Bird populations across North America are declining, according to recently published studies based on long-term biological data collected by volunteers over decades. Until now, however, there has been mostly speculation about what is causing this decline and whether it is accelerating or slowing. Yet acceleration can be an essential signal of environmental change. The causes of the accelerating deterioration in birds are examined in a study by Francoise Leroy and Petr Keil from the Faculty of Environmental Sciences at CZU, carried out in collaboration with Marta Jarzyna of The Ohio State University. It is based on 35 years of research across 1,033 survey routes across the USA and Canada, and it was published on February 26, 2026, in the prestigious scientific journal Science.

On Thursday, 12 February 2026, we welcomed a distinguished guest to our campus. CZU Rector Michal Lošťák met with the United Kingdom’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Matt Field, to introduce him to the university—Czechia’s leader in sustainability, with an excellent reputation at home and abroad.

tudents and their teachers were able, right at the start of the summer semester, to take a breather from the duties of the past few weeks and immerse themselves in the carefree atmosphere of Masopust merriment. This folk tradition, reaching back to pre-Christian times, brought academic life to life for the second time. Masopust at CZU kicked off on Thursday, 12 February, with a morning parade of masked revellers and continued with spontaneous fun into the late afternoon. “Fat Thursday” thus earned its place in the calendar of university events that fall into the “must-see” category.

The aim of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, first proclaimed by the United Nations in 2015, is to highlight the role of women in the scientific world and support their involvement in research. It would not be possible to present all the successful female scientists and researchers working at CZU here, even if we wanted to. Nevertheless, we can wish them all much success and good fortune on their day, which falls on Wednesday, 11 February. On this occasion, we are offering a series of interviews with women pursuing scientific careers at CZU.