popularization of science

Perspective for 2025 in the Economy: Pros and Cons

Analysis

The year 2024 is behind us, and it is time to assess the situation and look at the outlook for 2025.

A team of scientists from Lodz University of Technology proposes a new approach to the "alchemy" of catalysts.

News

Solid catalysts, often nanoscale materials, are at the heart of many technologies. Due to their unique structure, they play a crucial role in accelerating chemical reactions, which is essential in industrial processes such as fuel production, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and environmental protection.

Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences

Analysis

The winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize awarded by the Central Bank of Sweden are three American economists working on the impact of social organization on the wealth of nations. The awardees are Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson. Why are some countries unexpectedly successful and others unexpectedly unsuccessful? Why is it that countries with such rich cultures as India and Mexico have consistently struggled economically, while Australia or Canada have been successful?

Commentary on Nobel Prize in chemistry

Analysis

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded half to David Baker ‘for the design of proteins using computational techniques’ and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper ‘for the prediction of protein structure’.

The first Nobel Prize in computer science!

Analysis

On Tuesday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the Nobel Prize in Physics goes to American physicist John Joseph Hopfield and Canadian-British computer scientist Geoffrey Everest Hinton. Although the prize was awarded in physics, the justification reads that it was based on ‘discoveries and inventions enabling machine learning through artificial neural networks’, which is clearly associated with computer science.

Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology 2024

Analysis

When it seemed that all functions of ribonucleic acids (RNA) had been studied and described, scientists discovered new types of RNA at the end of the 20th century that influence inheritance, development, and diseases. This year, the Nobel Prize was awarded for the discovery of one of these new RNAs. According to the Nobel Committee's decision, two American biologists, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, received the award in Physiology and Medicine for their "discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation".

Metaverse - what, where and when?

Mon, 11/08/2021 - 12:35

dr hab. inż. Grzegorz Szymański, prof. PŁ

Metaverse has recently become a very popular buzzword thanks to Mark Zuckerberg's interview. The Facebook CEO presented the concept of the metaverse project, which is to seamlessly connect the Internet with virtual reality.

Read more about Metaverse - what, where and when?

Anthropocene - questions regarding the extent of human agency and responsibility

Thu, 11/04/2021 - 13:49

dr hab. Edyta Pietrzak, prof. PŁ

The Anthropocene is an epoch in which we observe active human intervention in the processes that drive the geological evolution of the planet. It is humans who are modifying the parameters of the planetary system by changing the climate, degrading soil, acidifying oceans, disrupting biochemical cycles, and contributing to the loss of biodiversity.

Read more about Anthropocene - questions regarding the extent of human agency and responsibility

Radioactive fossils? New applications of ionising radiation

Wed, 10/20/2021 - 08:28

dr hab. Magdalena Długosz-Lisiecka, prof. PŁ

Although ionising radiation is usually associated with nuclear power, cancer diagnostics and therapy, as well as radiological exposure, it also has other, slightly less popular applications, such as among... stones!