Wir sitzen nun schon alle seit geraumer Zeit in unseren eigenen vier Wänden fest. Doch wir sind auf gar keinen Fall allein! Unsere Enzymfreunde, die Enzos, sind zu Besuch am Frühstückstisch und während ich mir ein Müsli mit Milch mache, sitzen die Enzos schon da. Die Laktase rutscht aufgeregt hin und her und meint: „Weißt du, dass meine Freunde genau in diesem Moment ganz wichtig für dich sind? Die Laktasen in deinem Darm spalten nämlich den Milchzucker! Menschen mit Lactoseintoleranz haben keine Laktasen und leiden dann an Bauchweh oder Durchfall, wenn sie Milchprodukte essen.“ Die anderen Enzos wollen plötzlich auch mitreden und erklären mir, dass man aus Milch auch Joghurt und Käse herstellen kann. Gesagt – getan: Voller Vorfreude beschließen wir, heute Käse selber herzustellen.

Frauen und Mädchen in der Wissenschaft stellen in vielen Ländern der Welt eine soziologische ,,Rarität‘‘ dar. Dieses gesellschaftliche Phänomen wurde in den letzten Jahren weltweit immer öfter in den Fokus diverser Geschlechterstudien gestellt. Viele von diesen Studien tragen in erster Linie zu einer statistischen Definition dieses Phänomens bei. Dadurch wird das geschlechtliche Präsenzungleichgewicht in der Wissenschaft zunehmend als ein gesellschaftliches Problem erkannt. Auf der Suche nach der Erklärung der bereits mehrere Jahrhunderte lang existierenden Dominanz der Männer in der Wissenschaft werden auch Vergleiche zwischen den Ländern und Regionen der Welt gezogen.

That special day I have got an email about open positions in Barcelona within H2020-MSCA-RISE acib project NEOSETAC. MSCA-RISE … I have seen this abbreviation many times before, written on diverse scientific publications, but I have never asked myself about the meaning. So finally, I have asked Google and I found the almost 70 pages counting ‘’Guide for Applicants’’ for Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions – Research and Innovation Staff Exchange program (MSCA-RISE). Quite complicated for someone who had nothing to do with this kind of literature before. Attracted by the breast cancer research topic of NEOSETAC, I decided to apply for that position, and this was the beginning of a big adventure: I spent 5 secondment months in Spain last year.

A new development in the European framework programs for research and innovation is catching attention: the lump sum pilot. First implementations are in progress already in Horizon 2020 and intensified for the next framework program Horizon Europe. What does it mean for the research community and which changes do we expect?

The modern business world is using a new buzzword: “Open innovation”. What does it mean? How “open” do we need to be? What could be the benefit? And what does it look like in reality?

Research funding is a highly competitive process and only a small fraction of applicants get the grant in the end. EU-Horizon 2020, with almost 80 billion Euros the largest research program worldwide, has an average success rate of only 14%. What is the secret of success of those, who have made it? 

Conference season has already started and scientists begin to mingle and present their latest achievements. The lecture rooms are flooded with an overwhelming number of data sets and graphs and crowded PowerPoint slides are the norm. What makes the difference between a good and an excellent presentation is not only the content and the speaker, but also the design of the presentation itself. But, do scientist really have time for that?

The last conference I attended had 455 poster presentations divided into 3 designated poster sessions (2 hours each). If we do the math, this would leave one with less than a minute for reading each and every poster. Of course, this is not how poster sessions work; however, it nicely illustrates how much competition you face as a poster presenter. Designing your poster well can give you an edge when it comes to getting recognition for your work.

Co-author: Sabrina Mayer-Maschl

On Friday, April 13th 2018, it was time to experience the world of science and research! Despite the not very promising date, the organizers expected a large number of visitors to come. During the 8th Long Night of Research, Austria’s largest nationwide research event, current science projects, new findings and technologies were presented in understandable and entertaining ways. With 228.000 visitors a new record was achieved. This shows the steadily growing interest in the research topics of the future.

It’s already been a year since the acib science blog was officially launched. Birthdays are a good time to reflect, and the last year have given us much to reflect on! When the acib blog was still in its infancy, Katrin Weinhandl, former chief editor and one of the initiators of this project, played a decisive role by setting up a well thought-through editorial plan to transform scientific content into understandable posts. After she left the company, she introduced us (Olivia Laggner and Sabrina Mayer-Maschl) to become the new chief editors.