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Your daily news relating to Research and Innovation in Europe.
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FP7 Information Day on the call: FP7-CDRP-2013-INCUBATORS
2 July 2012, Brussels
Join us at this event, which will bring together leaders in social innovation and business incubation, and other organisations including technology parks, universities and other science and research bodies.
Incubators for social innovation could accelerate the growth of small innovative businesses and enable experiments that are small and locally successful to be applied in other places across Europe, spreading good ideas and innovations. The Commission (Research and Innovation DG) will provide support for up to two transnational networks of incubators to facilitate the scaling up of social innovations from their local communities to higher geographical levels across Europe.
Please register via email: RTD-INCUBATORS-FOR-SOCIAL-INNOVATION@ec.europa.eu by 4 June 2012 by filling in and attaching the registration form below.
Due to space restrictions we can only accept a limited number of participants. Please refer to the email confirmation of your registration to determine whether or not you are registered for the event.
For a link to this event only, use the event permalink
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Energy Research Information Day – 2013 calls
4 July 2012, Brussels
A number of energy-related Calls for Proposals under FP7 are planned to be published on 10 July 2012.
The info day will start with an introduction on the political context of the energy theme's work programme, followed by presentations of the individual calls. A part of the afternoon session will focus on the rules of participation.
For a link to this event only, use the event permalink
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RailBE2012 Brokerage Event – financing opportunities for rail transport research in Europe
26-27 June 2012, Warsaw, Poland
The Polish National Contact Point for Research Programmes of the EU and the European Commission are hoping to foster collaboration between partners across Europe for the final round of the European Commission's FP7 research calls.
During this brokerage event, in addition to presentations by the European Commission and the European Rail Research Advisory Council (see the programme on the event's website), participants will be able to:
- learn about the project proposals prepared by ERRAC members for the sixth transport call;
- present their project ideas and a profile of their institution;
- discuss their ideas with experts from ERRAC and the European Commission and potential partners identified during the event;
- establish new B2B contacts with partners from Europe.
A dedicated session will present national policies for financing rail transport research, industrial and R&D potential in the EU-12 countries.
For a link to this event only, use the event permalink
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Innovation @ DIT - Where Science Meets Industry
19 June 2012, Dublin, Ireland
The event will be focusing on:
• New Materials and Technologies (including nanotechnology, photonics, inorganic pharma and nanomaterials)
• Information and Media Technologies (including antennas, digital media and electrical power)
• Environment & Health (including food, pharma, sustainability and radiation science)
and highlighting all the quality work being undertaken in these fields to an invited audience of industry, funding bodies, media, professional associations and other organisations.
There will also be presentations on funding opportunities and technology offers running in parallel to the exhibition.
For a link to this event only, use the event permalink
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2012 EUROPEAN INDUSTRIAL BIOENERGY INITIATIVE CONFERENCE
5 June 2012, Brussels
The Team of the SET-Plan European Industrial Bioenergy Initiative (EIBI) is organising a first conference open to all stakeholders and interested parties. The aim of this conference is to provide key decision makers, financing institutions, media and the general public with a better and more in-depth understanding of both the urgency and benefits to fully implement the EIBI roadmap and to invest in the EIBI projects.
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!
To register, please send an email to RTD-Renewables-events@ec.europa.eu with your name, position, organisation and telephone number.
Please note that attendance is open to all interested stakeholders. However, due to room constraints, we will have to limit the attendance to 250 participants.
The EIBI Conference will also be broadcast via web streaming (active on 5 June only) from the following webpage:
http://scic.ec.europa.eu/str/index.php?sessionno=38ed162a0dbef7b3fe0f628aa08b90e
For a link to this event only, use the event permalink
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European Research Headlines
report on recent developments in research and innovation in Europe
and beyond.
Sources include reports from EU-funded research projects, European
Commission activities, news from science websites and press services,
as well as from European research organisations and institutions.
The newest items automatically appear on the front page of this site.
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30-05-2012
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Researchers in Germany have once again made a major breakthrough in bionanotechnology, this time in the area of solid-state nanopore sensors, enhancing their capabilities by fitting them with cover plates made of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This major advance was made in part thanks to the DNA ORIGAMI DEVICES ('Single-molecule studies of protein-protein-DNA interactions, enabled by DNA origami') project, which has clinched a European Research Council (ERC) grant worth EUR 1.5 million under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). This project has opened up novel opportunities for a systematic study of macromolecular interactions in biology and is likely to deepen our understanding of regulatory processes in biology. The findings of this latest study were presented in the journal Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
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29-05-2012
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Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance scientist and artist extraordinaire, in the 15th century was the first to record his observation that some plants appeared to follow the Sun, and he was not the last. How this was scientifically achieved and why this occurred, however, remained a mystery to him and everyone that followed. But a European team of researchers may have come one step closer to solving this mystery. The answer, they say, lies with auxin — a class of plant hormone. The findings of their study were published in the journal Nature.
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25-05-2012
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In a groundbreaking study, researchers from the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom have discovered a link between the déjà vu phenomenon and structures in the human brain, effectively confirming the neurological origin of this phenomenon. Despite past studies investigating this phenomenon in healthy individuals, no concrete evidence had ever emerged ... until now. The study, presented in the journal Cortex, was funded in part by the EU.
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24-05-2012
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Europe has long been the source for many technological innovations but many challenges need to be overcome so as to bridge the gap from research to industry, and from there to market. The growth industry of nanotechnology is no different. In particular, the development of new applications based on nanoimprinting techniques (NIL) is evolving at a rapid pace. This is where the NAPANIL ('Nanopatterning, production and applications based on nanoimprinting lithography') project comes in. The recent NAPANIL Industrial Day addressed these issues and found solutions. NAPANIL has received EUR 11.8 million under the 'Nanosciences, nanotechnologies, materials and new production technologies' (NMP) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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23-05-2012
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Smart phones and tablet computers — once the latest must-have devices for technology geeks — are becoming increasingly more popular with the mainstream. The Android platform is now one of the most popular platforms with over 300 million Android devices in use since February and 700 000 devices being activated with each passing day. One of its main attractions is the open source software that allows a huge community of program developers to write applications. But with so many people contributing to this innovation, the operating system is open to bugs and security holes. In a new study, however, researchers in Italy may have neutralised any potential problems. Their study was funded in part by the SPACIOS (‘Secure provision and consumption in the Internet of services’) project, which is backed with EUR 3.35 million under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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22-05-2012
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Researchers in Spain and the United Kingdom have identified the stages of gypsum crystals formation – a mystery that boggled the minds of many over the years. A mineral that occurs naturally, gypsum is usually used in industrial processes. If left untouched for thousands of years, gypsum can develop into large, over 10-metre tall and translucent crystals. The study was funded in part by the MIN-GRO ('Mineral nucleation and growth kinetics: generating a general, fundamental model by integrating atomic, macro- and field-scale investigations') project, which received a Marie Curie Research Training Networks grant worth EUR 3 million under the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). The results were published in the journal Science.
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21-05-2012
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The chances of our planet being hit by a global warming of 3 degrees Celsius by 2050 is as likely as it being hit by an increase of 1.4 degrees, new research shows. Presented in the journal Nature Geoscience, the British study ran close to 10 000 climate simulations on home computers via a sophisticated climate model to get the results, which suggest that failure to stop emissions will force Earth to cross the two-degree barrier before this century ends. The study was funded in part by the WATCH and ENSEMBLE projects. Both WATCH ('Water and global change') and ENSEMBLE ('Ensemble-based predictions of climate changes and their impacts') were backed under the 'Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health' Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) to the tune of almost EUR 10 million and EUR 15 million, respectively.
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10-05-2012
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Scientists have long investigated how organisms fight disease. They have also tried to mitigate the burden of disease. In a paper presented in the journal PLoS Biology, a two-man research team from the United Kingdom and the United States evaluate how Konrad et al. present an example of fungus-specific immune responses in social ants that cause the active immunisation of nest mates by infected individuals. The results provide fresh insight into our understanding of how organisms evolved diverse mechanisms that fulfil various functions, including the transfer of immunity between related individuals and the discrimination between pathogens.
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09-05-2012
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An international team of researchers has discovered 32 previously unidentified genetic regions linked with osteoporosis and fracture. Presented in the journal Nature Genetics, the study identified that variations in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences in these regions confer either risk or protection from the disease that weakens bone. Most regions encode proteins involved in pathways that concern the health of bone. The study was funded in part by the GEFOS ('Genetic factors for osteoporosis') project, which has received almost EUR 3 million under the Health Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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08-05-2012
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Monogenic diabetes is triggered by mutations of a small number of genes, resulting in disrupted insulin production. Around half of the patients suffering from monogenic diabetes seem to carry a mutation in the glucokinase (GCK) gene. To date, more than 600 GCK mutations have surfaced, and around 65% of these are missense, what experts define as a genetic change resulting in the substitution of one amino acid in a protein for another. Researchers in Slovakia and the United Kingdom have identified the minimum prevalence of GCK-monogenic diabetes among Slovaks. They sequenced GCK in 100 Slovaks with a phenotype consistent with GCK-monogenic diabetes. The team also investigated, through family and functional studies, how identified variants can cause disease. Presented in the journal PLoS ONE, the study was backed by the CEED3 ('Collaborative European effort to develop diabetes diagnostics') project, which has clinched EUR 3 million under the Health Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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04-05-2012
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Scientists in France, the United Kingdom and the United States have found that modern man can learn a lot about land management by taking a look at what happened in the past. The study, presented in the journal PNAS, put the spotlight on the Amazonian area, indicating that its earliest inhabitants managed their farmland sustainably. The data suggest that indigenous people who lived in the savannas around the Amazonian forest farmed without the use of fire.
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27-04-2012
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The people of Denmark are not only concerned about what they eat, but they are willing to pay more tax to eat healthier and make more informed eating choices. The results of this study come at a time when healthy eating and increasing rates of obesity are becoming a major concern for people the world over. Despite this concern, however, government policy actions have rarely been evaluated. The findings are an outcome of the EU-funded EATWELL ('Interventions to promote healthy eating habits: evaluation and recommendations') project, which has received EUR 2.5 million under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' (KBBE) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). EATWELL is looking into a variety of European policies aimed at reducing obesity and the lengths people would go to become healthy.
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26-04-2012
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Scientists in Australia and the United Kingdom have discovered the sharpest teeth ever recorded in history — with tips measuring just two micrometres across — that belong to a long-extinct prehistoric fish. The study, presented in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was funded in part by the EVOLVING TEETH ('Uncovering developmental and functional constraints on the occupation of conodont tooth morphospace') project, which is backed by a Marie Curie Action grant worth EUR 198 260 under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7). The project involved teams from University of Bristol, UK, and Monash University, Australia, working together and using a very big machine to see some of the world's smallest fossils.
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25-04-2012
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Europeans are strong innovators, and the latest example of their hard work is a robotic hand able to hold and grasp bottles and cups. The novel 'helping hand' is an outcome of the DEXMART ('Dexterous and autonomous dual-arm/hand robotic manipulation with smart sensory-motor skills: a bridge from natural to artificial cognition') project, which was backed with EUR 6.3 million under the 'Information and communication technologies' (ICT) Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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24-04-2012
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Science fiction fans are one step closer to having their dreams realised thanks to Slovak and Spanish electrical engineers who have developed a prototype invisibility field. The researchers used simple materials, such as a superconductor, and ferromagnetic materials that are freely available on the market to create an invisibility field that can effectively hide contents from the prying eyes of magnetic fields. The results of the study were presented in the journal Science.
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23-04-2012
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Scientists have gained a new tool in their efforts to research the world's changing environment: the Surface Ocean CO2 (carbon dioxide) Atlas (SOCAT). This is the most comprehensive dataset of surface water carbon dioxide measurements for the world's oceans and coastal seas, made up of 6.3 million global observations generated from research vessels, commercial ships and moorings around the world since 1968. The information provides researchers with a 40-year record of CO2 accumulation in the surface ocean. The study was funded in part by the CARBOOCEAN and CARBOCHANGE projects, which received EUR 14.5 million and EUR 7 million under the EU's Sixth and Seventh Framework Programmes (FP6, FP7), respectively.
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20-04-2012
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Researchers in the Czech Republic, Spain and the United Kingdom have successfully identified the cellular components and mechanisms that play a role in the proliferation of myxozoa, tiny aquatic parasites responsible for diseases in commercially valuable fish. Presented in the journal PLoS ONE, the study's findings shed light on the motility of myxozoa's proliferative states and their reproductive process.
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19-04-2012
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A European team of researchers led by the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland has developed a prototype of a new, ultra-compact motor that will enable small satellites to journey beyond Earth's orbit. The objective of this new motor is to make space exploration less expensive. The result is an outcome of the MICROTHRUST ('Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based electric micropropulsion for small spacecraft to enable robotic space exploration and space science') project, which is supported under the Space Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), to the tune of EUR 1.9 million.
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18-04-2012
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Researchers in Europe have created a set of new guidelines for the protection of Europe's most threatened butterfly species. Coordinated by the Butterfly Conservation Europe, the report puts the spotlight on 29 threatened species listed in Council Directive 92/43/EEC, more commonly known as the Habitats Directive. The report is part of the SCALES ('Securing the conservation of biodiversity across administrative levels and spatial, temporal, and ecological scales') project, which is backed with EUR 7 million under the Environment Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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17-04-2012
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Researchers in Europe and the United States have identified a novel epilepsy gene for idiopathic epilepsy in Belgian Shepherds in the canine chromosome 37. Presented in the PLoS ONE journal, the findings fuel our understanding of the genetic background of the most common canine epilepsies, and provide insight into common epilepsies in humans. The study was funded in part by the LUPA ('Unravelling the molecular basis of common complex human disorders using the dog as a model system') project, which is backed under the 'Health' Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 12 million.
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16-04-2012
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With commemorative events happening all around the world to mark 100 years since the Titanic went down, its legacy as represented in both the history books and popular culture has shaped how we view what happens in a maritime disaster. Now, a team of Swedish scientists claims that one of these widely held beliefs about maritime disasters — that women and children are always the first to be saved, was a phenomenon unique to the Titanic.
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13-04-2012
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Pregnant women can eat two servings of fish-farmed salmon each week, as it is beneficial to them and their children, according to a new study from Spain. The fish should be enriched with omega-3 fatty acids. Presented in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the study was funded in part by the SIPS ('Salmon in pregnancy study)' project, supported under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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12-04-2012
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Sea turtles are using marine protected areas (MPAs) to protect themselves from the threats of fishing and to forage for food, a new international study shows. Presented in the journal Global Ecology and Biogeography, the findings show that more than a third of the world's green turtles are found within MPAs. This figure is much higher than what they anticipated because just a small number of shallow oceans are designated as MPAs.
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11-04-2012
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Researchers in Germany and Hungary have engineered novel pellets that are able to repel pests in a way that does not harm the environment and that could fertilise the plants. These pellets are made of cyanobacteria and fermentation residues from biogas facilities. The organic farming industry could stand to benefit from this innovative development since organic farmers stand to lose entire crops when pests, such as cabbage root flies, lay their eggs on freshly planted vegetables. They will present their pellets at the Hannover Messe from 23 to 27 April.
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10-04-2012
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Researchers in China, Italy and the United Kingdom have discovered what gene is responsible for blood orange pigmentation, and how it is controlled. The results, presented in the journal The Plant Cell, could help improve the growth of health-promoting blood oranges and lead to novel solutions for patients suffering from cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. The study was partially supported by two EU-funded projects: FLORA and ATHENA. FLORA ('Flavonoids and related phenolics for healthy living using orally recommended antioxidants') received EUR 3.3 million under the 'Food quality and safety' Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). ATHENA ('Anthocyanin and polyphenol bioactives for health enhancement through nutritional advancement') has received almost EUR 3 million under the 'Food, agriculture and fisheries, and biotechnology' Theme of the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7).
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