The root of the bacterial phylogeny, that is, the common ancestor of all living bacteria, was explored by Gergely Szöllösi, the leader of the Lendület (Momentum) Evolutionary Genomics Research Group at ELTE, and his British and Australian colleagues, with a novel approach. As their article in Science shows, the root of the tree was at a different location from where previously supposed.

Today, several vaccines are available as effective means of fighting the pandemic. The operation of the various vaccines is based on different principles, but the immune reaction, which prepares our body for defence against a future infection, is the same. The animation below, prepared by the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, shows how this immune reaction is created and its subsequent effect. Anna Erdei, Vice Secretary-General of MTA and Professor of Immunology at ELTE TTK, led the team that prepared this short video.

The potential health effects of the introduction of fifth generation (5G) telecommunication systems have raised a number of questions among the general public and professionals. As a result, the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has set up an ad hoc 5G Working Committee to arrive at an opinion on the health effects of 5G mobile technology. The resulting document can be downloaded in the article.

The world-renowned physicist Andrei D. Sakharov (1921–1989) was ‘the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb’ and, as such, an architect of the Soviet superpower. He developed into a fierce fighter for human rights, distinguished by the Nobel Peace Prize. In his words, ‘my fate was larger than what would have followed from my personality. I was merely trying to be worthy of my fate.’ His life and career provide thought-provoking lessons and is worthy of review on the eve of his centennial. Article by István Hargittai.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters has decided to award the Abel Prize for 2021 to László Lovász of Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest, Hungary and Avi Wigderson of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, USA, “for their foundational contributions to theoretical computer science and discrete mathematics, and their leading role in shaping them into central fields of modern mathematics”

Mauro Santos, evolutionary biologist at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, spent some months at the ELKH Centre for Ecological Research (MTA Excellence Research Site) as a participant in the Distinguished Guest Scientist Fellowship Programme of MTA, on the request of director Eörs Szathmáry, academician. Santos dedicated his time here to some major unsolved problems in evolutionary biology, from the formation of chromosomes to the evolutionary effects of ageing. Our interview with him reveals that the pandemic might lead to new possibilities for theoretical scientists.

Researchers at Birmingham University, led by Gergely Toldi, Institute of Immunology and Immunotherapy, who is a member of the Academy of Young Researchers, have proved that the number of regulatory T cells in the immune system of babies exclusively breastfed is significantly higher in the first three weeks of their lives than in the immune systems of babies fed with formula milk only. This adds to the health advantages of breastfeeding, some of which have effects lasting until adulthood.

As the efficacy of the first coronavirus vaccines has been proven and mass vaccinations are scheduled to start in the near future, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are now justified in hoping that our lives will go back to normal within the foreseeable future. However, what we consider as “normal” is not good in the long run in every respect. The European Academies Science Advisory Council’s (EASAC) recent report urges transformative changes to secure a sustainable future.

After Barcelona, Bergen, Cardiff, Tbilisi, and Wrocław, Budapest will be home to the newest Academia Europaea knowledge hub. The Hungarian knowledge centre will be headed by Academic Director László Lovász, whose term as President of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) ended this summer. Video of the 9 December opening ceremony is available at mta.hu.