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With a bit of exaggeration we can say that since the fall of communism Prague has become one big building site. The centre of Prague has a 1000-year old history. So every time before the heavy machinery arrives at a building site, every square metre has to be sieved for remnants of past settlements. In today's Czech Science we take you to an excavation site which in a year's time will become one of the largest shopping centres in the city.

Mustard gas or Yperite was first used as a chemical weapon by the German Army in World War I in September 1917 near the Belgian town of Ypres and took a heavy toll of casualties. In pure form, it is a colourless, oily liquid which causes blistering of the skin and severe, often fatal respiratory damage. Czech scientists have now developed a fast and environment-friendly method of neutralising the deadly chemical.

A state-funded International Clinical Research Centre is to be opened in the Czech Republic - the first and only institution of its kind in the world. The centre will be part of St. Anne's Hospital in the Moravian capital of Brno and will have three main goals: to engage the Czech Republic in important projects of applied research, carry out advanced diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and offer high-quality education programmes to doctors and the public. Cardiologist Dr Tomas Kara is the man behind the project:

According to statistics, 30 percent of Czech households have computers and 19 percent have an internet connection. Computers are mostly used by people between the age of 15 and 24 and there is also a marked difference between the use of computers by men and women. Women and information and communication technologies (or ICTs) is the topic of today's Czech Science.

Last week, the Czech Academy of Sciences awarded outstanding young researchers with the Wichterle Prize, named after Czech chemist Otto Wichterle, the inventor of the contact lenses. Seventeen young men and four young women received the awards for their outstanding achievement in the fields of science and humanities. The awards which are now in their forth year also go with a financial reward.

There's no question that raising interest in science and technology among students, even very young ones, is an important task for any school system. The question is how - textbooks and diagrams on the blackboard often do little to ignite students' imagination. That's one reason why several organisations - including the Czech Brain Project - put their heads together to take science out of the classroom and into the streets, where kids could enjoy hands-on technology. For two days trains, model airplanes, and yes - robots - took over the city to

Since joining the European Union last year, the Czech Republic has become more involved in both formal and informal European structures and networks. For example, last month the country opened a liaison office for research and development in the centre of Brussels, joining the 20-member Informal Group of Liaison Offices for Research and Development in the European capital.

Prague is a city with a 1000-year old history. So no wonder that wherever you dig, you're bound to discover foundations of old houses or at least a broken pot. It's much rarer though that archaeologists find something more valuable - buried treasure, for example. But fortune smiled on a group of archaeologists last week when they discovered a clay jar chock-full of silver coins right in the centre of Prague.

In two months' time, an electronic appliance developed by a research team in the Czech city of Brno is to be sent into space. It will be delivered to the International Space Station, where it is expected to operate for one year. Meanwhile the team in Brno are busy finishing another international space research project.

Did you know that one type of semi-precious stone is found almost exclusively in the Czech Republic? Even its name suggests that it comes from this country. The greenish milky stone is called moldavite and a collection of the most beautiful specimens is now on display at Prague's Stefanik Observatory.