Popular sciences

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Description

The „Academia” magazine was founded on the initiative of Professor Andrzej B. Legocki, a President of the Polish Academy of Sciences in 2003 – 2006. In the beginning it was published only in English as a reply to the growing demand for a current information on the Polish Academy of Sciences` activities, expressed by foreign scientists and Poles living abroad and interested in Polish science.

Since 2005 the magazine is published both in Polish and English.

The „Academia” is an exceptional - on the Polish market - scientific magazine for the general public, propagating achievements of Polish scientists here and abroad. Authors of articles in „Academia” explain their subject in a way that is accessible not only for all sorts of academics but also for students, pupils and all other readers interested in scientific topics for the general public.

ISSN

1731-7401

Publishers

Polish Academy of Sciences

Editorial Staff

Jolanta Iwańczuk (Editor-in-Chief, Earth Sciences)

Daniel Sax (Editor, English-Language Version)

Marcin Pietras (Biological & Agricultural Sciences)

Justyna Orłowska (Journalist)

Andrzej Figatowski (Graphic Designer)

Anna Bielec (Project Coordinator)

Scientific Council

Marek Konarzewski, President of the Polish Academy of Sciences (Chairman)

Dariusz Jemielniak (Deputy Chairman)

Andrzej Buko

Katarzyna Czarnecka

Patrycja Dołowy

Paweł Golik

Janusz Jurczak

Tomasz Kapitaniak

Marek Krawczyk

Krzysztof Nowak

Anna Zawadzka

Publisher:

Polish Academy of Sciences

Communication and Science Information Department

Defilad sq. 1,

00-901 Warsaw, Poland

e-mail: academia@pan.pl

The journal content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
ttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Volumes

Select number

2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
- Nr 4 (40) 2013 Communication
- Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion
- Nr 1 (37) 2013 Borders
2012
2011
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004

Content

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion

1 Contents

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 3

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2 Editorial

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 3

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3 Aggresion: Hot and Cold

Jerzy Vetulani

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 4-7

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Abstract

The Ancient Greeks described many different impulsive behaviors, including mania - a religious frenzy - and /yssa - the mad fury of war. The division is analogous to that made by contemporary neurobiology, which classifies aggressive actions as cool or emotional, each driven by distinct, mutually exclusive neurological mechanisms.

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Authors and Affiliations

Jerzy Vetulani

4 Storks, Locustus, and Nero's Spies

Bogdan Żurawski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 8-11

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Abstract

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Authors and Affiliations

Bogdan Żurawski

5 Quasars and Dark Energy

Magdalena Krupa , Agnieszka Świętoń , Bożena Czerny , Agnieszka Pollo

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 12-15

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Abstract

The discovery that the Universe is expanding faster than we previously thought is one of the most fundamental findings in cosmology of recent years, but we are still some way from understanding precisely how this expansion occurs. Our team from the Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Centre and the Jagiellonian University is using quasars to try to unravel the mystery.

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Authors and Affiliations

Magdalena Krupa

Agnieszka Świętoń

Bożena Czerny

Agnieszka Pollo

6 The Sullen Humorist

Jerzy Jarzębski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 16-19

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Abstract

I can't remember when I first started reading Mrożek, but he was undoubtedly the writer of my generation - people born in the late 1940s and studying during the 1960s. He was our model ofliterature and humor - absurd humor, at that I remember a time when Czesław Miłosz wrote in an article reviewing my book about Gombrowicz ["Gra w Gombrowicza, 1982 - ed.} that while he couldn't deny my erudition, he was shocked that my views were so unbecoming of a Pole. He meant that he expected me to fall to my knees before Gombrowicz and confess my sins, or perhaps attack him - after all, what he wrote was harshly critical of Poland, our traditions and ethos. Meanwhile, we had just finished reading Mrożek, and were fully on his (and Gombrowicz's) side.

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Authors and Affiliations

Jerzy Jarzębski

7 With the Fury of a Shoemaker?

Janusz Tazbir

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 20-23

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Abstract

Devotees of every craft have their own particular type of passion. Ardent scholars of history and literature share a deep-burning desire to uncover the true meaning of various phenomena and concepts.

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Janusz Tazbir

8 Flowers of Beauty and Passion

Katarzyna Goller

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 24-26

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Abstract

Species belonging to the genus Passiflora have beautiful exotic flowers and edible fruit, appreciated for their intriguing taste. Although they grow and bloom best in tropical climates, they can also adapt to Polish weather conditions. Steeped in symbolism, the flowers' name evokes a certain sadness but their beauty is a true feast for the eyes.

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Authors and Affiliations

Katarzyna Goller

9 When the Whole Earth Mourns

Jacek Jackowski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 27-29

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Authors and Affiliations

Jacek Jackowski

10 Help for Forty Million

Joanna Romanowska

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 30-31

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Abstract

Contemporary medicine is able to keep HIV in check: patients taking a carefully selected combination of drugs are prevented from developing AIDS. And yet the number of new infections continues to grow, with up to 40 million people living with HIV around the world. New research into pronucleotides, conducted at the PAS Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, offers hope of potential new treatments.

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Authors and Affiliations

Joanna Romanowska

11 The Sixth Continent

Stanisław Rakusa-Suszczewski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 32-34

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Abstract

Antarctica's "oases" differ from the continent's ice-covered desert in terms of their climate, rocky landscape, and the presence of numerous lakes, shallow reservoirs, and streams that appear briefly in the summer. These oases vary in age from around 5,000 to around 15,000 years old and their development is linked to the glacial retreat.

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Authors and Affiliations

Stanisław Rakusa-Suszczewski

12 Intuition, Simplicity, Elegance

Marek Abramowicz

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 35

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Abstract

The Polish Astronomical Society first awarded the Bohdan Paczyński Medal during its 36th convention in Warsaw on 14 September 2013. The award was presented to Prof. Martin Rees from the University of Cambridge.

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Authors and Affiliations

Marek Abramowicz

13 I've Been Lucky With People

Adam Bielański

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 36-40

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Abstract

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Authors and Affiliations

Adam Bielański

14 60 Years of World-Class Physics

Leszek Sirko

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 42-43

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Abstract

This year's 60th anniversary of the PAS Institute of Physics offers an excellent opportunity to reflect on its accomplishments and attempt to define its role in the future.

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Authors and Affiliations

Leszek Sirko

15 As Delicate as a Satellite

Marcin Stolarski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 44-45

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Abstract

Dr. Marcin Stolarski is radio communication manager in the team responsible for Poland's first scientific satellites BRITE-PL. He is also involved in other projects, such as the Solar Orbiter satellite and the development of new radio systems based on software defined radio (SDR) technologies. He won the national Famelab competition and made it into the international final. He is currently at the University of California, attending a two-month training course for "Top 500 Innovators" organized by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

Marcin Stolarski

16 In Memory of Adrian Kin

Błażej Błażejowski

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 46-47

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Abstract

Born on 12 February 1979, Dr. Adrian Kin, a highly gifted and versatile young geologist and paleobiologist, died exactly one year ago. Admittedly, writing in the past tense about someone who passed away so recently is never easy, especially when this concerns someone who was not only a fellow scientist but also a friend.

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Authors and Affiliations

Błażej Błażejowski

17 An Accidental Discoverer

Kazimierz Kochman

ACADEMIA. The magazine of the Polish Academy of Sciences | 2013 | Nr 3 (39) 2013 Passion | 48-49

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Abstract

For must there not be some extraordinary circumstances to exalt the name of a professor from the history of Science to the general history of the human race? Honore de Balzac.

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Authors and Affiliations

Kazimierz Kochman