An international team of astronomers, among them researchers from the OGLE sky survey run at the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw, as well as from the Gaia Alert System, announced in Science the discovery of a new class of exoplanets: free-floating planets. Research was co-funded by the National Science Centre.

Free-floating planets are objects that roam the Milky Way on their own, not gravitationally bound to any star. The discovery was made possible by directly “weighing” a planet detected through a phenomenon known as gravitational microlensing, designated KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516. Its mass is estimated at about 70 times the mass of Earth.

Artist’s impression of the microlensing event KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516, observed simultaneously from ground-based observatories and by the Gaia satellite. Credit: J. Skowron / OGLE The possibility of worlds beyond Earth, or even extraterrestrial civilizations, has fascinated humanity for centuries. However, it was only about 30 years ago that the first planets orbiting Sun-like stars were discovered, giving rise to a new field in experimental astronomy: the study of exoplanets. Over the past few decades, this field has developed at an astonishing pace, revealing ever more secrets of alien worlds and demonstrating that our Solar System is just one of many planetary systems in the Universe, and not necessarily a unique one. Until now, however, all known exoplanets were found in systems gravitationally bound to their host stars, orbiting around them.

For many years, astronomers have realized that planets do not have to exist only in such bound systems. As a result of various processes, such as gravitational interactions with other planets during the formation of planetary systems or close flybys of neighboring stars, planets can be torn from their parent systems and ejected into interstellar space. These solitary planets, known as free-floating or rogue planets, then wander through the Milky Way without being tied to any star. Theoretical estimates suggest that their number could be very large, possibly even exceeding the number of planets bound to stars.

The idea of free-floating planets, and even the possibility that some form of life might exist on them, has fired the imagination not only of scientists, but also of science fiction writers. In recent years, many novels and film scripts have been set on such lonely, starless worlds drifting through the vast emptiness of the Milky Way.

But how can such planets be discovered and proven to exist if they do not emit light and do not interact with a parent star? The answer lies in gravitational microlensing, a technique that allows astronomers to measure the mass of an object that bends light. In practice, microlensing occurs when the light from a distant star is bent and amplified by the gravity of a closer object, called the lens. Because this effect does not depend on how bright the lens itself is, the method can detect dark, non-luminous bodies, even if the planet itself emits no light at all. The duration of a microlensing event generally depends on the mass of the lens. For objects with planetary masses, such events are very short, lasting only a few to several hours.

In 2017, astronomers from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment (OGLE) project published results from a search for free-floating planets based on several years of intensive observations of about 50 million stars toward the Milky Way bulge. Among these, they discovered several thousand gravitational microlensing events with timescales ranging from hours to hundreds of days.

These observations indicated that free-floating planets should be quite numerous, but contrary to earlier claims, most of them should likely be low-mass planets rather than more massive, Jupiter-like ones, says Dr. Przemek Mróz, the first author of this groundbreaking study published in Nature.

Soon afterward, more promising candidates for free-floating planets were identified. Unfortunately, to directly determine a planet’s mass, astronomers need to know the distance to the lensing object. From Earth-based observations alone, this is possible only in exceptional and extremely rare cases. As a result, these objects remained candidates: depending on their unknown distance, their masses could be larger (even exceeding the range usually associated with planets) or smaller. Today, about a dozen such candidates are known. The least massive among them can have a mass as small as that of Mars. Nevertheless, despite being highly likely, the existence of free-floating planets had not yet been conclusively proven. No one had managed to directly measure the mass of such an object and confirm that it was truly a planet rather than a more massive body, such as a brown dwarf.

A free-floating planet gravitationally microlensing a distant star in the Galactic center. Two magnified images of the source star surround the Einstein ring of the event. All previously known planets orbit their host stars in gravitationally bound systems. Credit: J. Skowron, K. Ulaczyk / OGLE. A breakthrough came with observations made on May 3, 2024. Using telescopes from the Korean KMTNet network (located in Australia, South Africa, and Chile), together with the OGLE telescope at the Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, astronomers recorded a short-lived gravitational microlensing event involving a bright star near the center of the Galaxy. According to convention, the event was named KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516. Soon after the event ended, it became clear that the shape of the brightness variations matched predictions for microlensing caused by a free-floating planet. The event immediately joined the list of the most promising free-floating planet candidates.

Astronomers soon realized that the region of the sky where this microlensing event occurred was being observed at the same time by the European Space Agency’s flagship mission, Gaia, which between 2014 and 2025 carried out regular photometric observations of about two billion stars across the entire sky. Gaia was not designed to observe very short-lived events, as it typically revisits the same region of the sky only every 30 days. Once again, however, extraordinary luck was on the astronomers’ side. Not only did the satellite observe this region during the brief, two-day-long event, but due to a particularly favorable orbital configuration, it collected as many as six photometric measurements within 15 hours, precisely during the most important moments, when the light amplification caused by the lensing object was strongest.

At that time, the Gaia satellite was located nearly two million kilometers from Earth, at the so-called L2 Lagrange point, a location especially well-suited for long-term astronomical observations from space. The simultaneous observations of the microlensing event KMT-2024-BLG-0792/OGLE-2024-BLG-0516 from Earth and from Gaia created a unique opportunity to measure the distance to the lens through the so-called microlensing parallax. The idea is similar to triangulation on Earth or to measuring distances to nearby celestial bodies by observing them from two different locations. Gaia’s photometric data were transmitted to Earth only in July 2024, at which point the Gaia Alert System team announced the event as an alert named Gaia24cdn.

An analysis of the microlensing data collected from the ground by the KMTNet and OGLE telescopes, together with the space-based data from Gaia, showed that the overall shape of the event as seen from both observatories, separated by about two million kilometers, was similar. However, the event recorded by Gaia occurred about two hours later than the one seen from Earth. This time shift made it possible to precisely determine the distance to the lensing object and the parameters of the microlensing event, which in turn allowed a direct and accurate measurement of its mass. The result showed that the object has a planetary mass of about 0.22 Jupiter masses, i.e., 70 Earth masses – slightly smaller than the mass of Saturn in our own Solar System. No evidence was found for the presence of a possible host star within more than 20 astronomical units (the Earth–Sun distance) of the planet. With very high confidence, the newly discovered object can therefore be considered unbound to any star - it is the first precisely “weighed” free-floating planet.

The discovery and direct mass measurement of a free-floating planet marks a major breakthrough in exoplanet research. It represents the first fully documented detection of an entirely new category of exoplanets: a vast and previously unexplored population of planetary objects whose study is essential for a complete understanding of how planetary systems form and evolve.

This is the discovery of the decade, comparable to the discovery of the first well-documented exoplanets in the 1990s, says Prof. Andrzej Udalski, leader of the OGLE project and corresponding author of the Science paper. Astronomers can finally be sure that objects of this kind really exist in the Universe.

The discovery of the first free-floating planet will undoubtedly provide a strong impetus for further intensive research on this class of objects. As early as 2026, NASA’s Roman Space Telescope mission is scheduled for launch, with the detection and study of free-floating planets as one of its main goals. During this mission, many such objects are expected to be discovered and characterized, allowing their properties to be studied in detail. Another upcoming mission is the Chinese Earth 2.0 satellite, planned for launch in 2028, which will also search for free-floating planets. There is therefore a strong chance that within just a few years we will know how numerous these lonely planetary wanderers of the Milky Way truly are.

Paper presenting results of these studies appeared on January 1, 2026 in Science.

The first transnational Dioscuri Symposium in Krakow showcased the achievements of the Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence to date, and sparked discussions on the responsibility of science towards society, as well as science communication. The fifth Dioscuri call will be launched in the first half of 2026.

Dioscuri Symposium The first transnational Dioscuri Symposium took place at the National Science Centre in Kraków on 3–4 November 2025, bringing together around one table the leaders of the Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence from Poland and the Czech Republic, members of their research teams, administrative coordinators of the Dioscuri Centres, research partners from Germany and representatives of the Scientific Advisory Boards. The discussions were also attended by members of the Dioscuri Committee, chaired by Prof. Joachim Sauer with Vice-Chair Prof. Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, as well as the Director of the National Science Centre Poland (NCN), Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, and the Vice President of the Max Planck Society (MPG), Prof. Christian Doeller. Representatives from the diplomatic sphere, including delegates from the German Ministry of Science and the Ministry of Sport, Culture and Youth of the Czech Republic, followed the deliberations. The research-funding organizations were represented by the Dioscuri Programme Coordinators at NCN and MPG, responsible for the symposium: Dr Małgorzata Jacobs-Kozyra (NCN), who chaired the event together with Dr Agnes Limmer (MPG).

Dioscuri – high impact

Presentation by Mikołaj Frączyk, Jagiellonian University The aim of the Dioscuri Symposium was not only to showcase the frontiers of research conducted at the Dioscuri Centres at both PI and early-career levels, but also to address the topic of science communication and to provide targeted training sessions. In a session moderated by Prof. Ulman Lindenberger, the audience heard ten presentations by leaders of the Centres of Scientific Excellence and ten presentations by ECRs, spanning the wide scientific spectrum represented in the Centres - from cell biology and optics to theoretical and applied mathematics. Discussions highlighted the substantial impact of the ongoing research on the development of their respective disciplines, as well as the high-risk, high-gain nature of the projects. Particular attention was drawn to the poster session featuring early-career researchers, who presented their sub-projects and thereby demonstrated the Centres’ broad research scope - further emphasising the autonomy of the Leaders in their supervision and the creation of new leadership in science through the funding of these Centres of Excellence.

Science communication in an era of declining trust in science

Keynote by Christian Doeller, Max Planck Gesellschaft Prof. Christian Doeller, Vice President of the Max Planck Society honored the symposium with a keynote speech. He introduced the relevance of science-communication mechanisms not only from the perspective of individual scientists but also from the vantage point of research-performing and research-funding institutions. The keynote highlighted the responsibility of science towards society as a key aspect of science communication. Therefore he advocated for communication channels tailored to specific audiences but also encouraged to proactively seek opportunities for communication. Prof. Doeller illustrated the importance of science communication by showing how scientific work can be framed in relation to current events or societal phenomena.

His narrative referenced the forthcoming Olympics in Rio de Janeiro: while the scientists’ paper focused on achieving electron-microscopic resolution of the human actomyosin complex, the research news began with Usain Bolt and the question of why he is the fastest person on Earth - explaining that this can be understood by examining the interplay of muscle proteins at such high resolution.

Finally, the keynote addressed the issue of declining public trust in science. He pointed out that the algorithms on social media do not distinguish between serious, fact-based information and misinformation. A study investigated how many climate-change-related videos produced by scientific institutions reach 100,000 views: only two did. By contrast, twenty chemtrail-conspiracy videos reached that threshold. Raising the threshold to one million views removes scientific organisations from the sample entirely - leaving one video by a YouTube influencer and three conspiracy videos. Prof. Doeller clearly stressed the importance of science communication performed by both communication professionals as well as professional scientists to counter this global trend.

Dioscuri as a European success story

The symposium also provided space for a critical and constructive discussion on the opportunities, challenges and future of the Dioscuri Programme, chaired by Prof. Marta Miączyńska, Head of IIMCB.

The National Science Centre opened this discussion by announcing the upcoming fifth call for proposals for two interdisciplinary Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence in Poland. Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwiak, Director of NCN, together with Prof. Christian Doeller, Vice President of the Max Planck Society, invited the scientific community to apply - emphasising the programme’s openness to all scientific disciplines and its focus on research excellence and interdisciplinarity.

The debate further addressed expectations regarding the Dioscuri Programme from the perspectives of the scientific communities in Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the programme’s achievements to date, which could form the basis for a future initiative of this kind.

To round up the Symposium Programme a set of training sessions offered opportunities to acquire new skills: a Planck Academy workshop led by communication professional Rhea Wessel, in which Dioscuri Leaders focused on practical aspects of thought leadership and science communication; a training session delivered by NCN Discipline Coordinators for ECRs, who were introduced to NCN funding opportunities and the principles of the evaluation process; and a meeting led by the Dioscuri Programme Coordinators from Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic, during which administrative coordinators discussed current issues related to the day-to-day operation of the Centres and benefited from an international platform for knowledge exchange.

1. The budget of the Polish part of the project in the joint proposal should be calculated according to the following exchange rates:
   • in joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed in and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2025: 1 EUR = 4,2717 PLN;
   • in joint proposals, for which NCN proposals are processed in and submitted via the OSF submission system from 1 January 2026: 1 EUR = 4,2626 PLN.
2. NCN proposals processed in the OSF submission system in 2025, with the exchange rate of 1 EUR = 4,2717 PLN, must be completed in and submitted via the OSF submission system by 31 December 2025 at 23:59:59. Otherwise, the proposal can no longer be edited, in which case the Polish research team must prepare a new proposal, with the exchange rate 1 EUR = 4,2626 PLN, and complete it in the OSF submission system. If a joint proposal has already been submitted to the lead agency, with the budget of the Polish part of the project calculated according to another exchange rate, the NCN proposal will be inconsistent with the joint proposal and as a consequence the proposal may be rejected on the grounds that it does not meet the eligibility criteria.
3. As of 1 January 2026, the updated Regulations on awarding funding for research tasks funded by the National Science Centre under international calls carried out as multilateral cooperation pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure shall apply.
4. Please consult the updated call documents.

With reference to the NCN Director’s Communique of 9 June 2025 and pursuant to Point 3 (3) (5) of NCN Council Resolution No 64/2023 of 5 July 2023 on the terms of the International Multilateral Partnerships for Resilient Education and Science System in Ukraine (IMPRESS-U) call for research projects carried out as multilateral collaboration under the IMPRESS-U programme pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure, please note that as funds allocated by one of the partner institutions for research projects under IMPRESS-U have been fully used and the US National Science Foundation (NSF) suspended the call for proposals, the NCN Director decided to end the call for proposals under IMPRESS-U.

Research teams from Poland and Belgium-Flanders will receive nearly PLN 3.3 million for their research projects investigating holography, cyclostationary signals and mystery of matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe. The three proposals have been evaluated by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) and the evaluation results were approved by the NCN under the Weave collaboration. 

Ultra-High Definition Holography

Prof. Dr hab. inż. Tomasz Kozacki from the Warsaw University of Technology, together with his team, will analyse ultra‐wide‐angle holography and ultra-high definition holography representing groundbreaking technologies. This type holography solves the primary shortcoming of conventional 3D displays that lies in the vergence‐accommodation conflict by providing an extended visual field of view bigger than 100°. Enabled by extremely dense light modulators, colour holography, and advanced processing algorithms, the encoding and display of large 3D objects in ultra-high quality becomes feasible, albeit at the cost of enormous computational demands and the need for novel methods of data acquisition, generation, and compression. The UltraHolo project addresses these challenges by developing a complete system, spanning from hologram generation and management through displays based on a resolution of 16K × 16K and a sub‐wavelength pixel pitch of 250 nm as well as quality assessment toolsets. The overall goal is to enhance achievement of a realistic and immersive 3D visualization systems in education, health, design, architecture and entertainment applications. The project budget of the Polish research team is over PLN 650,000. The Flemish research team from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel will be headed by Peter Schelkens.

Signals Exhibiting Natural Rhythm and Periodicity 

Another awarded project will be pursued by Dr hab. inż. Agnieszka Wyłomańska from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Together with her research team, she will address the advanced signal processing techniques for cyclostationary modelling. The project focuses on the development of advanced methods for analysing signals exhibiting natural rhythm or periodicity in the presence of strong interference, both typical (Gaussian) noise and more challenging impulsive noise. Researchers aim to better understand the sources of such signals and interference, develop realistic mathematical models and algorithms enabling their detection, description and cleaning, for example by separating overlapping signals, segmentation or classification. The new, noise-robust representations, including generalised frequency- frequency maps, will be analysed for their accuracy and computational complexity. Although universal, those methods will be evaluated on the basis of rotating machinery, where the analysis of cyclostationary signals allows to detect faults in gears and rolling element bearings. The new tools will enable detection of cyclostationary signal sources, but also support further processing, e.g. identification of the frequency band containing the most diagnostically useful information, improving detection of faults in laboratories and under industrial conditions. The Polish research team will receive nearly PLN 1.3 million for the three-year project. Konstantinos Gryllias from the KU Leuven will head the Flemish research team.

Matter-Antimatter Asymmetry  

The last project awarded in this round aims to develop Monte Carlo generators for future neutrino oscillation experiments. The Polish research team will be headed by Prof. Dr hab. Jan Sobczyk from the University of Wrocław, while Natalie Jachowicz from the Ghent University will head the Flemish research team. Over PLN 600,00 has been awarded for the Polish part of the project. Researches will address the mystery of matter-antimatter asymmetry in our universe which is currently attempted with, for example, neutrino-oscillation experiments. In Europe, the ESSnuSB+ collaboration is preparing for a contribution to this quest. Leveraging the unique opportunities offered by the intense neutrino beams that can be produced at the European Spallation Source, the collaboration proposes to measure this asymmetry at the second neutrino oscillation maximum with discovery precision, which primarily operates with neutrino energies ranging from 200 to 300 MeV, where conventional tools fall sort. The project aims to extend the neutrino simulation tool NuWro, grounded in microscopic theoretical models developed in Ghent, to fill this caveat and enable investigation of basic neutrino physics.

Weave-UNISONO and Lead Agency Procedure 

Weave-UNISONO is a result of multilateral cooperation between the research-funding agencies associated in Science Europe and aims at simplifying the submission and selection procedures in all academic disciplines, involving researchers from two or three European countries.

The winning applicants are selected pursuant to the Lead Agency Procedure according to which one partner institution performs a complete merit-based evaluation of proposals, the results of which are subsequently approved by the other partners.

Under the Weave Programme, partner research teams apply for parallel funding to the Lead Agency and their respective institutions participating in the Programme. Joint research projects must include a coherent research program with the added value of the international cooperation clearly identified.

Weave-UNISONO is carried out on an ongoing basis. Research teams intending to cooperate with partners from Austria, Czechia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium-Flanders are urged to read the call text and apply for funding.

We present a preliminary timeline for calls operated by the National Science Centre in the year 2026.

The call timeline does not include multilateral calls launched by the international networks of research funding agencies, including the NCN, which are announced and pre-announced on the NCN website all year round according to the decisions of the participating agencies.

2026 call timeline

Download the NCN 2026 call timeline

The European Research Council has just revealed the winners of its Consolidator Grant 2025. 4 out of 349 winners are former NCN grant winners affiliated with Polish research institutes: Dr hab. Wojciech Czerwiński, Dr hab. Maria Nowak and Dr hab. Michał Pilipczuk from the University of Warsaw, as well as Dr hab. Sławomir Porada from the Wrocław University of Science and Technology. Congratulations!

Maria Nowak, photo by Mirosław Kaźmierczak/UW Dr hab. Maria Nowak works at the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology, University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on, inter alia, classic Greek papyrology, legal papyrology, legal practice in the Roman Empire, and issues of multi-legal systems in antiquity. She has received ERC funding of EUR 1.9 million for the project “A provincial capital polis at the end of the Roman era. Periphery or a center of power? (PeriPolis)” aimed to present the late Roman Empire as a state struggling with challenges strikingly similar to those faced by modern societies. Dr Nowak will seek to reveal whether crisis is an intrinsic feature of the collapse of empires, or whether the two phenomena may occur independently. She will also try to gain a deeper understanding of everyday life in times of decline – both for ordinary inhabitants and political elites. Maria Nowak is a former winner of NCN’s SONATA 9 and OPUS 18.

Wojciech Czerwiński, photo by Mirosław Kaźmierczak/UW ERC Consolidator Grants 2025 will also go to two researchers from the Faculty of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics at the University of Warsaw. They will both receive ERC grants for the second time. Dr hab. Wojciech Czerwiński received nearly EUR 2 million for his project “Reachability in Infinite Systems at High Resolution (POLARIS)”. The researcher works on computational models known as state-based systems, and will seek to solve one of the key dilemmas in computer science, namely the limits of achievability in systems with an infinite number of states. The bulk of his project concerns determining whether it is possible to devise an algorithm faster than existing ones that allows a given programme to move from its initial situation to its final one. Wojciech Czerwiński is a former winner of NCN’s SONATA 11.

Michał Pilipczuk, photo by Mirosław Kaźmierczak/UW Dr. hab. Michał Pilipczuk’s research focuses on graphs, which are fundamental mathematical objects used to model all kinds of networks. His project ”Towards a unified structure theory for dense graphs (WYDRA)”, which has been awarded nearly EUR 2 million in funding, will aim to develop a coherent and robust theory describing the structure of dense graphs. The results of his research will pave the way for many new applications – in both combinatorics and algorithm design and will indicate interesting directions for further research at the intersection of graph theory and theoretical computer science. Michał Pilipczuk is a former winner of NCN’s SONATA 6.

Sławomir Porada, photo by Politechnika Wrocławska For the first time, a CoG ERC was awarded to a researcher affiliated with a Wrocław University. Dr hab. inż. Sławomir Porada from the Faculty of Chemistry, Wrocław University of Science and Technology. He has received nearly EUR 2 million in funding for his project “Small Differences, Big Impact: Achieving Effective Selective Separations from Water by Tuning Ion Transport Processes”. Dr Porada will seek to better understand ion transport mechanisms for ions with very similar properties - especially how ions are adsorbed and desorbed over time in electrode materials. This will form the basis for developing a new class of separation processes that use not only material properties but also smart control of the process operating time and cycle. Sławomir Porada is a beneficiary of NCN’s research component under the NAWA Polish Returns Programme.

The ERC Consolidator Grant is one of the most prestigious international grant programmes. It is open to researchers who are 7 to 13 years after completing their PhD and can demonstrate outstanding scientific achievements. This time, a total funding of EUR 728 million will go to researchers from 44 countries, including 25 from Europe.

Together with the Copernicus Centre, we are pleased to invite you to an online lecture by Łucja Kowalewska (Membrane Labyrinths in the Nanoworld of Cells: From Geometry to Biological Functions) on 10 December, 6pm, as part of the “Science at the Centre” series.

Łucja Kowalewska, photo by Łukasz Bera Dr hab. Łucja Kowalewska works at the Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw. Her research focuses on plant cell biology, particularly on the structure and dynamics of plastid membranes. Last October, she was presented with the NCN Award for outstanding scientific achievements.

Her work focuses on periodic membranes, whose organisation plays a crucial role in cellular functioning – including plastid biogenesis and photosynthetic efficiency. Dr. Kowalewska’s team investigates how membrane structure influences biological function and which molecular and physicochemical mechanisms govern membrane transformations.

Dr Kowalewska’s research makes a significant contribution to understanding the relationship between membrane geometry and function. The researcher has demonstrated that the spatial organisation of membranes is not merely the result of the self-assembly of their structural components, but also actively regulates cellular processes – marking a shift in the existing paradigm of cell biology.

While her studies are primarily fundamental in nature, understanding the principles of biological membrane self-organisation also holds significant application potential. It provides a foundation for the design of biomimetic nanomaterials that may be used in medicine, pharmacy and food technology – for instance, as drug carriers, materials supporting tissue regeneration or smart coatings.

Footage on Dr Kowalewska’s research  

An online lecture organized by the Copernicus Center will be streamed on 10 December, at 6 pm.

Dates have been released for interviews in the calls launched on 16 June 2025. The results of the first stage of merit-based evaluation under MAESTRO 17 and SONATA BIS 15 will be published in the second half of December.

MAESTRO 17

• NZ – Life Sciences: 27-29 January 2026
• HS – Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences: 4-6 February 2026
• ST – Physical Sciences and Engineering: 4-5 February 2026

SONATA BIS 15

• NZ – Life Sciences: 27-29 January 2026
• HS – Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences: 4-6 February 2026
• ST – Physical Sciences and Engineering: 3-5 February 2026

Principal investigators will be interviewed in English. Researchers whose proposals will be recommended for the second stage of evaluation will be notified of the interviews 14 days in advance at the latest. Interviews will be held at the premises of the National Science Centre in Krakow and although principal investigators are required to participate in person, in exceptional and well-justified cases interviews may be held via available telecommunication tools. Failure to attend the interview will be regarded as a resignation from applying for funding. The cost of travel to and accommodation in Krakow will not be reimbursed.

Under international SHENG 4 call for Polish and Chinese research projects, funding will be awarded to 21 projects with a value of over PLN 38 million.

Under SHENG 4 that has just been concluded, researchers could submit proposals to selected disciplines within three research domains. Out of 337 proposals, 229 were submitted to Physical Sciences and Engineering, 103 to Life Sciences, and only 5 to Humanities, Social Sciences and Art Sciences. Nearly PLN 22.5 million was awarded to 13 projects in Physical Sciences and Engineering and nearly PLN 16 million to 8 projects in Life Sciences. The success rate was 6.23%.  

Ranking List  

Polypeptides in Osteoarthritis Treatment

One of the awarded projects in Life Sciences, titled “Synthesis and Functionalization of Hyperbranched Polypeptides for Osteoarthritis Treatment”, will be headed by Dr hab. Monika Gosecka from the Centre of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences. Osteoarthritis is a disease mainly affecting the elderly that involves pain, stiffness and restricted movement. Currently, treatment usually involves anti-inflammatory drugs or joint replacement, which are known for their side effects and inability to regenerate joint cartilage. In healthy joints, cartilage is well hydrated, which results in an extremely low coefficient of friction, but is degenerated and damaged as the disease progresses. Hyaluronic acid injections, which are widely used today, have limited efficacy and require frequent injections. The aim of the project is to develop new formulations for delivery injections using hyperbranched polypeptides, the structure of which will make them durable and will provide excellent lubrication of the joint, easy application and drug delivery. To this end, a library of polypeptides with different structures will be synthesised and studied, and knowledge gained in this project will show the relationship between the structural features of these molecules and their biological activity, leading to a development of more effective methods in the treatment of osteoarthritis.

From Natural Grasslands to Agricultural Sustainability

One of the projects awarded in Life Science will be carried out by Dr inż. Piotr Niezgoda from the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, who will study biodiversity and functionality of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi. In the face of continuous population growth and climate change, sustainable agriculture is becoming increasingly important, with its limited use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that are replaced by microorganisms. Such microorganisms include arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi, which live in symbiosis with most terrestrial plants. They improve plant productivity and nutrition, and alleviate the effects of stress. Despite their importance for the ecosystems and agricultural potential, little is known of the diversity of AM fungi in the world, their activity, response to climate change and the possibilities of using them in practice. The project “Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Biodiversity and Functionality” aims to fill the void by comprehensive studies of AM fungal communities in croplands and grasslands located in China and Poland that differ greatly in terms of climate and soil properties. Modern techniques will be used, such as amplicon sequencing, phylogenies, reconstruction, isolation of single spores, and mycorrhizal functional tests, to characterize the structure and function of AM fungal communities, reveal the mechanisms underlying agricultural impacts on AM fungal symbiotic functions, and explore their response to environmental factors. The results will enhance our understanding of AMF ecology and evolution, support biodiversity conservation, facilitate their agricultural application, and contribute to the classification of new species, e.g. under transcontinental AM fungal resource bank. The project continues former joint research that resulted in the description of new AMF species in 2022.

List of Projects Recommended for Funding under SHENG 4  

SHENG

SHENG 4 is the international bilateral Polish-Chinese Funding Initiative organised by the National Science Centre in cooperation with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) pursuant to the parallel evaluation procedure, which means that both agencies perform a parallel eligibility check and merit-based evaluation and funding is awarded to projects recommended by both agencies. SHENG 4 was open to basic research proposals submitted to one of the following panes: HS6_01-HS6_08, HS6_14-HS6_15, ST4, ST5, ST8 and ST11, or NZ1-NZ9.

The winning projects will be performed in Poland and China, and each project will be supervised by two principal investigators, one for the Chinese research team and one for the Polish team. The Polish research team may use the awarded funds for research, remuneration of the research team, scholarships for students and PhD students, purchase or manufacturing of research equipment or other cost crucial to the Polish part of the project.