The Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the ASCR hosted the COST Action ES 1005 TOSCA Science meeting September 30 to October 4, 2013. TOSCA is a multidisciplinary European network of scientists from nearly 20 countries that work to provide a better understanding of the role of the Sun in climate change. This action aims at assessing the various contributions of solar variability to the Earth's climate by bringing together solar physicists, space scientists, atmospheric scientists, climate modellers, paleoclimatologists, and more. TOSCA was inaugurated in June 2011 and will last for four years. As for other COST (Cooperation in Science and Technology) actions, the main role of TOSCA is to foster interactions between different communities. (TOSCA stands for "Towards a more complete assessment of the impact of solar variability on the Earth's climate".) and Jan Laštovička a Petra Koucká Knížová.
During the Brain Awareness Week, held worldwide annually in March, neuroscientists and other brain scientists seek to promote understanding of the progress and benefits of brain research by informing the general public concerning their research activities and their achievements. Brain Awareness Week was created in the USA by the Dana Alliance for Brain Initiatives in 1996. The fourteenth year of the Brain Awareness Week in the Czech Republic occurred on March 12, 2012. Events were held the ASCR’s main building. We feature an interview in this issue with neurosurgeon Professor Eduard Zvěřina, who is the founder of microsurgery in the Czech Republic. and Gabriela Adámková.
The Center for Innovations in Nanomaterials and Nanotechnologies (Nanocentre), which began its work at the J. Heyrovský Institute of Physical Chemistry of the ASCR in 2010, has successfully established a direct link between the fundamental research and industry as it transfers research results into the technological praxis. The Center is equipped with a progressive instrumentation and computational technique for high-tech synthesis. structural characterization and clarification of functioning of nanomaterials, as well as for their development and judging their technological applicability. and Luděk Svoboda.
The director of the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics of the AS CR, Miloš Drdácký, writes about nanomaterials in the conservation and restoration of culture heritage. He explains that the complex tasks of the consolidation and conservation of historic mortars can be solved effectively by using such nanomaterials as Nano. lime that is available under the name CaLoSil, a new stone strengthener based on colloidal suspensions of lime nanoparticles in various solvents. and Miloš Drdácký a Zuzana Slížková.
Another article describes a study entitled Return of the European Bison (Bison bonasus) to the Czech Republic published by the Czech Landscape in collaboration with scientists from the Biology Centre and the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, both of the ASCR and the University of South Bohemia. Research in the Czech Republic identified areas suitable for their return to the wild, mainly former military areas; surface areas of which range between 219-372 km2. In 2012, European bison was returned to the wild at Ralsko nature reserve, a former military training ground in Central Bohemia. and Miloslav jirků [et al.].