‘There are successes in a scientist's work, but there are dozens of failures along the way. As much as 70-80 percent of our work ends in failure. However, a successful experiment is the greatest motivation for further work,’ says Dr. Aleksandra Rutkowska, who studies the nervous system, especially the degeneration processes taking place in the brain.
It turns out that the body size of monomorphic ants does matter and affects their behaviour, say biologists from Kraków. Their latest research on a species living in the Błędów Desert shows that in the case of rescue behaviour, small workers are more persistent.
Aneurysms of various shapes and sizes, previously imaged in patients, will be virtually 'operated on' in many possible ways. This will lead to the creation of software that will help neurosurgeons secure them against breaking and growing.
Chains on mountain hiking trails can be made of modified plastic instead of steel, which conducts electricity during storms. Scientists are working on a composite for use not only in the Tatra Mountains and the Karkonosze Mountains, but also in civil engineering, maritime transport and mining.
An international consortium including scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology is working on a method to test whether used timber is suitable for re-use in construction. The Ti-ReX project includes the selection of tests to assess the strength, fire resistance and moisture content of wood, as well as the data processing procedure for risk assessment.
A Polish scientist is working on a nanofibre biomaterial that can be injected directly into the fracture site. Ultimately, it will help patients whose bones heal too slowly or when this process is hampered by problems related to osteoporosis, among other things.
Scientists are now able to check how the ice mass is changing in Greenland and Antarctica, where measuring instruments cannot be installed. The new method involves determining changes in the Earth's shape based on observations of anomalies in the movement of artificial satellites and 'orbit memory'.
What are the dynamics of mouse behaviour when the animal is alone and when the mouse is in a group? How long does it take on average before a mouse starts looking for company or escapes from a place that is too crowded? The physics of such mouse interactions has been modelled by scientists from a Polish-French team.
Physical activity in winter supports the body's physiological defence mechanism against cold. It causes increased metabolism and stimulates the circulatory system, say scientists who have examined the impact of winter activity on somatic parameters, body composition and motor skills of men.
Scientists working in the Via Carpatia Polytechnic Network are developing innovative noise barriers from giant wind turbine blades that lie in landfills near wind farms.
Scientists have re-examined the remains of a prehistoric marine reptile found in the 20th century in the village of Załęcze Wielkie (Łódź province). This distant relative of modern crocodiles was about four metres long and had a visible jaw injury, which it probably suffered in the first years of its life.
