The leaders of the MTA have decided that in order to limit the risks related to the recent coronavirus epidemic it will restrict all programmes to the bare minimum. Only unpostponable events will take place with the least possible number of participants.

The MTA-SE Momentum Molecular Oncology Hematology Research Group at Semmelweis University investigated molecular changes in the therapy of one of the most common types of adult leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Researchers have identified a molecular process that plays an important role in the drug resistance of cancer cells. The study was conducted in collaboration with the Research Centre for Molecular Medicine of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (CeMM), the University of Regensburg and the South Pest Hospital.

The Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA) launches a call for applications to establish new Lendület (“Momentum”) research teams 2020–2025

FameLab is the world’s leading science communications competition. It spotlights the science com-municators of tomorrow, who can show off their area of expertise in a truly engaging way. Make it funny, make it enlightening, make it jaw-dropping – the judges are looking for someone who can shine! Communicating science is an ever-growing priority for researchers worldwide. By making complex ideas accessible and attractive to the public they inspire future generations of scientists and increase general understanding of science and its role in society.

The new mission of the Academy was passed with a 93% majority during the 192nd Extraordinary General Assembly on 2 December 2019. The mission includes the guidance of all scientific sections as well as suggestions from members of the public body. The document was finalised by the Presidium of the Academy on 17 December 2019. Following is the final version of the document.

At the 22 January 2020 MTA Nomination Committee meeting, the secondary list of nominees was accepted. This list consists of the names of those who wish to be candidates for the given positions at the May 2020 MTA assembly for the election of officials.

CHEOPS, the newest space telescope of the European Space Agency (ESA), was launched on 18 December 2019 so that exoplanets close to Earth can be studied in detail. The goal is to identify possible Earth-like planets which possess the conditions which allow for the emergence of life. In the weeks since the launch, the first correction manoeuver was performed, and on 8 January 2020 CHEOPS’s on-board instruments were activated for the first time. The telescope cover will be opened on 27 January. Hungarian experts contributed to the construction of CHEOPS, and they are also participating in the scientific project.

This newly discovered connection may help save injured nerve cells and herald new therapeutic directions regarding strokes and other neurological disorders. The results of the research led by Ádám Dénes (Neuroimmunology Research Group, KOKI) were published in Science.

From the editor-in-chief of Nature to the president of EASAC and CERN's communications advisor, we've conducted a couple of flash interviews with various speakers of the World Science Forum. What have we learned from the reproducibility crisis? What are the advisors of European academies working on? Which directions should future particle physics explore? Listen to the recordings for the details!

Participants of WSF reinforced their commitment towards the ethical conduct of science, and called for the fulfilment of academic freedom in the world.