Taboos can act as cultural protective mechanisms that reduce the risk of disease, help people survive in difficult environments, strengthen social bonds and define boundaries between groups, says psychologist Michał Misiak, PhD, from the University of Wrocław, who is leading an international study of taboos in different cultures.
A protein normally involved in the production of sperm and eggs can be hijacked by breast cancer cells to repair DNA damaged by chemotherapy, helping tumours survive treatment, an international team including Polish scientists has found.
Poland is joining the race to develop spacecraft that can repair, refuel and protect satellites in orbit, with the country preparing to build its first unmanned servicing vehicle.
Europe's primeval landscape was not an endless expanse of dense forest as long believed, but a patchwork of woodland, meadows and grasslands maintained by large grazing animals, according to a new study.
More than eight in 10 people taking part in a recruitment experiment preferred slim candidates over overweight applicants when presented with identical qualifications, according to a Polish study highlighting the hidden impact of weight bias in the workplace.
People's clothes caught fire, shoes exploded, and large pieces of rock flew through the air like projectiles. These were the events on Poland’s Mt. Giewont on August 22, 2019, when an exceptionally powerful lightning strike hit a large group of people attempting to evacuate from the summit area.
A team of scientists from the University of Minnesota, led by Polish researcher Katarzyna (Kate) Adamala, has created a synthetic cell capable of taking in nutrients, growing and dividing using only non-living components. The achievement, reported by Science, marks the most advanced step so far towards building a synthetic equivalent of a living cell from scratch.
Polish scientists have begun analysing drug samples that spent 14 months aboard the International Space Station to determine whether medicines can survive the harsh radiation of future missions to the Moon and Mars.
Scientists have developed a tumour classification system based on epigenetic changes that can distinguish nearly 50 types of cancer with high accuracy, a breakthrough that could eventually allow molecular testing to complement or partially replace conventional histopathology.
Important information about the gut microbiome may be lost before DNA sequencing data are even analysed, potentially affecting future efforts to diagnose disease, monitor antibiotic resistance and develop personalised medicine, according to a study by Polish and Estonian researchers.
Taboos can act as cultural protective mechanisms that reduce the risk of disease, help people survive in difficult environments, strengthen social bonds and define boundaries between groups, says psychologist Michał Misiak, PhD, from the University of Wrocław, who is leading an international study of taboos in different cultures.
