Topic Archive Science and technology
Construction of supercomputer facility launched in Ostrava
Earlier this month, construction began on a new four-floor centre in the
city of Ostrava that will house the first Czech supercomputer. The site,
which will house hundreds of processors and will employ between 150 and 250
staff, will have massive computing power capable of complex simulations in
breakthrough fields such as nanotechnology. It is expected to begin full
operation in 2015. More
Cutting-edge biomedical research center to open near Prague
The Czech Academy of Science and Prague’s Charles University have come
together to launch a new top-of-the-line scientific center, that should
place the Czech Republic on the map of modern biomedical research.
Supported partially by EU funds and the Czech government, the BIOCEV
project was officially launched on Tuesday, though some of its researchers
are already making headway in the field of genetic research. More
'Bionic man' defies nature after living six months with no heart
A man who lived for more than six months without a heart died at the
weekend, ending a remarkable experiment in medicine that could pave the way
for improving treatment of heart disease in the future. Jakub Halík, a
37-year-old former fireman, had been fitted with two artificial pumps after
doctors treating an aggressive tumour had removed his heart altogether. More
Science Journal
Two stories of the fruitful work of Czech scientists on the international
scale in this month’s Science Journal, both touching on key modern issues
of food production and climate change. More
Science Journal
In this month’s Science Journal we talk to the Czech psychologists who
monitored the participants in the Mars 500 experiment. More
Patient survives six months without heart
A patient in the Czech Republic has become the first person in the world to
survive for nearly six months without a heart. The patient, a 37-year
firefighter, had a malignant tumor that allowed immediate transplantation
as the only alternative. When a donor was not found in time, his heart was
replaced by two mechanical pumps. More
Czechs toast the discovery of cosmic rays 100 years ago this week
In the early morning hours of Tuesday a crowd gathered to watch the release
of a hot air balloon over Prague’s Libuše meteorological observatory in
honour of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of cosmic rays by the
young Austrian physicist Victor Franz Hess. But, more than anywhere else
the anniversary is being marked in the town of Ustí nad Labem where
Hess’ successful balloon flight took place exactly a century ago. More
Will auction of frequencies bring cheaper mobile calls?
The Czech telecommunications authority has moved to open up the country’s
mobile calling market for new players. It is auctioning the frequencies of
800, 1800 and 2600 MHz, which is expected to fetch around 7.4 billion
crowns. The bidding, which opened last week, will close on September 10,
and the winners should be announced by the end of the year. If the auction
is a success, a new mobile phone operator could possibly bring down the
high prices of mobile calls. But besides the existing mobile network
operators, few new players have expressed interest in taking part. More
Groundbreaking chemist Antonín Holý dies at 75
As is often the case in science, you may not know the name of the Dr.
Antonín Holý even if your life depends on it. The work of the acclaimed
Czech chemist has extended or improved the lives of millions suffering
from
HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and many other viral diseases. His theoretical work
on the genetic code in the 1960s preceded any practical application by
decades. And his meticulous and principled approach to scientific
processes, and more than 400 discoveries, made him a role model for many
and one of the most outstanding modern Czech scientists. The 75-year-old
Dr
Holý died on Monday after a prolonged illness, just two months after the
US Food and Drugs Administration approved a major new drug combination,
Truvada, for the treatment of HIV. Earlier today, Radio Prague spoke with
the former chairman of the Czech Academy of Sciences and biochemist
Václav
Pačes, who first met Antonín Holý in 1965. More
Czech scientists present unique trilobite specimens, attacked by an unknown predator
Czech scientists have found unique specimens of trilobites that suggest
something thought to be impossible – something was eating them. The small
animals were amongst the most successful in history, crawling along the
seabed for more than 270 million years. But during the Cambrian era, 500
million years ago, when neither fish nor cephalopods had developed, there
should have been nothing capable of sinking its teeth into their hard
shells. At a recent conference of international palaeontologists in Prague,
Dr Oldřich Fatka of the Institute of Geology and Palaeontology presented
evidence from more than thirty years of study, showing that even 508
million years ago there seems to have been a predator on the sea floor.
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