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Weather forecasts are something that most people take for granted these days. If you want to know whether to put on that extra jumper, you can turn on the TV, the radio, open any newspaper or search on the internet. But do we know where and how weather is being monitored? In the Czech Republic the institution responsible for weather monitoring and forecasting is the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute which has just celebrated its 50th birthday. But as director Ivan Obrusnik told me, its history dates further back.

Staying with the brain, or braininess, to be more accurate - last year inventors and innovators in the Czech Republic applied for a record number of patents. Precisely 627, which is twenty percent more than in 2002.

This week the Czech Academy of Sciences is holding a number of events to mark European Brain Week.

There may not be too many signs of it, but spring is definitely coming.

Would you believe that flies can actually help heal wounds? Although it sounds like a paradox, soldiers injured in battles recovered more quickly if their wounds became infested with maggots. The beneficial properties of larvae have been known for centuries in many civilisations. With the introduction of antibiotics and new surgical methods, this age-old treatment was abandoned in the last century.

Welcome to Czech Science where we have been following the history of astronomy in the Czech lands since the 17th century. Today astronomy is being studied at universities in Prague, Brno and Opava. But since the 1950s the main centre of research in astronomy in Czechoslovakia and later the Czech Republic has been the Astronomical Institute of the Academy of Sciences. Professor Jan Palous is the head of the institute.

Welcome to Czech Science. Last week Professor Jan Palous from the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences talked about Czech-born astronomers who left Czechoslovakia during the communist era and made their careers at foreign universities and research centres. Today Professor Palous will be talking about Czech participation in one important part of space research - manned missions to outer space.

Welcome to Czech Science. Last week we started a short series about astronomy in the Czech lands. Our guest, the director of the Astronomical Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Professor Jan Palous, took us back to 17th century Rudolphine Prague - a time when the city hosted such famous astronomers as Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler. Only three centuries later it was Albert Einstein who spent two years in Prague and very likely formulated his general principle of relativity here. While in last week's episode, Professor Palous talked about

Welcome to Czech Science. In the next few weeks we'll be looking at one particular scientific discipline - astronomy - and its past and present in the Czech lands.

In today's Czech Science we take a look at the latest news in research and development in the Czech Republic - Brno Technical University developing new space satellit, cave divers prove connection between Macocha Abyss and Punkva River, Widow of hydrogel inventor demands justice for late husband.