Most of us tend to associate CERN (in French Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire) with cutting-edge research, underground particle accelerators, and an ever more detailed knowledge of the world around us. At the same time, new smart technologies and engineering solutions are being developed at CERN in order to carry out such highly sophisticated experiments of fundamental physics. Ramūnas Aleksiejūnas, Professor at the Institute of Photonics and Nanotechnology of the Faculty of Physics of Vilnius University and Executive Director of the CERN-LT Consortium, outlines the reasons behind the establishment of CERN, the Lithuanians involved in its activities, and the applicability of the technologies developed there.

An increase in the morbidity rates for cold, flu and other respiratory infections is usually observed during autumn and winter. Some of these can be prevented by using vaccines. However, other infections require symptomatic treatment with medication. We talked to infectious diseases specialist, Professor Ligita Jančorienė from the Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos and the Faculty of Medicine at Vilnius University about all things relevant during the cold season – how to distinguish between respiratory diseases and how to know when antibiotics are actually needed or recommended.

The QS World University Rankings: Sustainability, an international university ranking agency, has published the rankings of higher education institutions globally, where Mykolas Romeris University (MRU) was evaluated for the first time. This year, 1397 universities around the world including 493 European universities have been ranked with regard to their contribution to Environmental impact (environmental sustainability, environmental research, environmental education), Social impact (knowledge exchange, impact of education, health & well-being, equality, employment and outcomes) and Governance. MRU was awarded the 268th position in Europe and the 637th position globally. Areas such as environmental sustainability, environmental research, impact of education, health and well-being, equality and university governance, were the highest rated. For more information please visit here.

The 2050 series has explored artificial education in the year 2050. We have investigated the dynamics within tertiary education, whether we will have institutions, and whether universities will look the same as they ever have. We want to explore this idea further and examine the brick-and-mortar buildings used to house intellect, knowledge, and cerebral development for millennia.

Lithuanian scientists discovered a way to reduce the cost of biodiesel production by adding the by-product of cigarette waste recycling.

The phrase insider threats is sometimes used in the public domain when talking about cyber security in organisations. But do we often think about what is behind this phrase? Insider threats are people who have or have had access to an organisation's assets or resources and whose actions could cause reputational or financial damage to the organisation. These resources could be sensitive customer data such as health records, sales and purchase transactions or the organisation's intellectual property.

A team led by Research Professor Gintautas Tamulaitis from Vilnius University Life Sciences Center (VU LSC) revealed a novel protection mechanism in CRISPR-Cas antiviral defense system. The article “Ribosomal stalk-captured CARF-RelE ribonuclease inhibits translation following CRISPR signaling” was published in the journal Science.

The heads of the Cultural Centers of the University of Lyon 1 and Vilnius University recently met at their respective institutions to launch a European cultural partnership in the framework of the Arqus Alliance.

When it comes to technological progress, most of the breakthroughs are expected from IT professionals, who offer more exciting, faster, and useful technological solutions to facilitate a wide range of tasks at work or in our personal lives. However, in the IT sector, specialists in other fields are equally important.

All people are different, so even people with the same genetic disorders may or may not develop the disease. The same medication can affect two people differently. Dr. Aušra Sasnauskienėis trying to find out what then happens at the level of cells: “A cell is the smallest unit of life. By studying it, we also learn about life.”