Imagine a tiny, worm‑like parasite, without a mouth or digestive tract, living concealed in the intestine of trout in the Krka River, yet potentially helping scientists gauge how polluted nature is with metals.

The startup Luxyon, founded by Stjepan Dolić from the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) and his colleague Jakov Kukin, won first place at the recent Nuqleus Demo Day held as part of the Liftoff conference. Among a dozen promising teams from across Croatia, the duo impressed the jury with their vision and prototype of flexible, ultra-light perovskite solar cells, securing a place in the third and final phase of the program. This phase includes individualized mentorship and targeted support for the commercialization of their innovations.

While the rest of the world builds massive supercomputers the size of buildings, capable of performing an astonishing one trillion billion (10¹⁸) operations per second, known as exascale computers—a dedicated team of scientists from the Centre for Informatics and Computing (CIR) at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) is writing its chapter in the world of supercomputing.

Following the successful first InspireAdriatic symposium, held in Zagreb in 2023 and attended by 80 participants from various countries and scientific disciplines, the Ruđer Bošković Institute hosted the 2nd International Scientific Symposium “Interdisciplinary Approach to the Scientific Research of the Adriatic Sea” – InspireAdriatic 2025.

From Croatia’s earliest forays into the EU’s research and development programs during the Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes in 2007, through Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe, RBI has consistently ranked as Croatia’s leading scientific institution in both the number and value of awarded projects.

A new study by scientists from Croatia, Austria, Germany and Denmark shows how climate change is altering microbial life in Lake Vrana and influencing the production and oxidation of methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases.

A spring morning by the sea. The air is fragrant with blooming flowers, the sun glistens on the water, but something’s off. The sea appears... yellow?  Each year, between March and June, walkers, sailors, and swimmers along the Croatian coast, from Kvarner to Dubrovnik, witness a curious sight: yellow patches spreading across the surface of the sea. 

Pollution, climate change, ocean acidification, disappearing algae, and invasive species are just some of the mounting threats facing our seas. These issues lie at the heart of research carried out by scientists at the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI), who have spent decades closely monitoring changes in the Adriatic, from microscopic organisms to tsunamis triggered by volcanic eruptions, all with the goal of safeguarding this vital ecosystem.

This year’s World Environment Day, celebrated worldwide on 5 June, is dedicated to the fight against plastic pollution under the campaign slogan #BeatPlasticPollution.

The Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) took part in the 2025 EU-LIFE Community Meeting, the annual gathering of one of Europe’s most influential alliances of life sciences research institutes.