A publication by the members of the MTA-PTE High-Field Terahertz Research Group and the Institute of Physics in Optica journal.

How do neuromodulatory subcortical systems interact in the course of learning? This is the question Balázs Hangya, the leader of the Lendület Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience in the Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA-KOKI) is attempting to answer. He has just been awarded a 1.5 million euro grant for his research project by the Starting Grant Program of the European Research Council (ERC). In the long run, his research can help in the understanding of the cognitive disorders characterising Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

A much larger than previously estimated ratio of the low abundant isotope oxygen-17, formed in red giants, transforms into other isotopes during a nuclear reaction, which until recently was not widely known. The result may redefine present models about the origin of chemical elements and the inner workings of stars. The experiments have been conducted within the framework of the collaborative international LUNA project, with the participation of MTA Atomki researchers in the Gran Sasso Science Institute in Italy.

The inaugural lecture of Marlan O. Scully newly elected honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences took place at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences on 10 October, 2016.

The Kepler space telescope has been hunting for exoplanets along the ecliptic plane, and it has brought our Solar System into its view as well.

According to researchers relevant disease model systems should be combined with the latest methods of genome editing, micromanipulation and IT processes.

Do we really eat poorer quality bread than our ancestors? What harm have the many decades use of artificial fertilizers and chemical pesticides done to our farmlands? How could bacteria, algae and fungi help establish a more sustainable agriculture? The MTA and the Hungarian Society for Microbiology sought to answer these questions during a conference held at the Academy and with the support of the American Society for Microbiology.

Over the past 60 years the primary aim of doctors has always been to attempt to completely eliminate tumours. However, some tumour cells survive even the most drastic therapies. These can later build up to a second tumour, which may be even more difficult to combat. The limitations of traditional therapy suggest that instead of attempting to eradicate cancer completely, it should rather be kept at bay.

From science studies to research evaluation to science policy, there is an increasing need for trustworthy information on how the system of science is organized and evolving, where research fronts are located and so on. The branch of scientometrics called science mapping has developed a wide variety of methods to address such issues.

Which areas of the brain cooperate during the process of learning? How can fuels be produced from flue gases? How does the formation of new planets commence in circumstellar disks of dust? The researchers of these subjects have won a considerable amount from the ERC’s Starting Grants call.