Science in Poland

22/05/2026

Experiencing acute pain can alter how people perceive the size and shape of their bodies and reduce satisfaction with their appearance, according to a study by researchers from the Jagiellonian University, the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice and the University of Lübeck.

The findings, published in the journal Pain, showed that experimentally induced pain caused participants to perceive the painful part of the body as larger and led to lower overall body satisfaction.

Researchers analysed how acute pain affects body image and sensory perception using a controlled experiment involving more than 90 participants without chronic pain. One group received a saline injection into the lower back that caused short-term pain, a second group received a simulated painless injection, and a third group served as a control.

The study found that only participants experiencing actual pain reported distortions in body perception.

“In everyday life, we do not notice this nature of body perception because the brain performs its functions extremely efficiently. However, under certain conditions, for example, under the influence of pain, distortions can occur,” said Aleksandra Budzisz, a psychologist at the Institute of Psychology at Jagiellonian University and the study’s lead author.

Instytut Psychologii UJ
Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego im. Jerzego Kukuczki w Katowicach
Universität zu Lübeck

Experiencing acute pain can alter how people perceive the size and shape of their bodies and reduce satisfaction with their appearance, according to a study by researchers from the Jagiellonian University, the Academy of Physical Education in Katowice and the University of Lübeck.

18/05/2026

The ancient Forum Romanum — the main public square and political heart of ancient Rome — may have played a more active role in shaping political communication than previously thought, according to new research.

A study by archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University and the Vienna University of Technology, published in the Journal of Roman Archaeology, suggests that changes in the Forum’s layout over time made it harder for large parts of the crowd to fully understand political speeches — particularly the gestures that accompanied them.

Institute of Archaeology, Jagiellonian University (Cracow)
TU Wien

The ancient Forum Romanum — the main public square and political heart of ancient Rome — may have played a more active role in shaping political communication than previously thought, according to new research.

18/05/2026

Scientists led by the Wrocław University of Science and Technology will develop a biomaterial designed to regenerate damaged bone and cartilage tissue under the REGENESIS project, an international initiative worth more than €1.4 million.

The project aims to create a layered bioactive implant for treating osteochondral injuries and restoring the interface between bone and cartilage, which researchers say current therapies often fail to repair fully.

“The material we are developing, called REGEniq, will have a layered structure, each layer designed to support the regeneration of a different type of tissue’, said Małgorzata Gazińska, research coordinator at the university.
Politechnika Wrocławska
Uniwersytet Gdański
Uniwersytet Łódzki
Institut "Jožef Stefan"
Université Laval
Biomomentum Inc.

Scientists led by the Wrocław University of Science and Technology will develop a biomaterial designed to regenerate damaged bone and cartilage tissue under the REGENESIS project, an international initiative worth more than €1.4 million.

18/05/2026

Technology that would allow hospitals to personalise the fortification of human milk for premature babies is being developed by Scientists from the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Medical University of Gdańsk.

The PreciousHMFstudy project aims to create a system that analyses the composition of breast milk and supplements missing nutrients according to the needs of individual newborns, particularly infants with very low birth weight.

“Human milk is the best food for them, but its composition is variable and in the case of preterm newborns, it often does fails to meet the nutritional needs such as protein or energy’, said Edyta Malinowska-Pańczyk from the Faculty of Chemistry at Gdańsk University of Technology, who leads the project.

She added that current fortification methods are largely based on estimation, while available milk fortifiers are usually derived from cow’s milk.

Gdański Uniwersytet Medyczny
Politechnika Gdańska

Technology that would allow hospitals to personalise the fortification of human milk for premature babies is being developed by Scientists from the Gdańsk University of Technology and the Medical University of Gdańsk.

18/05/2026

Previously unknown mechanisms used by viruses that infect bacteria to overcome bacterial defences, have been discovered by researchers from Jagiellonian University. The findings, published in PLOS Biology could open new paths for therapies targeting antibiotic-resistant infections, the researchers say.

The viruses, known as Bacteriophages, or phages, have evolved over billions of years to recognise and destroy specific bacterial strains. Interest in their medical use has increased as antibiotic resistance spreads, making some infections increasingly difficult to treat.

The researchers focused on Klebsiella pneumoniae infections, a major cause of hospital-acquired infections. The bacterium protects itself with a thick sugar capsule that acts as a chemical shield against the immune system.

Małopolskie Centrum Biotechnologii
Wydział Nauk Biologicznych Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego

Previously unknown mechanisms used by viruses that infect bacteria to overcome bacterial defences, have been discovered by researchers from Jagiellonian University. The findings, published in PLOS Biology could open new paths for therapies targeting antibiotic-resistant infections, the researchers s...

17/05/2026

Lower respiratory tract infections, mainly pneumonia and acute bronchiolitis, remained the world’s leading infectious causes of death in 2023, accounting for 2.5 million deaths globally, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The report, titled “Global burden of lower respiratory infections and aetiologies, 1990–2023: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2023,” estimated that such infections also caused nearly 99 million years of life lost due to premature death or disability last year.

The study found that mortality among children under five has fallen by one-third since 2010, largely due to expanded vaccination programmes. However, researchers said pneumonia is increasingly becoming a disease concentrated at two ends of the age spectrum: young children and adults over 70.

The heaviest burden now falls on older people, who currently experience the highest death rates from lower respiratory tract infections worldwide.

Lower respiratory tract infections, mainly pneumonia and acute bronchiolitis, remained the world’s leading infectious causes of death in 2023, accounting for 2.5 million deaths globally, according to a new analysis published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

17/05/2026

Scientists from the University of Warsaw and Lodz University of Technology have identified what they say are the earliest chemical traces of fermented alcoholic beverages in northeastern Poland, after analysing 4,500-year-old ceramic vessels linked to the Bell Beaker culture.

Uniwersytet Warszawski
Politechnika Łódzka

Scientists from the University of Warsaw and Lodz University of Technology have identified what they say are the earliest chemical traces of fermented alcoholic beverages in northeastern Poland, after analysing 4,500-year-old ceramic vessels linked to the Bell Beaker culture.

17/05/2026

A Polish-designed onboard computer, LeopardISS, has been successfully tested aboard the International Space Station, where it was used to run autonomous navigation and Earth-observation algorithms directly in orbit, according to its developers at KP Labs.

The system, developed by the Gliwice-based company KP Labs, is a compact, screenless cube designed for operation in harsh space conditions. It connects directly to onboard sensors, including hyperspectral cameras, and processes data in orbit rather than sending raw information to Earth.

“The computer's architecture, its thermomechanical design, and the management software are our proprietary solutions”, Julia Marushchak of KP Labs told PAP.

A Polish-designed onboard computer, LeopardISS, has been successfully tested aboard the International Space Station, where it was used to run autonomous navigation and Earth-observation algorithms directly in orbit, according to its developers at KP Labs.

17/05/2026

Researchers from Poland and China have developed a method for printing microscopic structures directly onto the end of optical fibres to generate so-called vortex beams, a technology seen as a potential route toward higher-capacity optical communication systems.

16/05/2026

People who use psychedelic substances process emotions differently and may recognise threats more quickly and accurately than non-users, according to a new study by researchers at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

The findings, published in the journal Human Brain Mapping, are based on brain imaging research comparing people who had used psychedelics at least 10 times in their lives with individuals who had never used such substances.

Researchers from the university’s Brain Research Centre found that users of psychedelics responded faster and more accurately when identifying anger in facial expressions, a result they say may indicate more effective processing of threat signals.

“It turned out that users of psychedelics were faster and more accurate in recognizing anger in other people's faces. This effect was specific to this emotion, and no similar differences were observed for fear or joy. This may indicate that users of psychedelics process threat signals more effectively. Interestingly, this was not due to impulsivity. Typically, faster, impulsive reactions are associated with more errors, but in this case, the opposite was true: the reactions were both faster and more accurate”, said Michał Bola, who led the study.
Centrum Badań Mózgu

People who use psychedelic substances process emotions differently and may recognise threats more quickly and accurately than non-users, according to a new study by researchers at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow.

16/05/2026

Scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology have developed a computational imaging method that can precisely measure semiconductor nanostructures from a single optical image, potentially speeding up quality control in photonic chip manufacturing and quantum technologies.

Wydział Mechatroniki Politechniki Warszawskiej

Scientists from the Warsaw University of Technology have developed a computational imaging method that can precisely measure semiconductor nanostructures from a single optical image, potentially speeding up quality control in photonic chip manufacturing and quantum technologies.