News from FZU

Without adequate methods, science is essentially blind. Why, then, is it so hard to secure funding for pure method development? Daniel Tchoń from the Institute of Physics of the CAS shares his journey towards scientific software development and why he views science as a form of art.

The first observation of baryonic matter and antimatter behaving differently was presented on Monday by an international team of physicists from CERN. The result announced at the Rencontres de Moriond conference marks a milestone in the history of particle physics. This fundamental discovery expands our understanding of the differences between matter and antimatter and opens up new ways for scientists to understand why at the origin of the universe it was matter that won.

The Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences organizes the Physics Photography 2025 competition, which this year is thematically dedicated to "wealth".  The main goal of the competition is to popularize the beauty of physics and to break the stereotypes of the perception of this field of science. The photography competition ends with the announcement of winners and an exhibition of the awarded and selected photos during the Night of Scientists, which is organized by the institute in the Na Slovance facility on Friday, September 26, 2025.

Dear colleagues,we would like to invite you to the seminar of Division of Elementary Particle Physics of Institute of Physics, presented by Adrian Oeftinger.For more info, please see invitation.

Scientists led by Hana Lísalová from the Division of Optics have made a significant step towards a breakthrough in the field of optical fibre sensors. For the first time, they have succeeded in combining two advanced technologies – antifouling polymer brushes and optical fibres, thereby significantly increasing their reliability. This innovative approach paves the way for accurate detection of biomolecules even in challenging environments such as blood plasma.

The PRO-EURO-DILI-NET consortium, which also included the Laboratory of Biophysics team from the Division of Optics, was evaluated as the best project within the COST Action programme. The international research project focused on the issue of drug-induced liver injury (DILI), which represents one of the main challenges in the development of new drugs. The project now continues as part of the European Association for the Study of Liver (EASL) within the Horizon Europe program.  COST Actions are international research networks funded for four years, which bring together scientists across borders, disciplines and sectors to solve common challenges and advance scientific knowledge and innovation in Europe.  

Abstract: Theoretical prediction for the distribution of the angle between electrons and positrons originating in internal pair creations is a monotonic featureless decrease with the opening angle. Studies on excited states of 8Be and 4He nuclei, made in ATOMKI, Hungary, over the last decade, revealed deviations from this expectation. If true, the anomaly can be explained by introducing a new short-lived neutral boson that can still fit into known experimental and theoretical constraints. Although several independent laboratories have been trying to verify these results world wide, a satisfactory model does not exist yet.In this seminar I will give an overview of a selection of different experiments aiming at the solution of the ATOMKI anomaly and summarise their results. I will also describe the ongoing construction of a spectrometer for light charged particles at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator facility of the Institute of Experimental and Applied Physics (IEAP) at the Czech Technical University in Prague in order to either confirm or disprove the above-mentioned anomaly. 

A new study by scientists led by Oleg Lunov of the Division of Optics of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences sheds light on how a cell's shape and mechanics influence its absorption of drug carriers. This research could lead to innovative targeted therapies, particularly in cancer treatment, where nanostructures could deliver drugs directly to cancer cells. The experiments have been carried out on liver cancer cell lines. The results were published in the prestigious Journal of Materials Chemistry B. 

A consortium of 18 partners from Czechia, Lithuania, and Ukraine has embarked on a groundbreaking project to transform the European hi-tech industry through advanced laser technologies. To mark the official launch, the consortium members gathered for a Kick-Off Meeting at the HiLASE Centre in Dolni Brezany, where they outlined the project’s strategic direction, key objectives, and collaborative framework for the coming years. 

A team of scientists from the Czech Academy of Sciences and Masaryk University has made a major contribution to research into the accumulation of impurities at the interface between crystals, a phenomenon having caused e.g. a series of accidents at nuclear power stations in the UK in the 1960s. The study, published in the prestigious journal Progress in Materials Science, furthers the development of more resistant alloys or new technological processes for their production. 

Dear colleagues,we would like to invite you to the seminar of Division of Elementary Particle Physics of Institute of Physics, presented by Marek Taševský.For more info, please see invitation.

This year we will also celebrate twenty years of Researchers' Night in the Czech Republic at the Institute of Physics! In 2025, the Institute of Physics will also participate in the nationwide event Researchers' Night, during which hundreds of scientific buildings will come alive! You can look forward to excursions, workshops, a fun zone and much more. The theme of this year's event is Wealth. The event will take place on Friday 26 September 2024 from approximately 16:00 to 21:00. While we are preparing the program for you, you can have fun with the online program or look back at last year's Night of Science at www.nocvedcu.cz.

The conference program of ICOMAT 2025 will cover all branches of research in the field of martensitic transitions and phase-transforming materials, ranging from the latest theoretical, technological and characterization advancements to the state-of-art engineering applications, bringing together experts from all over the globe. 

Scientists led by Jakub Dostalek from the Division of Optics of the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences have published a review article on the latest advancements of optical biosensors using plasmon enhanced fluorescence (PEF). This cutting-edge technology enables exceptionally sensitive detection of biomarkers with applications ranging from disease diagnosis and environmental pollution monitoring to single molecule analysis. The paper was published in the prestigious journal TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry.

This year, we mark the tenth anniversary of International Women and Girls in Science Day with the life story of our colleague Evgenia Chitrova, head of the Rare-Earth and Actinide Science Research Group in the Department of Magnetic Measurements and Materials. Her story is the perfect proof that encounters with science and an indomitable curiosity shape a lifelong commitment to scientific work.