24 scientists from the Biology Centre CAS are ranked among the top 2 % of the world's most cited scientific authors. The list of the best scientific authors is published annually by Elsevier according to an analysis by Stanford University. The datasets are based on the Scopus database and include all scientific disciplines.
How did insect wings originate? This is a question that represents an unsolved mystery of insect evolution. Despite many years of research, it is still not entirely clear from which body structure insect wings actually evolved and what their original function was when they were not yet efficient enough to perform active flight. Scientists from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences...
The decline of insect populations has attracted worldwide interest in times of global warming and changing environment, but we have only rudimentary knowledge about the biodiversity and abundance of insects in the high mountains in tropical regions. Even what nutrients limit insects in nature is still not well understood. This knowledge is important because of the increasingly frequent climatic...
Jiunn Luh Tan, a dedicated PhD student at the Institute of Entomology and Faculty of Sciences, University of South Bohemia, achieved a remarkable accolade at the 8th Meeting of the IOBC-WPRS Working Group on "Integrated Control of Plant-Feeding Mites" held in Belgrade, Serbia, from September 4th to 7th, 2023. Tan received the prestigious "Best PhD Student Oral Presentation Award" for his...
Most living creatures need to synchronize their rhythmic biological functions with the 24-hour day/night cycle of Earth. Instead of pocket watches or cell phones, they use intracellular molecular clocks to anticipate the daily recurring changes and adjust their activity, metabolism, and biochemical processes to a 24-hour day/night regime. Those circadian clocks are at the genetic level...
In a groundbreaking study led by Katerina Sam from Biology Centre of Czech Academy of Sciences and University of South Bohemia, the team of researchers delved into the intricate dynamics of flying vertebrate predators and ants, unravelling their impact on arthropod densities and herbivory along the elevational gradient of Mt. Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea.
Serial block-face scanning electron microscopy (SBF-SEM or SBEM) is a state-of-the-art groundbreaking technique that offers volume imaging of ~1 mm3 large biological objects at nanometer-scale resolution. We have successfully applied the minimal resin (MR) embedding method to the sample preparation protocol and showed that this simple approach tackles simultaneously two major problems of...
Plants produce an astonishing diversity of various chemicals. So far, more than 200,000 different plant metabolites have been described. Individual specialized metabolites help plants cope with detrimental abiotic factors or defend themselves against natural enemies, such as herbivores and pathogens. While we understand the functions of some of these metabolites in plants, we still seek...
They work on billion-dollar cures, find the perfect sperm, push the boundaries of physics, or figure out why populists are so successful. Meet 23 top Czech women scientists across a range of fields, which were ranked by the Forbes magazine for 2023. Kateřina Sam from the Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences is among them.
Population genomics is a fast-developing research area, now focusing more and more on non-model organisms, such as diverse groups of insects. However, does genomics have any potential to contribute to insect conservation?
