The Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw, one of the largest nonacademic biological research centres in Poland, celebrates its 100th anniversary. The Institute was established in 1918 by the Scientific Society of Warsaw. In 1945, after World War II, it was re-established in Łódź and in 1952 incorporated into the newly founded Polish Academy of Sciences. During the period of 1953–1955 a newly erected building at 3 Pasteur Street in Warsaw became the home of the Nencki Institute. Today, the Nencki Institute strives for excellence in basic research in the broad sense of biological sciences. Neurosciences and biological and molecular basic of civilization diseases represent two main research areas of the Institute in the context of the society needs to improve the quality of life. One of the strategic activities of the Institute is investments in bio- imaging.This has recently resulted in inclusion of the Institute in the EUROBIOIMAGING project of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). An excellent example of a synergy of basic and innovative studies is the Neurobiology Centre established at the Nencki Institute in 2010–2013 as part of a strategic project entitled the CePT. Additionally, the Nencki Institute trains nearly 200 PhD students under various programmes, including the H2020.
On 7 April 1968 the Club of Rome was established. In 1972 D.H. Meadows, D.L. Meadows, J. Randers and W.W. Behrens published The Limits to Growth as the first report to the Club of Rome – describing various scenarios for world development to 2100. Since that time the Club of Rome has developed in the world wide apolitical movement.
This article, written on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, focuses on the subsequent 100th anniversary of this event and the celebrations in a given historical context and in relation to the perception of the person of Martin Luther. Within 500 years of the memorable speech of the Reformation Father, which initiated the “Protestant reform” movement, at least every consecutive hundred years was celebrated as a special commemoration of this fact, which changed the course of European and World history and moved deeply into Christianity. The individual anniversary of the Reformation should therefore be considered in relation to social and political situation in Europe of that time, especially in Germany. It is no less important to draw attention to the figure of the founder of the Reformed Church, which has always focused, even today, on the celebration of the anniversary of the Reformation. The article presents the main themes of Martin Luther’s life in the context of his reform of Christianity and the basic ideas guiding his thoughts. Then, the development of the Reformation is analyzed, understood as the deepening of doctrine and the stabilization of practice, in the years after the death of the founder of the reform movement. Against this background, successive anniversaries of the Protestant reform are presented with regard to the religious and political situation in Europe and in the world, with particular emphasis on the last anniversary i.e. 500th anniversary of the Reformation and its perception in Protestant Churches as well as in the Catholic Church in the context of the development of the ecumenical movement.
The authors of this paper examine the ancient concepts of translatio, imitatio and aemulatio. The text goes over some problems of the heritage of antiquity and its reception in European culture of the early modern period. These questions were discusssed during the international conference “Heredes et scrutatores. Attitudes towards Antiquity in the Renaissance and in the Early Modern Period”, which was held on 19–20 May 2016 at the University of Warsaw. It celebrated the 200th anniversary of classical studies at this university. The conference seeked to explore the changing attitudes towards the heritage of classical antiquity in post-classical European culture. The scholars participating in the meeting tried to (re)examine the diversity of these attitudes in the period between the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern Times and to reflect on a number of related problems, among which were the theoretical viewpoints that had been suggested to describe this diversity. One of them, which gave its name to this conference, distinguishes between two general approaches: that of the “users”, concentrated on adapting the classical legacy by means of procedures inherited from the ancient Romans, and that of the “researchers”, which replaced the former procedures with ones typical of scholarly cognition. The participants discussed theoretical issues and concrete cases illustrating the ways that the intellectuals of the Renaissance and Early Modern Times approached the Greek and the Roman legacy. The connections between past and present attitudes towards antiquity have also been be the subject of the debate.
This is an analysis of the commentaries published in the Polish press in the wake of the celebrations of the 60th Anniversary of the World War II Victory Day in Moscow in 2005. In Poland these commemorations triggered a live debate which focused on the future of Polish-Russian relations, Russia’s strategic goals on the international scene, the Polish Eastern policy and the uses of history as a tool of state policy.
The article presents personal memories of Professor Aleksander Koj’s alumni. Professor Aleksander Koj was a world-class biochemist of significant scientific achievements, a renowned authority in the field of acute-phase response regulation and acute-phase proteins. He was an excellent academic, a true Master, admired and followed by many Polish biochemists. Thrice he served as the Rector of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków. He navigated the University through a difficult time of political transformation in Poland, modernized the management system of the University and led to the commencement of the construction of the new University campus. He was the co-creator and the first Chairman of the Conference of Rectors of Academic Schools in Poland. He will be remembered as a devoted community worker aiming at strengthening the bond between the Polish community abroad and our homeland, propagating knowledge, promoting the concept of European integration, democracy and tolerance, as well as the collaboration between scientists, artists and men and women of culture. He was wise, righteous, and noble. Many had the honor of calling him their friend, and a great many saw in him a moral authority.