Whether it happened among distant stars, in Earth’s ancient past, or just recently, Slovak scientists continue to explore new questions about the world and our place in it.

This overview brings together some of the research achievements and discoveries made this year, as well as a selection of Slovak scientists who earned recognition for their contributions – though the list could easily be much longer.

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Shedding new light

Although the fate of our Sun – and, with it, Earth – lies far in the future, researchers remain fascinated by what it might look like. Discovering other star systems that have reached their end stages can reveal much about what awaits our own.

Earlier this year, an international team published a paper in Nature Astronomy, with Slovak astronomer Ján Budaj from the Astronomical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences as the first author. The study focused on a particular binary star that appears to have destroyed its own planetary system, leaving behind vast dust clouds – a scenario that may foreshadow the eventual fate of our Solar System. Observations from the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory in the High Tatras provided crucial support for the research.

Another Slovak researcher, Hana Jurikova from the University of St Andrews in Scotland, led an international team examining the role of carbon dioxide during one of Earth’s most intense ice ages, some 370 million years ago. While CO2’s role in today’s climate change is well understood, its function in ancient transitions between warm and cold periods remains less clear. Jurikova’s team employed a pioneering method of CO2 reconstruction from fossils – a technique she developed – to model how the gas shaped Earth’s climate at the time.

Still in the distant past, a team of scientists that included members of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) tackled Jurassic Park. Until now, there was no fossil evidence of biting insects from the Jurassic Period – or even any Jurassic amber. Their study identified both, confirming the existence of biting insects preserved in amber, though, as they note, that does not bring us any closer to resurrecting dinosaurs.

Moving closer to the present, Daniel Jablonski from the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava participated in a study that revealed surprising findings about an invasive species – the Asian black-spined toad, one of the world’s most poisonous. The research showed that what was long considered a single species is, in fact, two distinct ones. This discovery could improve models that predict how the species spreads in invaded regions.

A selection of recognised Slovak scientists

Martin Kahanec, co-founder and scientific director of the Central European Labour Studies Institute (CELSI), received multiple recognition just in the first half of the year. He was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Academia Europaea and appointed its vice-president, marking an important step for Slovak representation in this pan-European academy of sciences. Later, he became the first Slovak to join the European Commission’s Group of Chief Scientific Advisors (GCSA), which provides independent expert advice to guide EU policymaking.

According to the global research database RePEc, Kahanec ranks among the top 9 percent of economists in Europe and is Slovakia’s most productive in terms of academic output. His work focuses on labour markets, migration and economic policy.

Pavol Šajgalík, former chair of the SAV and a material scientist at its Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, was elected a member of the European Academy of Sciences. He also received a joint award from the European and American Ceramic Societies for his pioneering research in high-performance ceramics and his efforts to strengthen international collaboration in the field. Šajgalík has authored more than 200 papers and led several international projects.

A team from the Institute of Experimental Pharmacology and Toxicology at the SAV’s Centre of Experimental Medicine, known as SK-NETVAL, earned recognition from the US Society of Toxicology for developing in vitro testing methods that assess eye irritation using reconstructed human cornea models. Their work advances alternatives to animal testing and also won the 2025 Michael Balls Award for its potential to significantly reduce animal use in research. The editorial board called the paper “groundbreaking” as it “introduces robust, lab-tested methods for checking the safety of medical devices and eye medications without using animals”.

At the Biomedical Research Centre of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, several researchers were also honoured. Daniela Gašperíková, scientific director of the Institute of Experimental Endocrinology, received an award from both the Slovak and Czech Endocrine Societies for her long-term contributions to endocrinology and genetics research, particularly in monogenic diabetes and obesity.

Professor Barbara Ukropcová and Dr Jozef Ukropec were awarded the Sečanského Prize by the Obesity Section of the Slovak Diabetes Society for their work in physical activity and obesity management. Ukropcová leads the Centre for Physical Activity and the Centre for Obesity Management – the latter being the first Slovak institution accredited by the European Association for the Study of Obesity.

Daniela Antolová, from the Institute of Parasitology of the SAV, became a member of the European Reference Network for Rare Liver Diseases, which brings together leading European centres in the field. She also co-authored a paper published in The Lancet on the occurrence of alveolar echinococcosis – a serious parasitic disease caused by the fox tapeworm Echinococcus multilocularis.

A selection of research at institutions

• Polymer scientists created an elastic DNA model – SAV. It is difficult to come by a DNA model that one could touch and see its real mechanical and structural properties. The ones that exist are often incorrect in several ways. Slovak scientists have managed to create an elastic model that avoided the known deficiencies and disadvantages, and accurately depicts the key properties of DNA. The SAV submitted a Slovak priority patent application for the model.

• Scientists find a molecule that improves lung disease diagnosis – SAV; lead scientist Vladimír Leksa. Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis often associated with long Covid is one of the most severe lung diseases, but for a long time there were no known biomarkers indicating its onset. A team of scientists from several institutions was able to identify a molecule which was a specific and reliable biomarker.

• New materials that showed surprising superconductivity; SAV; lead scientist Gabriel Pristáš. In collaboration with Austrian colleagues, Slovak physicists were able to prepare high-entropy alloys in the form of thin films. These are used to modify the surfaces of cutting tools and in situations where resistance to extreme conditions are required. The team found that they also exhibit superconductivity and was able to enhance a property that may have been otherwise overlooked.

• Hybrid breathing metal-organic-framework glasses for indoor air quality – Alexander Dubček University of Trenčín; lead scientist Orhan Sisman. Developing air-permeable smart windows to monitor and reduce CO2 levels could be a radical solution for improving indoor air quality in buildings. The HyBreath Glass Project aims to pave the way for “artificial breathing with smart windows” by embedding functional electroactive materials into microporous MOF glasses to monitor and reduce CO2 levels in indoor public places.

• Method for the production of composite magnetic powders by autonomous grinding – Institute of Materials Research of the SAV. Materials scientists obtained an important patent in the field of mechanochemistry, in which chemical reactions are initiated by mechanical forces such as grinding, shearing, milling or mixing. Their research involves generating mechanical force by acoustic energy.