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AFO film and science festival: A journey into both physical and virtual memory

Čt, 25/01/2024 - 14:00

Film screenings and top documentaries from around the world, unforgettable lectures, meetings, and debates! This year’s 59th Academia Film Olomouc International Festival of Science Documentary Films (AFO), organised by Palacký University Olomouc, will be indelibly etched in its visitors’ memories. Documentary film fans will meet in Olomouc from 23 to 28 April 2024.

This year, the festival’s main theme will be Memory. The audience can look forward to ambitious journeys “into the future past”, passing through prehistory and the dinosaur era all the way to the time of artificial intelligence. Festival programmers aim to search for the key to understanding memory in the context of society and technology, and together with the audience they will imagine a world in which memory is completely absent. Interesting guests from abroad will once again come to the Czech Republic. The accompanying programme will target adults and children alike.

Remembering is not knowing

“The programme will reflect on the various ways in which memory and information storage affect our world and the relationship between memory and knowledge. We are interested in human memory in terms of the storage of information and individual memories, as well as “technological memory” – the evolution of the various technologies to which humans have developed over history to delegate their own memory. That is, all the way from the emergence of writing to neural networks,” said Zdeněk Rychtera, the main programmer of the Memory section.

Thus, the entire main programme section will be dedicated to memory, with film screenings, lectures, and podcasts. However, this theme will also be woven organically into the other programme sections outside the competition, and shown from various angles. The AFO programme will include sections on Resilience, Naturalness and Nature, Of Mushrooms and Men, The Dinosaurs of Tomorrow, and Science in Pop Culture.

Tributes to Jane Goodall and Cormac McCarthy

“On the occasion of Jane Goodall’s 90th birthday, we are going to commemorate the vital legacy of this iconic scientist and activist. We will also present an intimate documentary on the work and ideas of author Cormac McCarthy, who spent the last 25 years of his life as an active member in residence at the Santa Fe Institute, an interdisciplinary research centre. The Czech premiere of Cormac McCarthy’s Veer by Polish director and physicist Karol Jałochowski will be featured,” said Ondřej Kazík, the festival’s head of programming.

Fans will experience the genius loci of newly renovated buildings

The festival will also continue its cooperation with external partners such as Czech Television, which will again be the general media partner of the festival, and the National Film Archive. AFO is also expanding the list of key festival venues. “One of them is the renovated Central cinema in the Olomouc Museum of Art; our visitors will surely love it because of its proximity to the festival headquarters and its excellent facilities. Another one is the Red Church of the Olomouc Research Library, where the VR zone will be featured for the whole week; it has grown in size compared to last year, and this will allow us to present new possibilities of working with augmented reality. Our AFO Junior section will also be expanded. In addition, we’ve agreed to cooperate more closely with Czech Radio Olomouc with their beautiful premises where we want to bring festival visitors from all over the world,” added AFO director Eva Navrátilová.

The festival’s visual identity: Back to the future

Every year, AFO comes up with a new visual identity that is in line with the main theme. This year, the creative team tried to elaborate on the theme of memory and “invited” artificial intelligence to join the team. So, a canine crew oversees and navigates astronauts on the Moon. The graphics are based on a retro aesthetic, and the typography evokes the golden era of theme parks. The festival becomes a unique place in space and time, with its own rules, waiting to be filled with visitors’ experiences.

“Using AI, we prompted scenarios from the past that relate to the selected iconic event. And it’s turned out that AI is unable to process such a request accurately. With our graphics, we want to show that human memory is selective, too. History is written by the victors; our memories are being managed by external servers, and for the time being, AI is interpreting all this data with a high error rate. The ‘memory’ of our yet non-existent festival is also an alternate one. So, we’re starting to build a unique ecosystem and attraction that will culminate during the festival, as we will experience a journey to this unique place together,” said graphic designer and art director Radim Měsíc when describing the creation of the AFO59 visual identity.

The Academia Film Olomouc International Festival of Science Documentary Films (AFO) has been organised by Palacký University Olomouc since 1966. It is one of the oldest Czech film festivals. Its driving organisational force is, most importantly, current as well as former UP students. The chance to take part in the production of such a large event is an ideal opportunity for them to test and develop their own skills. AFO is thus not only a world-renowned festival, but also an established educational platform. It is one of the most visited film festivals in the Czech Republic in terms of the number of accredited viewers.

 

Kategorie: News from UP

Researchers from Olomouc helped construct optical quantum code states for ultra-fast quantum computers

Út, 23/01/2024 - 14:00

An international team of scientists has experimentally created the world’s first Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) quantum codes propagating light, opening up the possibility of constructing optical quantum computers which offer exponential speed-up over classical computer technology. The unique experiment is a culmination of long-term collaboration between the scientists from the University of Tokyo, Palacký University Olomouc, and the University of Mainz. The results were published in Science.

Quantum computers offer a new way to process information thanks to the principle of quantum superposition. Their qubits – the quantum counterpart to classical bits – can contain not only values of 0 or 1, but also 0 and 1 concurrently. However, this makes these qubits highly vulnerable even to small random errors, therefore it is necessary to detect and correct even minute errors.

To make the qubits fault-tolerant, one logical qubit is usually encoded into a high number of physical qubits. This approach, however, makes it difficult to create larger quantum circuits, because it is necessary to maintain their overall quantum superposition. In the current research, the international team of researchers focused on encoding the logical qubits into optical oscillators, which can handle even quite complicated quantum codes and at the same time maintain their resistance to error. “These codes can be created, for example, with help of microwave quantum circuits in superconducting resonators, in the motion of individual cold atoms, and now, thanks to our result, at room temperature as engineered states of light, which is suitable for practical use,” explained Prof Radim Filip of the UP FS Department of Optics.

Pulses of propagating light working as an optical oscillator have the advantage that they do not need cooling. The optical code is composed of a high number of photons, but they are all coherently contained within the individual pulses. “These pulses can be combined, processed, and measured at room temperatures and at high speeds with the techniques of modern optical communications. Another key technology for such systems, nonlinear measurement, was already tested by the collaborative effort of the two teams in 2023 and the result was published in Nature Communication,” added Assoc Prof Petr Marek, UP FS Department of Optics. 

The fault-tolerant GKP code in a single optical pulse is formed by high number of photons arranged in a very specific arrangement that can be represented by a virtual grid. “Random errors lead to deformations or shifts in the grid, which can be detected and corrected. Confirming whether the experimentally prepared state possesses these required properties was our task,” said Marek.  

Constructing these GKP codes in optical systems is a very difficult task that requires strong nonlinearity, which is still an open challenge. “In the current experiment, such nonlinearity was provided by high-end photon number detectors. Looking to the future, we believe there will be further rapid scientific progress. Nonlinearity is the key to optical quantum computers,” added Prof Filip.

This long-term joint research of the teams from Olomouc and Tokyo was funded by a number of projects of the Grant Agency of Czech Republic, including an EXPRO project; and by the projects CLUSTEC and NONGAUSS within the frameworks of the Flagship and Widening programmes financed by Horizon Europe.

Kategorie: News from UP

Joint project of APA Centre and “Firefly” supports visually impaired children in physical activities

Čt, 18/01/2024 - 14:30

To increase the quality of life of children with visual impairments through their participation in school and leisure-time physical activities is a common goal of the Centre for Adapted Physical Activities (APA) at the UP Faculty of Physical Culture and the Světluška [Firefly] project of the Czech Radio Foundation. Thanks to this cooperation, consultants will be available to pupils, their teachers, and parents who will introduce to them various support measures and movement activities adapted for people with visual impairments.

APA consultants for schoolchildren and students with visual or combined impairments will be working in five Czech regions – the South Bohemian, South Moravian, Moravian-Silesian, Olomouc and Ústí nad Labem regions – as well as in the capital city of Prague, with an overlap to the Central Bohemian region. The two-year project is meant to provide intensive support to up to 90 pupils, however counselling services will be provided to each individual out of the hundreds of such children in each region.

“We want them to develop habits leading to a healthy and active lifestyle, which is a positive prerequisite for holistic health and thus a happier life. Developing motor skills is a continuous activity, so our aim will be for the consultants to see ‘their’ pupils and work with them regularly, at least once a month. We anticipate that initially some pupils or their parents will be concerned about the risks of engaging in physical activities and questioning their benefits for the visually impaired. In some respects, it may not be an easy job for the consultants, as they also have to process the necessary administration, travel to the pupils, and attend regular meetings to share their experiences,” said Ondřej Ješina, head of the APA Centre, adding that one-time events with a broader scope of interests are also being planned, such as ski weekends for families and various trips.

Similarly, other interested parties will also be able to benefit from the counselling on how to involve pupils with visual impairments in physical activities and promote their equal access to education. The activities of the project are intended to enhance the competences of teachers, raise awareness among parents and peers, and positively influence public attitudes towards supporting the participation of people with visual impairments in physical and leisure-time activities in the widest possible context.

The APA Centre has abundant experience in promoting equal access to education for pupils with impairments, disadvantages, and other special needs through physical activities. One of them was a nationwide project supported by the Czech Ministry of Education and implemented before the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to which agreement APA managed to anchor its consultancy in the priorities and strategic documentation of the Olomouc Region.

“We are pleased that the activities we are further developing in our region have resonated in other regions to such an extent that even three years after the end of our nationwide project, they are still asking for APA-trained staff in their region. And we are very happy that Světluška [‘Firefly’], or rather the Czech Radio Foundation, has adopted this mission, that their approach is systemic, and that they are willing to invest in this obviously meaningful project as the first foundation ever,” added Ješina.

The Czech Radio Foundation has many years of experience in supporting people with visual impairments via the Světluška project. “We at Světluška decided to systemically support the physical activities and sports of children and young people with visual impairments for several reasons. Children and young people with any handicap must not be excluded from physical education classes, and if the barrier is the lack of expertise and motivation on the part of teachers and their assistants, then we must provide them with both. Physical activities and sports are one of the paths to an independent and meaningful life, a life in which the impaired persons themselves hold the reins. And if there is a barrier to their participation in these activities, let’s build a system that will intervene in time and direct and accompany these persons from the beginning,” said Gabriela Drastichová, director of the foundation.
 

“Peer groups, teams, sports duos are all about relationships, about camaraderie, about mutual cohesion. Shared experiences in leisure sports create opportunities for development, healthy competition, and most importantly, create memories for a lifetime. And if fear of the unknown is a barrier to greater involvement of children and young people with visual impairments in sports and leisure activities in general, let’s accompany them as running and skiing guides and pilot bikers. We are extremely excited to work with the APA Centre because we are united by a common goal and determination not to be mere observers but those who make things possible,” added the director.

The two-year project of the APA Centre supported by the Světluška public collection called Systemic Support for Equal Education and Participation in Leisure Activities of Children, Pupils, and Students with Visual Impairments in the Area of Physical Literacy started at the beginning of 2024. Currently, the selection procedures for filling the positions of APA consultants in the cooperating regions are being prepared. After the necessary training and introduction, their work is expected to start in June this year, and more intensively with the start of the new school year.

The APA Centre at the Department of Adapted Physical Activities, Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Physical Therapy, has been connecting the academic environment with the practice in the field of physical activities of people with impairments and disadvantages since 2007. Its most important activities include the creation of conditions for the creation of the position of APA consultant, the development of methodologies for supporting measures in physical education in schools, as well as various educational, popularisation, and sports events, such as the Paralympics School Day. The centre also operates a sports equipment rental service, the largest of its kind in the Czech Republic. For more information, see www.apa.upol.cz.

The Czech Radio Foundation helps to create an environment and conditions for the full development of people and their abilities, regardless of their impairments and disadvantages. It fulfils its mission through its long-term projects Světluška [Firefly] and Ježíškova vnoučata [Grandchildren of the Infant Jesus] and one-off collections that gives help where needed. Světluška has been helping people with severe visual impairments since 2003, both financially and by organising awareness-raising and experiential activities for donors. Popular events include the Night Runs for Firefly, the traditional Light for the Firefly concert, and visits to the POTMĚ Café [Café in the Dark], an extraordinary visual experience designed not only for coffee lovers. For more information, please visit nadacnifond.rozhlas.cz and svetluska.rozhlas.cz.

Kategorie: News from UP

Olomouc biophysicists continue to unravel secrets of carnivorous plants

St, 17/01/2024 - 13:00

During their evolution, carnivorous plants have developed various ways of regulating the digestion of their prey. Some carnivores activate a sophisticated system of digestive enzyme production using phytohormones once an insect is trapped. Other carnivorous plants, however, produce digestive enzymes without the need for external stimuli. This was discovered by UP Faculty of Science scientists from the Department of Biophysics.

The results of their long-term research on the regulation of digestion in various lineages of carnivorous plants were published in the renowned Journal of Experimental Botany, in which they earned a commentary from world-renowned plant physiologist Joanne Chory of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in the United States and made the cover of the issue. The article subsequently caught the attention of the scientific editors in a paper published in Nature Plants journal.

During their evolution, carnivorous plants have responded to nutrient deficiencies in the soil, evolving at least eleven times independently in different lineages. They are therefore a textbook example of “convergent evolution”, a process by which unrelated organisms living in the same environment develop similar adaptations. One example would be a whale, which looks like a fish because it lives in water, but is actually a mammal. In the case of carnivorous plants, the ability to lure, capture and digest animal prey, from which carnivorous plants obtain the nutrients necessary for their growth and reproduction, has repeatedly evolved in nutrient-deficient environments.

Andrej Pavlovič from the Department of Biophysics has devoted himself to the issue of digestion of carnivorous plants for some time. “Around 2013, together with colleagues from the Laboratory of Growth Regulators, we discovered that iconic and well-known carnivorous plants such as the flytrap (Dionaea) and sundew (Drosera) use phytohormones from the jasmonate class to regulate the production of digestive enzymes,” he said.

Jasmonates commonly serve to activate plants’ defense mechanisms. They usually accumulate after an attack by a pathogenic organism or herbivore and then activate the synthesis of defence molecules directed against these organisms. “For example, increased jasmonate-induced synthesis of nicotine in tobacco is well known. It may be advantageous for smokers, but caterpillars do not like a leaf with a high concentration of nicotine so much. The tobacco plant defends itself against insect pests this way,” explained Pavlovič.

Less well known is, for example, increased production of the enzyme chitinase, which digests the cell walls of pathogenic fungi composed of chitin. However, chitin is also contained in the outer exoskeleton of insects. Carnivorous plants have therefore adopted this defensive signalling pathway, but instead of using it to defend, they use it to attack. “Once an insect comes into contact with the deadly leaves of a sundew or flytrap, mechanical stimuli in the plant induce electrical signals that initiate the production of jasmonates, which then synthesize digestive enzymes, including chitinases, that rapidly digest the prey’s body,” said the scientist.

These carnivorous plants have thus perfectly copied the defensive reactions of plants, in which the accumulation of jasmonates is also often preceded by the generation of electrical signals, especially after an attack by an herbivore. “However, the new publication shows that this strategy evolved only once in carnivorous plants, about 85 million years ago in the order Caryophyllales. Other evolutionarily younger carnivorous plants do not use jasmonates to regulate the secretion of digestive enzymes. Instead, they synthesize digestive enzymes without any stimuli or their secretion is regulated developmentally – ontogenically. Why this is the case remains a mystery,” added Pavlovič.

According to Pavlovič, the evolution of the regulation of the digestive system of carnivorous plants is apparently not as straightforward as scientists had previously assumed. Despite the convergent evolution that guided the development of carnivorous plants as a whole in nutrient-poor environments, individual evolutionary lineages of carnivorous plants were likely subjected to different environmental selection pressures, leading to different ways of regulating the digestion of animal prey, despite using very similar enzymes. “The initial discovery of the function of jasmonates in carnivory regulation is thus the exception rather than the rule,” pointed out Carl Procko and Joanne Chory in their commentary.

Kategorie: News from UP

Karel Nováček’s UP FA team sets for Iraqi Kurdistan again, thanks to Czech Science Foundation

St, 17/01/2024 - 08:00

The Czech Science Foundation has supported an international team led by Karel Nováček from the Department of History at the Palacký University Olomouc Faculty of Arts. Thanks to a subsidy of almost €360,000, the scientists were once again able to take off for Iraqi Kurdistan to study long-term development trends in the landscape, where they had discovered several prehistoric villages with fields. Their findings also aspire to help tackle the challenges facing our planet in the context of climate change.

Palacký University was recently awarded an exclusive five-year licence to explore an area located north of the city of Koya in Iraqi Kurdistan, approximately five hundred square kilometres in size. This prestigious licence was obtained mainly thanks to archaeologist Karel Nováček from the Department of History at the UP Faculty of Arts, who has been investigating the medieval urban network of northeastern Mesopotamia and has been working in Iraqi Kurdistan together with other experts since 2006.

“In terms of archaeology, the Mesopotamian Plain has been documented fairly well, then especially southern Iraq, the cradle of city states and urban life. However, less conspicuous and visible but no less important processes were also taking place in the neighbouring mountains and mountain valleys. We already know that these areas were an important communications corridor, and our aim now is to formulate the hypothesis that the neighbouring mountains and mountain valleys were in some ways even more attractive than the Mesopotamian Plain. They had better ecological resilience,” said Nováček.

In describing the Mesopotamian basin, he emphasised its vulnerability to lack of rainfall.

“Although the given area is very fertile, it should be noted that it is located in a zone highly dependent on rainfall. And rainfall is unpredictable here. What can easily happen is that crops fail to germinate because winter rainfall is not sufficient. Although people have always tried to solve this problem with various irrigation systems, it is obviously much easier to grow crops in the mountain valleys, where water is abundant, temperatures do not reach extreme peaks during summers, and the ecosystem is more stable. We therefore believe that the solid core of ancient Mesopotamian civilisation, which was not manifested by power structures and large cities but by a robust agricultural system, can be found in these mountain valleys.”

Nováček and his team set out once again for a field survey of the four mountain valleys, which are separated by limestone peaks and are very rich in archaeological heritage, at the end of January.

Last year he and his team carried out a baseline field survey in this area. In a small area of several villages, the team managed to find several dozen monuments dating back to the Stone Age, and on top of that one unique discovery. In an area of roughly forty hectares, traces of a vanished village with probable origins in the mid-fourth millennium BC were identified. Adjacent field systems might also have been discovered, which could contribute significantly to the understanding of the prehistoric agricultural landscape of the Fertile Crescent. Scientists will continue to investigate this area in future research using optically stimulated luminescence. This method involves extracting a sample of rock or soil that has remained untouched by sunlight since it was last handled by humans. The very fact that the rock has not been exposed to sunlight and has endured in the darkness until now allows them to date the moment of last exposure to light.

“The stones at the prehistoric field boundaries must have been carried to the spot and piled up by people. If we manage to extract a suitable sample, we should be able to date the moment when they established the field boundary,” added Nováček. He pointed out that the documentation from the baseline field survey is still being processed and evaluated.

“All aerial maps of the given area needed to be vectorised, i.e. redrawn in geographical information systems into the form of a field system layout. These have been currently completed. Now they need to be compared with older satellite images, mainly because of changes in the terrain.”

There are clearly more similar surface-visible sites in the area, and researchers will be able to explore them thanks to the support of the Czech Science Foundation.

“The main goal of the project, which is also of import to our Kurdish partners, is a detailed archaeological map of the area with all the sites we can identify, their dating, their extent in the landscape, and their expected significance. We will then address special issues, i.e. long-term development trends. In this sense, the most important thing for us is not whether the site is Palaeolithic, from a prehistoric agricultural period, or whether it is a village that was abandoned fifty years ago. All archaeological sites will be equally important to us,” explained Nováček on behalf of the team, which includes not only archaeologists who specialise in specific periods but also natural scientists. For example, botanists will study the development of the vegetation of the area over the last ten thousand years, at least. They will also be involved in ethnobotanical research, which includes guided interviews with witnesses about how farming used to be carried out, what machines and technologies were used, and what crops were grown.

“In this sense, we’ve already collected a lot of data. It will be published in a forthcoming article about a village that disappeared during the Kurdish genocide in the 1980s. It was built at the end of the 19th century, in a rather distinctive manner. Due to the local wars in the 1970s and 1980s, it underwent several waves of destruction and rebuilding, and was abandoned during the last war. It is a model village to study what agricultural colonisation looked like in the 19th century and what changes the village underwent as a result of modernisation. Even though the agricultural land in Iraq has undergone dramatic changes in recent decades, no one has dealt with the subject in detail.”

According to Nováček, collaboration with specialists in geoarchaeology will also be essential.

“The local landscape looked rather different ten thousand years ago. Its relief has been marked by human activity, while other changes have occurred due to erosion and accumulation. Specialists could help us identify those changes. There are promising prospects of cooperation with the geoarchaeological team of the University of Milan, which runs their own research projects in Kurdistan in areas similar to ours,” said the Palacký University archaeologist, a few weeks before the first of five planned field surveys began.

This year, the team plans to undertake at least two trips. The months of January and February are particularly suitable for their purposes, because the landscape is extremely legible at this time. There is no grass, so the experts can collect surface artefacts, and all the significant colour differences, for example in the topsoil, are visible. Although the weather there is unpredictable during these months, it offers excellent visibility. In the autumn, UP scientists will take off for a second time. However, it is possible that in the spring when the land is covered with vegetation, another trip will be made, for the sake of the botanists in particular. Next year, two more trips are planned, and in the third and final year of the project, the last one will be made. All in all, they will spend at least five working months in the region.

“Our project is exploratory, non-destructive, and dedicated mainly to mapping and collecting surface-visible archaeological finds. We anticipate finding a variety of sites. We are aware of fortress systems, there is a roughly 80-hectare vanished town in the territory. We haven’t yet paid any attention to the local caves, and there are many of them there. Having said that, we will first focus on a locality that will soon disappear underwater. Because of the desperate lack of water in Kurdistan, a second dam is being built in the region,” said Nováček.

Together with his team of experts, he investigates the archaeology of a vulnerable landscape that had been of considerable importance in the history of northern Iraq. The issues studied have obvious overlap with the present. The Middle East and northern Iraq, as well as the entire planet, are undergoing climate change, which is manifesting itself in very intense and rapid desiccation and water scarcity.

“If we can uncover the mechanisms that allowed mountain areas in the past to remain in a stable condition and dynamic equilibrium, we might even propose some ways to revive these mechanisms.”

The three-year project, entitled “A tale of four valleys in mountainous Kurdistan: Past landscape strategies, resilience, and sustainability in a long-term perspective”, could not have happened without the collaboration of the Directorate General of Antiquities and Heritage of Kurdistan, the Cultural Heritage Inspectorate in Koya, and the University of Koya, on whose campus the international team supported by the Czech Science Foundation is based during the surveys. Two PhD students from this university are studying at Palacký University in the summer semester, within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme.

Kategorie: News from UP

Single-atom engineering revolutionizes medicine, chemistry and energy

Út, 09/01/2024 - 13:00

New materials for energy acquisition and storage, nano-robots detecting or eliminating germs in the human body or substances accelerating and streamlining a number of chemical reactions in industrial production will be developed by a revolutionary method of single-atom engineering as part of the Technology Beyond Nanoscale (TECHSCALE) project. Palacký University (UP) has succeeded in the prestigious Excellent Research call in the Jan Amos Komenský Operational Programme, with partners from Charles University and CEITEC-VUT. The five-year research received funding of almost half a billion Czech koruna.

“Our goal is to develop nanomaterials and technologies that will contribute to solving the two current societal challenges, i.e. the acquisition and storage of renewable energy and the improvement of quality of life. Besides experts in materials research, representatives of social sciences are also involved in the project, who will assess the acceptance of new technologies in society. At the same time, they will also propose strategies for combating the so-called fake news, which could negatively influence the perception of new technologies,” explained the principal investigator of the project Michal Otyepka from the Czech Advanced Technology and Research Institute (CATRIN) of UP, who also has representatives of five Palacký University faculties on his team.

The researchers decided to exploit the huge potential of the single-atom engineering method, which allows to tune the properties of substances up to the level of individual atoms. Scientists are able to bring individual metal atoms into the structure of different materials, which can significantly improve their properties or even enable completely new applications. “It turns out that nanotechnologies are being surpassed by and are giving way to single-atom engineering. For example, catalysts prepared this way bring up to orders of magnitude higher reaction yields and at the same time replace the need for expensive or inaccessible raw materials such as gold or platinum. In the energy sector, we can increase manyfold the efficiency of acquiring green hydrogen by solar decomposition of water or ammonia. We also know that materials developed on the basis of atomic engineering can kill bacteria much more effectively than many antibiotics, while bacteria cannot develop resistance to these materials. The economic, ecological and health benefits are therefore enormous,” said Radek Zbořil from CATRIN, a pioneer of this method, whose team will focus especially on its use in the energy sector.

New types of catalysts and nano-robots for use in medicine

According to another key team member Jiří Čejka from the Faculty of Science of Charles University, catalysis is essential for sustainability, for example, in oil, natural gas or biomass processing, fuel, polymer, pharmaceutical production or environmental protection. “Within the TECHSCALE project, our main objective is to prepare new types of catalysts based on individual metal atoms, which we will place on various carriers, such as graphene or zeolites. We will examine these catalysts in various industrially important reactions to achieve an increase in process efficiency and a deeper understanding of the function of the catalyst and the mechanism of the reaction,” said Čejka.

The researchers also want to contribute to the early detection and treatment of diseases. “We will develop, atom by atom, unique nanorobots based on nanoarchitecture, which will have a specific design and will be able to detect very low concentrations of biomarkers, which can significantly improve the diagnosis of a number of diseases. In addition, these nanorobots will move autonomously in the human body and kill germs,” said Martin Pumera from CEITEC-VUT, clarifying the applications in medicine.

The unifying theme of the multidisciplinary project is to push the boundaries of the nanoworld and achieve precision in tuning properties up to the level of single atoms, but also to strive for a quick and safe implementation of the results into practice. “Already during the design phase, we will consider the safety of materials and possible social impacts. I believe that we will significantly contribute to the fight against antibiotic resistance, prepare high-efficiency sensors and develop new sustainable energy technologies. Single-atom engineering processes will bring environmental benefits as well as economic savings in a number of industrial areas. Last but not least, we will support the adoption of new technologies by both the professional and the general public,” concluded Otyepka.

Universities respond to societal change

Success in this prestigious call is appreciated by the leadership of Palacký University. “The fact that our scientists succeeded in it is a testament to the excellence of the research they are currently engaged in. We are all witnessing tremendous progress in many fields of human activity, yet for most of us the shift from nanotechnology to single-atom engineering is something from the field of science fiction. But who else than the university should look for new solutions to the problems faced by humanity? We are pleased not only with the cooperation with our partner workplaces in Prague and Brno, but also with the fact that this is a multidisciplinary research team, with members being from different Palacký University faculties,” said Jiří Stavovčík, Vice-Rector for International Relations.

Thanks to an increase in the budget of the Excellent Research call to 12.2 billion Czech koruna, a total of 26 projects were supported to strengthen the position of the Czech Republic in the European research area and increase the competitiveness of domestic research teams with those on a European and global level of excellence. TECHSCALE was awarded a second place in the overall competition.

“Universities and their research centres must react flexibly to the constant changes that the world and our society are facing. It is great that the OP JAK projects reflect the priority themes of digitization, robotization or climate or social change. Thus, the research funds provide practical starting points not only for individuals, but also for the whole society. In addition to these benefits, however, it is also necessary to emphasize the increase in competitiveness, which our scientists gain through their research not only in their field but also, through their results, bring to the whole Czech Republic,” said Professor Milena Králíčková, Rector of Charles University.

The development of nanomaterials is one of the areas that CEITEC BUT has been working on for a long time. “I am therefore proud that Martin Pumera and his team have joined the TECHSCALE project, which focuses not only on the scientific aspect of this area, but also on the social one. Today, science is not only about working in the laboratory, but also about communicating the results and discussing their social impact. I believe that Martin Pumera’s knowledge and experience, especially in the field of single-atomic engineering, will be a valuable contribution to the project,” concluded CEITEC BUT Director Radimír Vrba.

Information about the project is also available at www.techscale.cz

Kategorie: News from UP

Olomouc scientists have discovered how plants regulate root hair growth

Po, 08/01/2024 - 12:01

Scientists from the Palacký University Faculty of Science (UP FS) have described an important part of the complex mechanism by which plants control the growth of root hairs. These small and numerous endings of the root system play an important role in the life of plants in drawing water and nutrients from the soil. Together with the new method of gentle microscopic examination of root hairs, successfully tested by scientists from Olomouc led by UP FS Department of Biotechnology scientists Miroslav Ovečka and Jozef Šamaj, this knowledge might be used in the cultivation of agricultural crops.

The results of their research on root hairs were published in three separate publications in the prestigious journals Plant Physiology and Journal of Experimental Botany. All three scientific articles were featured on the covers of these journals.

Plants are anchored in the soil by roots, which are indispensable for their growth, development, and prosperity. The quality of the root system depends on root hairs representing tubular outgrowths of individual cells of the root epidermis, called trichoblasts. Root hairs are an important model in the developmental and cellular biology of plants, on which scientists intensively study the polarity of plant cells and the regulatory mechanisms.

A number of factors are responsible for the polar growth of root hairs, which occurs only at their apex. “But we still don’t know many of these factors. We know that proteins anchored in the plasma membrane play an important role. The question remains, however, how root hairs achieve and maintain their asymmetric accumulation in the growing tip,” said Ovečka, who, together with Jozef Šamaj, heads a group of scientists investigating what happens inside root hairs.

A recently published study from their laboratory focused on the issue of root hair growth. Experts have found that the apical part of the root hair, including the plasma membrane, constantly moves laterally away from the apex due to growth. According to Ovečka, it was therefore important to clarify how the optimal concentration and precise localization of membrane proteins in the growing tip is maintained in order to understand the mechanism of spatial and temporal regulation of root hair tip growth. “This also applies to the mechanism of polarized transport and the incorporation of these proteins into the plasma membrane,” noted Ovečka.

The scientists, using the model species Arabidopsis thaliana, demonstrated that in the case of an enzyme producing reactive oxygen species in the cell wall, its optimal concentration in the tip of the root hair is created through dynamic vesicular transport using the trans-Golgi vesicle network. Experts discovered this mechanism thanks to the use of advanced qualitative and quantitative “light-sheet” and super-resolution microscopy.

In the second published study, the scientists not only demonstrated the fundamental role of reactive oxygen species in the regulatory mechanism of root hair growth, but also presented to the plant community effective and easily applicable procedures for their labelling and detailed microscopic localization. “Reactive oxygen species are small molecules that, as their name implies, are highly reactive. In the cell, they are used positively as signalling molecules in various developmental processes, however, under stress situations, their excessive production leads to damage to cellular structures,” said Ovečka.

The plant cell must therefore keep reactive oxygen species under control. However, due to their physical and chemical properties, the possibility of detailed visualization of reactive oxygen species in living growing cells has been difficult to achieve until now. “In Arabidopsis thaliana, we succeeded in developing methods for the precise subcellular localization of diverse reactive oxygen species with resolution at the level of individual cell organelles in root hairs, simultaneously maintaining optimal physiological conditions for their undisturbed growth. This new, attractive method enables high resolution while preserving all the dynamic processes needed for root hair growth,” Ovečka pointed out .

According to Šamaj, the new findings of Olomouc scientists opened the way to a detailed study of living root hairs at the highest possible spatial and temporal resolution using the most modern microscopic methods. “We used it when studying the Arabidopsis model plant, but our ambition was to transfer and successfully apply the acquired know-how to agricultural crops,” Jozef Šamaj pointed out.

Scientists have long focused their attention on alfalfa and barley. Especially in alfalfa, root hairs play an irreplaceable role in establishing a symbiotic relationship between this plant and beneficial soil bacteria of the genus Rhizobium, which leads to the assimilation of atmospheric nitrogen in the root nodules. “Our study demonstrated that the mitogen-activated protein kinase SIMK is significantly involved in this process. This kinase plays an important signalling role, especially in the early recognition of beneficial bacteria and their internalization into root hairs,” added Ovečka.

The results of the researchers considerably supplemented the currently valid model of the initiation of symbiotic interaction between legumes and Rhizobium soil bacteria. “Understanding this process can undoubtedly have enormous agricultural and biotechnological application potential,” added Šamaj.

The research was supported by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic grant GA19-18675S, “Elucidation of the roles of actin, NADPH oxidase and structural sterols in the apical growth of root hairs using advanced microscopy and proteomics”, conducted in the period 2019–2023.

Kategorie: News from UP

Christmas wishes of the Palacký University Rector Martin Procházka

Út, 19/12/2023 - 10:30

Dear Colleagues and Students,

I would like to wish that we all may spend the coming holidays in peace, comfort, and joy with those whom we love best. Let us not forget that Christmastime is the best opportunity for us to slow the tempo of our everyday lives, make time for family and friends, and rejoice in our shared moments. The most precious gift we can give is that of being attentive to others, listening to them, and sharing with them what is most lovely, something which is an integral part of the holiday season. And let us also think of those who do not have the luck nor opportunity to be with their loved ones, spending happy moments with them.

As the year comes to a close, allow me to at the same time wish you the best of health and success in the year ahead. I would also like to thank you for everything that you do for our university. It is your work, invention, and passion which makes our alma mater what it is. Together, we have lived through the year of celebrations of the 450th anniversary of higher education in Olomouc, which symbolically culminates two days before Christmas. Let us be proud of our university, and commemorate its rich history, help create its present, and wish that it have an even brighter future.

I thank you and look forward to meeting with you in 2024.

Martin Procházka, UP Rector

Kategorie: News from UP

CATRIN receives honourable mention in the Innovation of the Year competition

Út, 19/12/2023 - 08:00

Honourable mention for the 4th generation Mössbauer spectrometer was awarded to Palacký University’s CATRIN in this year’s Innovation of the Year competition. The Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic, which announces this prestigious competition, awarded a total of ten out of 134 competing innovative products. The aim of the competition is to evaluate and award the best innovative products in the Czech Republic, in all fields.

“I am pleased that we made it to the final of the ten best innovation products. Although we did not win the main Innovation of the Year Award 2023, we were very pleased with the honourable mention for a successful innovation product. I see this as recognition and proof of the successful transfer of know-how from the university into practice,” said Jakub Navařík, who, as the author of the 4th generation spectrometer for analysis of materials containing iron or iron oxides, was handed out the award.

“The award ceremony itself was connected with the presentation of the awarded innovations, some of which were also inspiring for our work and further development. We also agreed to another two collaborations. A representative of Czechinvest expressed his interest in our 4th generation Mössbauer, and wants to add it to the pages presenting Czech innovations abroad,” said Roman Jurečka from CATRIN.

The Association of Innovative Entrepreneurship of the Czech Republic has announced the competition for the Innovation of the Year Award regularly since 1996. The competition evaluates the highest quality innovative products of applicants based in the Czech Republic. The main criteria are the technical level of the product, originality of the solution, market position and environmental impact. The complete results are available here.

Kategorie: News from UP

A tapestry of traditions: celebrating Czech Christmas with the UP international community

Po, 18/12/2023 - 12:57

On the 14th of December, exactly 10 days before Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic, a wonderful event emerged through the collaboration of the Welcome Office and the Erasmus Student Network UP Olomouc within the halls of the International Cooperation Division, with the enthusiastic participation of the university's international community.

Over 70 international students, academic staff, and guests gathered to immerse themselves in the rich traditions and customs of a Czech Christmas, all set within a heartwarming setting enhanced by the melodies of Christmas carols.

Many of the international students come from countries with varied Christmas traditions or those that slightly differ from one another. The presentation by the knowledgeable Mr. Orság, detailing the annual customs celebrated in Czech households, was an eye-opener for many.

Following the enlightening discussion on Christmas traditions and a cultural exchange of diverse practices, attendees had the chance to experience these traditions firsthand. The Little Jesus’s Workshop in the Welcome Office was a hub of creativity where participants crafted handmade Christmas postcards, discovered the Christmas star nestled within an apple, and watched as little Christmas boats danced on the waves in a basin. They also enjoyed decorating gingerbreads and the quaint tradition of waiting under the mistletoe for a Christmas kiss.

The output from the Little Jesus’s Workshop was nothing short of wonderful, with participants thoroughly enjoying the creative program and the hands-on exploration of traditions. The evening did not end there; the group was then escorted to an ice rink in Olomouc for an enchanting ice-skating experience. As night cast its shadow over the Christmas markets, the scene transformed into a magical 'evening of lights'.

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the international community at Palacký University Olomouc for their enthusiastic participation in this event. In our diverse society, it is crucial to connect people from every corner of the globe and to foster a positive environment for all. This is a foundational goal of the Welcome Office and our esteemed university. It's through these efforts that we create an atmosphere where every individual can realize their potential, become the best versions of themselves, and share experiences, connected values, and a passion for studying and working in Olomouc.

We wish all international students, academic staff, guests, Czech employees, and students a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. May the coming days bring you the warmth of the hearth, peace of mind, and the love of family.

Kategorie: News from UP

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