Bacteria can protect plants against the effects of floods, drought and salinity, and at normal humidity they will support the growth of cultivated cereals and vegetables. Microbiologists in Puławy are working on a biopreparation that will cover the roots of crop plants and protect them.
Designed for people after a stroke, accidents or with neuromuscular diseases, a 3D printed hand rehabilitation exoskeleton will help exercise movements of the shoulder and elbow joints. Engineers, programmers and physiotherapists will use artificial intelligence to automatically analyse patient's mistakes.
Researchers argue that obtaining a post-doctoral degree limits the independence of young researchers and forces them to engage in activities that are unnecessary from the point of view of scientific development. This effect is especially visible in the case of women.
Until recently, the consensus was that testate amoebae used their shells to defend themselves from enemies or from drying out. It now turns out that these shells are also useful as a weapon that makes it easier to get to the prey.
‘If we are in an environment where certain groups of people are insulted, there is a high probability that we will start using such language ourselves; hate speech is contagious and its consequence is someone's harm,’ says Dr. Michał Bilewicz from the Centre for Research on Prejudice at the University of Warsaw.
A statue of Buddha, discovered by a Polish-American archaeological expedition in Berenike on the Red Sea, is among the 10 most exciting discoveries of 2023. The Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology at the University of Warsaw informed about the list published by the American Society of Overseas Research.
A team of scientists from the Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences proposes placing geodetic satellites in a 'butterfly' configuration, including satellites in retrograde orbit, where there are currently no objects orbiting the Earth.
The year 2023 ‘not only made the dreams of Polish space come true, it significantly exceeded them,’ says president of the Polish Space Agency Professor Grzegorz Wrochna.
Many species of hermit crabs have started using plastic covers instead of 'traditional' shells of animal origin. Scientists from Poznań and Warsaw describe this phenomenon in Science of the Total Environment. They emphasise that this is one of the signs of the environmental changes of the Anthropocene: plastic pollution on a massive scale.
A new technology for the synthesis of dimethyl ether has been developed at the Gdańsk University of Technology. It is an attractive, ecological alternative to diesel fuel.
The geometric patterns, lines and zigzags that accompany the images of dancers (danzantes) carved in the rocks of the Peruvian Toro Muerto are not snakes or lightning bolts, but a record of songs - suggest Polish scientists who analyse rock art from 2,000 years ago.
