On Wednesday (30 Oct), the Government took an important decision to reorganise the Nature Research Centre into a public institution. The aim of the reorganisation is to ensure the quality of scientific research and experimental development with a view to providing a possibility of a more flexible use of research results and more efficient collaboration with business and social partners.

The new structure will better respond to the needs of the state, society and business, will promote Lithuania’s scientific progress and innovation development, and will increase international competitiveness. Further, it will contribute to Lithuania’s economic growth and creation of value-added by facilitating more active participation in the projects of international programmes.

The reorganisation of Nature Research Centre as a budgetary institution into a public institution will allow a more flexible use of existing assets and finances and will facilitate the generation of initial contributions for projects. This will enable a more efficient implementation of research projects and ensure a greater impact thereof.

The reorganisation is an important step not only for research, but also for Lithuania, seeking to strengthen the country’s positions in the international scientific arena.

The 18th Congress of International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS 2024) “Microorganisms for sustainable solutions: environmental and clinical implementations” was held in Florence, Italy, on 23-25 October 2024.

The main topics of the congress were bacteriology and applied microbiology, virology, mycology and eukaryotic microbiology.

Keynote presentations focused on the impact of global warming on the emergence of new infectious diseases (Arturo Casadevall), the declining microbiota (Martin J. Blaser), and the impact of the microbiota on host immunity (Yasmine Belkaid).

Nature Research Centre’s researchers were active participants of the congress:

• Dr. Elena Servienė, Head of NRC Laboratory of Genetics, moderated the electronic presentations session Food Microbiology and presented an oral presentation “Novel strategies for the antimicrobial protection of food products” (Servienė E., Stanevičienė R., Vepštaitė-Monstavičė I., Sereikaitė J., Valys A., Ravoitytė B., Lukša J.).
• Živilė Strazdaitė-Žielienė, NRC Laboratory of Genetics, presented a poster “Microorganisms distribution in Lithuanian farmland samples from water, soil, and feed” (Strazdaitė-Žielienė Ž., Lukša J., Paliovkinas D., Ucar A.M., Petrauskas M., Losinska-Sičiūnienė R., Servienė E.) at the session Microorganism Communities and Microbiomes.
• Bazilė Ravoitytė, NRC Laboratory of Genetics, presented a poster “Bacterial diversity in industrially reared black soldier fly larvae” (Ravoitytė B., Varnelytė G., Lukša J., Baltriukienė D., Burokas A., Servienė E.) at the session Microbiological Technology and Applied Microbiology.

More information is available at https://iums2024.com/

We evaluated the condition of the experimental fast-growing poplar plantation at the NRC Field Experimental Station after the first growing season together with project partners – Dr. Andrej Pilipovic, representative of the Natural Resources Research Institute and Manager of the Hybrid Poplar Research Group at the University of Minnesota, USA, and Dr. Mindaugas Šilininkas, Head of UAB “Euromediena”. Though the plantation had to endure a number of challenges this year, such as prolonged droughts, hurricane-force winds and even the robustness of deer antlers, the experts rated its condition as good and praised the responsible work of the specialists at our Field Experimental Station for their care of the saplings. In the coming spring, we intend to carry out an initial assessment of the height growth and vigour of the introduced poplars, and now, after thoroughly treating the trees with deer repellents, we leave them to hibernate.

The plantation is a unique, carefully managed and responsibly maintained area open to research by NRC scientists. Under a contract with the University of Minnesota, the poplar plantation will be used for annual monitoring of tree growth (biometric measurements, viability, phytosanitary assessment) and for a wide range of studies – from the physiology of the plants to the overall health of the new ecosystem. We invite you to take advantage of this new opportunity!

For more information about the plantation and its research prospects please contact Dr. Vaidotas Lygis, NRC Laboratory of Plant Pathology, e-mail: vaidotas.lygis@gamtc.lt).

In the Papilė outcrops alone, NRC scientists have collected and described more than 380 species of animals: foraminifera, pinnipeds, molluscs, echinoderms, fish, etc. The most abundant species counted were foraminifera (83), bivalves (41), and ammonites (25). The name Papilė (Akmenė district) is used in the paleontological names of several new species: brachiopods Rhynchonelloidella popilanica (Pusch), ammonites Indosphinctes (Elatmites) papilensis (Pakuckas), Binatisphinctes (Okaites) popilanicus (Krenkel), Cardioceras (Plastmatoceras) popilaniense Boden, bivalves Astarte (Astarte) papilensis Rotkytė. Thus, fossil names make Papilė famous in the world of science.

An interesting fact about the outcrops of the Papilė Jurassic system is that it is the oldest geological object studied in Lithuania (since 1825), and as early as in 1811, Dionizas Poška wrote about the “fossilised frogs” of Papilė in his poem “Gromata pas Tadeušą Časkį”.

Nowadays, there are no outcrops of Jurassic fossils available in Papilė, they can only be found on private properties or in quarries where minerals are mined, so agreements and permits are needed.

Jurassic fossil site in Papartynė (Akmenė district)

 

NRC Collections Department

At the end of October, Dr. Darja Dankina, Researcher at NRC Laboratory of Bedrock Geology,  visited the Institute of Natural Sciences in Brussels, Belgium (https://www.naturalsciences.be/en/museum). During this scientific visit, local museum curators shared their knowledge on the current state of palaeontological collections, their management and the care of fossils, and palaeontologists presented ongoing projects. The visit expanded the scientific network in the field of palaeontology and opened up new opportunities for collaboration, which will include the palaeontological collection at the Nature Research Centre.

On 5 November (Tuesday), 10:00, all are invited  to the  lecture-seminar “Academic Ethics in Science and the Challenges of Artificial Intelligence”. The event will discuss academic ethics norms and potential misconduct, as well as the ethical use of artificial intelligence in science.

Speaker:  Dr. Rima Sinickė, Office of the Ombudsmen for Academic Ethics and Procedures

Venue:  Nature Research Centre, Akademijos St. 2, Vilnius, Conference Hall (Room 101)

The lecture-seminar will be broadcast on the Teams platform: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjYxYjU4NTgtMDJkNi00YmNkLWJlZWYtMzFjOTMyODg3N2U0%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%2256ed073a-a1d9-466f-ad25-2489cf7b4677%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%229d317ec7-bc7d-4cc4-8b86-61be90f4203c%22%7d

Join the meeting now

Meeting ID: 371 755 737 278

Passcode: oXr5hD

 

Programme of the lecture-seminar:

10:00–10:50  Academic misconduct: plagiarism and unethical authorship

11:00–12:00  Guidelines for the ethical use of artificial intelligence in science and education

Discussion and questions

We invite you to actively participate and contribute to the debate!

 

Respectfully
Jūratė Karosienė
Chairperson of Academic Ethics Commission
Nature Research Centre
Akademijos St. 2, Vilnius
El. p. jurate.karosiene@gamtc.lt

From 16 October 2024, researchers of the Nature Research Centre participate in COST Action CA23116 “Open Palaeoecological Data – analysing the past building foresight (PalaeOpen)” (Action CA23116 – COST). Dr. Miglė Stančikaitė, Chief Researcher at the Laboratory of Quaternary Research, who participated in the preparation of the project proposal, was elected Lithuania’s representative in the COST Steering Committee, and a large number of NRC researchers (Dr. Vaida Šeirienė, Dr. Gražyna Kluczynska, Dr. Nick Schafstall, Dr. Domas Uogintas, PhD student Darius Valūnas, etc.) joined four working groups. Other interested researchers at the Nature Research Centre are free to contribute to the activities of this project (Action CA23116 – COST).

The paleoecological research, systematisation, interpretation and opening up of data planned in the context of COST Action CA23116 will provide a sound scientific basis for the formulation of measures for the protection, restoration and management of the natural environment and for environmental education and training of the public. The chronological and spatial identification of palaeodiversity crises or the assessment of the intensity and rate of palaeocommunity change in the context of changing climate are of paramount importance for decision-making in the management of the natural environment at the national and European Union levels. The nature and focus of the planned results lead to a very wide range of potential beneficiaries, including research and educational institutions, governmental and business entities, local communities and other societal group.

We have real evidence that sharks were swimming in Lithuanian waters. It wasn’t that long ago – just before 70-80 million years in the Cretaceous period. Dr. R. Mertinienė collected shark teeth in the outcrops of Neris and Šventoji rivers.
The Nature Research Centre’s collection contains around 10,000 shark teeth belonging to 21 species, 16 genera and 12 families.
Shark teeth are used to determine the age of geological strata and to more precisely define stratigraphic units.
Interestingly, the outcrops where shark teeth were found no longer exist – they have been eroded, washed away by river currents, or covered up. The shark teeth collection is therefore of inestimable value.
The Palaeontological Collection of the Nature Research Centre contains 0.5 million fossils.

On 18 October, postdoctoral research conference “Discoveries in Cultural Landscapes, Climate, Biodiversity, and Evolution: Insights from Postdoctoral Researchers at the Nature Research Centre” took place at the Natural Research Centre. During the conference, postdoctoral fellows shared their latest findings on cultural landscapes, climate, biodiversity and evolution.

The event was full of excitement, state-of-the-art research presentations and lively discussions. Follow the news about upcoming exciting events, and now please enjoy some images from the conference.