Archive: Science and technology | Science Science
Ivan Havel and 140 years of Vesmír magazine
It has been a constant companion for generation after generation of Czech
science lovers – the popular science magazine Vesmír is marking its
140th year in publication. In today’s Science Journal we talk about the
magazine’s course through the decades with none other than its
editor-in-chief Dr. Ivan Havel, the distinguished former head of the Centre
for Theoretical Studies and brother of ex-president Václav Havel, who took
up work at the magazine just after the Velvet Revolution. More
Science Journal
We’ve heard the politicians and the eco-activists’ views on the Šumava
– but what do the scientists say? And by the way, how do cells read DNA?
That’s what we’ll be trying to get our heads around this month on
Science Journal.
More
Krtek tours Czech Republic after return from space
The Czech cartoon character Krtek, or Little Mole, has been given a
hero’s welcome back home after spending two weeks in space. The American
astronaut Andrew Feustel, who took Krtek to space aboard the Endeavour
space shuttle, arrived in Prague last week with his family, and is now
touring the Czech Republic with Krtek to promote science and technology
among young Czechs. More
Czech scientists map the barley genome
Czech scientists working with an international team of experts have
successfully finished mapping the barley genome. In a process of more than
ten years, it was unique Czech technical breakthroughs that allowed the
five billion letters of the barley genome to finally be deciphered. The new
knowledge will not only enrich the understanding of genetic evolution but
will also mean real benefits for cultivators in terms of higher yields and
more resistant crops. Christian Falvey spoke to Jaroslav Doležel of the
Institute of Experimental Botany in Olomouc to find out more. More
Science Journal
Where will the energy of the future come from? If it comes from nuclear
fusion, then the COMPASS tokamak fusion reactor in at Prague’s Institute
of Plasma Physics will have played an important role in making it a
reality. More
Science Journal
It is only two and a half years now since the Czech Republic officially
joined the European Space Agency, and already Czech scientists are playing
a big role, with more than three dozen projects currently underway. More
Czech scientists uncover reason behind high incidence of abortions in mares
In this month’s edition of Science Journal: A team of Czech researchers
may have found the answer to a question that has puzzled veterinarians,
horse breeders and biologists for decades – why such a high percentage of
pregnancies in mares end in natural, chemically triggered abortions. A
recent study released by a Czech scientist suggests the answer may be that
keeping pregnant mares close to stallions at their home stable makes them
more likely to abort. More
Mikulov museum displays historic scientific instruments from town’s 380-year-old Piarist school
The Regional Museum in Mikulov, in southern Moravia, has opened an
exhibition of historic scientific instruments once used at the town’s
380-year-old grammar school. The exhibition highlights the beauty of the
elaborate antique objects, and it also shows what role the school, founded
by the Catholic order of the Piarists in the middle of the Thirty Years’
War, played in the town’s history. More
World’s most powerful laser to be sited in Czech Republic
Last week the European Commission confirmed the world’s most powerful
laser known as ELI (which stands for Light Infrastructure) will be
developed in the town of Dolní Břežany, near Prague. At the cost of 6.7
billion crowns, the laser could spur breakthroughs in everything from
nuclear physics to medical diagnosis, treatment and therapy. More
Michal Pěchouček – AI specialist developing ways of improving aviation and protecting ships from pirates
Though still only in his late 30s, Professor Michal Pěchouček is an
internationally recognised expert in the field of artificial intelligence.
His work includes developing machines that are capable of working together
without active human input, while he has also helped create sophisticated
programmes aimed at improving flight traffic control – and thwarting the
pirates that disrupt international shipping in the Gulf of Aden. More
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