař pro digitální ekonomiku a společnost Günther Oettinger. and Jana Daďová, Lucia Hrivňáková.
The European Community offers two more new actions which Marie Curie implemented for the first time on 2008. These are COFUND (Co-funding of Regional, National and International Programmes) and IRSES (International Research Staff Exchange Scheme). and Marie Kolmanová.
This action seeks to open and foster dynamic pathways between public research organizations and private commercial enterprises. It will be implemented through targeted and flexible support for human resource interaction within co-operative programs between at least two organizations, one from each sector (private and public) and from at least two different Member States or Associated Countries. and Lenka Lepičová.
The Academy Assembly, top-ranking body of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, which is responsible for the highest priority decisions related to ASCR, convened its XXX meeting in Municipal House in Vinohrady on 26th [April] 2006. The Assembly accepted, as usual, the final resolution. and -red-.
Sweden assumed the European Union six-month rotating presidency from the Czech Republic on 1 July 2009. Under the motto “Taking on the challenges”, Sweden has taken charge of the EU administration in difficult times of economic recession and faces an uncertain institutional future. The Swedish government has defined the aims of its EU presidency as: conducting an effective, open and results-oriented presidency in the interests of the whole of Europe; advancing the EU’s common issues and Sweden’s priority issues; strengthening Sweden’s role in the EU, serving in the EU's interest and strengthening the EU’s role as a global actor in issues, such as climate changing and CO2 tax. and Lenka Hebáková.