Press releases

A team of researchers led by Martin Kákona from the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in collaboration with experts from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences and amateur observers from the Czech Thunderstorm Research Association, has identified a previously undocumented type of winter lightning associated with wind turbines. The newly described phenomenon, named SWAL (Seasonal Wind Turbine-Associated Lightning), could improve our understanding of lightning formation mechanisms and contribute to more effective protection of wind turbines against lightning damage. The study has been published in the prestigious international journal Atmospheric Research. According to the authors, this is the first systematic description of this type of lightning in scientific literature.

The universe around us speaks a language we are starting to understand. It is not quiet and empty, as it seems. Why is this vital news for our television and telecommunication satellites? Electromagnetic waves in the same frequency range as the sounds we hear fundamentally affect our planet's outer radiation belt. This is precisely where satellites for TV broadcasting and telecommunications operate. A new study by Czech scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences and Charles University published in the journal Nature Communications revealed that the behavior of these waves has a surprisingly strict order in time and space.

An international team of scientists has described a previously overlooked mechanism that regulates the levels of important proteins in human cells. A new study published in Nucleic Acids Research reveals that short regulatory “start–stop“ elements act as highly effective speed-limiting gates of protein synthesis. Compared with previously known regulatory sequences, these elements were found to suppress protein production even more efficiently. At the same time, they help maintain low but stable levels of important proteins in cells, even under stress conditions. The study brought together scientists from the United States, the Czech Republic, Canada, and Sweden. Leoš Shivaya Valášek, Head of the Laboratory of Gene Expression Regulation at the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences served as a co-author and corresponding author of the study.

Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague and the University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, together with colleagues from Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley, have been investigating the remains of the Andalusia internment camp near the town of Jan Kempdorp. In the 1940s, the camp was used to intern German civilians who, for various reasons, found themselves in British-controlled territories south of the equator.

A research team from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by David Staněk, has developed an experimental RNA-based approach that corrects a genetic defect linked to retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited eye disease that progressively impairs vision. Published in Molecular Therapy, the study shows that specially designed antisense oligonucleotides can repair faulty RNA processing and restore production of a key protein in patient-derived retinal cells. The findings provide proof of principle for a mutation-targeted strategy and may open new possibilities for the future development of personalized therapies for inherited retinal diseases.

The European Space Agency (ESA) at its June meeting proposed the ambitious Plasma Observatory satellite mission as the primary candidate for its next medium-class scientific mission (M7) planned for launch in 2037. The programme, which will explore the plasma environment around Earth, outcompeted rival candidate missions: a two-spacecraft Mars orbiter and a gamma and X-ray space telescope for observing the early Universe.

An international research team led by Hana Hanzlikova from the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has uncovered a hidden problem inside cells that contributes to a group of rare neurodevelopmental disorders affecting children. Their work reveals that defects in an important cellular RNA-processing system cause misprocessed RNA molecules to accumulate inside the cells. The researchers also identified this build-up as a measurable signal that reflects disease severity and could help improve future diagnosis of these conditions.

A research team led by Meritxell Alberich‑Jordà at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences has uncovered an unexpected protective strategy used by blood stem cells during chronic inflammation. In a study published in Science Advances, the researchers show that when persistent inflammation damages bone marrow function, blood stem and progenitor cells leave their usual home and settle directly in unexpected tissues. There, they actively cooperate with regulatory immune cells to limit inflammation and preserve blood formation, revealing a previously unknown partnership between stem cells and the immune system that may help explain how the body copes with inefficient blood cell formation during chronic inflammation.

A team of scientists from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, led by Masafumi Imai, has successfully unraveled a mystery surrounding lightning on Saturn from the historic Voyager missions. Data from the spacecraft, which flew past Saturn in the 1980s, had long baffled researchers: the instruments reported that lightning in the planet's atmosphere was "broadcasting" signals from a completely different location than physics would dictate. Research by our scientists, published in the journal JGR: Planets, now explains this confusing phenomenon and precisely locates the detected lightning signals with their associated thunderclouds within the atmosphere of Saturn.

Czech scientists have demonstrated that electrical discharges similar to lightning occur in the Martian atmosphere. A four-member research team from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at Charles University and the Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences achieved this based on measurements from the NASA MAVEN orbiter. MAVEN has been orbiting Mars since 2014, providing open data to the scientific community.