Poland's roads have been the major topic of every conversation I've had with foreigners over the past two decades. Whether we're talking about the economy, tourism or culture, that eternal lament "Oh those roads of yours!" is bound to crop up sooner or later. Poland's joining the European Union gave the green light to fixing its transportation infrastructure. Six months ago, soccer legend and UEFA official Michel Platini announced that Poland and Ukraine would co-host the Euro 2012 European soccer championships. That's when the clock, some would say the bomb, started ticking. But where does science come into all this? I recommend you read our article about the Polish Technology Platform of Road Transportation.

If you want to know whether the zl.300 million spent on modernizing the streets of the former Polish capital Cracow, one of Europe's tourist meccas, is going to pay dividends in terms of better traffic flow, then you are posing a question that demands a scientific answer. We'll leave that one for the Cracow University of Technology and the EU program Civitas caravel.

In this issue of The Polish Science Voice, Danuta Górecka talks with special guest Bogusław Smólski, former rector of the Military Academy of Technology in Warsaw. Górecka queries the need for the new National Research and Development Center, which opened in July and which Smólski directs. She points out that Polish scientific matters are already being handled by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Polish Academy of Sciences, a welter of scientific and research centers, and, to some extent, by the National Contact Point for EU Research programs. "Why do we need yet another institution of this type?" she asks. Poland needs a governmental agency to manage scientific research, Smólski replies. Prior to setting up the National Research and Development Center, Poland was "one of the few remaining countries in Europe where financing and supervising research projects was the concern of the minister responsible for science," says Smólski before going on to discuss the center.

Would you like to live longer? The answer usually depends on who you ask but is seldom negative. Life expectancy is on the increase whether we like it or not but what does old age have in store? A large-scale research program has produced a fascinating portrait of Polish centenarians that should give ample food for thought.

Finally, of all the many interesting features in this issue, the article on Nano Silver, a biocide that combines the antiseptic properties of silver and nanotechnology, is worthy of special mention. The CLO Burn Treatment Center in Siemianowice ¦l±skie, a medium-sized city 300 km south of Warsaw, has recently carried out some tests on Nano Silver which reveal that it can sterilize disinfected surfaces for a long time. Drastically reducing the number of hospital infections, whose fatal harvest keeps rising, has long been a pipe dream for the medical profession. Has it come true at last? Tests show that Nano Silver can eliminate bacteria instantly and for a good long while. The substance was sprayed on the walls and floors of wards with patients being treated for severe burns. These surfaces were found to be free of pathogenic micro-organisms 14 days later as were the patients' tubs and other bathroom fixtures. Read more in Ewa Dereń's article "Nano Silver: The Ultimate Bacteria Killer."