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Special Features - International Day for Biological Diversity

You can find out more about EU-funded research for Biodiversity on the Special Features page.

What was new in the last 3 weeks

Week 21

Thursday, 23 May 2013

  • Events
    • BRAIN DAMAGE AND REPAIR - 22-26 July 2013, Santander (Spain)

      This Summer School is devoted to neurodegenerative diseases and spinal cord trauma, their pathogenesis and to the actual development of drugs and strategies for neuroreparation and neuroprotection of the damaged brain. Expert scientists from the EU and the USA will deliver their lectures in the frontier of knowledge. Also young PhD or postdoctoral students attending the School will present their experimental own results.

  • Research Headlines
    • A breath of fresh air for Europe's citizens
      Over half of the world's population lives in urban areas and that proportion is rising. This has severe consequences for the quality of the air we are exposed to thanks to increased transportation and industry within built-up areas. Rising levels of pollution prompted the European Commission in recent years to fund a number of projects into air quality across the EU at the city, regional and country level.

  • Success Stories
    • New weld inspection system to boost rail safety
      Europe's railway networks have dedicated teams devoted to checking track safety, inspecting the metal for any cracks or defects that could cause problems. If a track needs fixing, it is often welded on-site. But for all their expertise, the track inspectors have few tools to check whether the resulting welds are strong enough. Now, however, researchers have built a new tool to provide an easy yet reliable ultrasonic test of track welds, adding a much-needed layer of safety to the rail network.

Wednesday, 22 May 2013

  • Events
    • Agricultural Research and Food Security - Outlook to Horizon 2020 and Beyond - 5 June 2013, Brussels

      What will be the biggest challenges facing European agricultural sector in the near future, and what will be the role of research, namely the new EU research programme, Horizon 2020, in facing them? That will be the focus of a conference entitled "Agricultural Research and Food Security – Outlook to Horizon 2020 and beyond", held at the Czech Permanent Representation to the EU (Rue Caroly 15) on 5 June 2013. More information on the programme and the registration form are available on the website of CZELO, the Czech Liaison Office for Research, Development and Innovation.

  • Success Stories
    • Tracking and cleaning small oil spills
      Major oil spills from sinking supertankers are thankfully very rare these days. However, smaller oil spills from shipping are unfortunately still common. Most ships have some type of fuel on board and if they are involved in an accident, there is a risk of that fuel leaking into the sea.

Tuesday, 21 May 2013

  • Success Stories
    • Banishing the "black cloud": How rice research could clear Egypt's skies
      It's a phenomenon known locally as the "black cloud", and it plagues Egypt every autumn after the rice harvest: an estimated 4 million tonnes of rice straw is burnt every season, spewing some 80,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the skies. It leaves a choking, toxic layer of thick smog hanging just 25 meters above over the entire Nile valley for weeks, and adds to the already polluted air over the Cairo megalopolis.

    • Deep inside the brain
      The brain controls our thinking, feelings and movements and a new exhibition in southern France aims to reveal some of its secrets.

Monday, 20 May 2013

Sunday, 19 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Gérard Spencer (LU): What is needed to exit the crisis and help Europe's economy to grow?
      I believe it actually starts from the youth. To be able to get out of this crisis we need more qualified youth, a youth which is more aware of what to be European actually means, what are the privileges of being European: freedom of movement, being able to travel to study other European programs. So basically we need to talk about what being a European is: it is a benefit to be multilingual, it is a benefit to be able to travel freely in the European sphere and it is those children who will grow into this kind of education who will have more ideas, a big identity, more language skills, be more adventurous, who will have new ideas for the future. So I believe it is about focusingon European youth today to get Europe out of its crisis tomorrow.

Week 20

Saturday, 18 May 2013

Friday, 17 May 2013

  • Events
    • 1st OpenChina-ICT Thematic Workshop on Smart and Sustainable Cities - 31 May 2013, Guangzhou, P.R. China

      The 1st OpenChina-ICT Thematic Workshop on Smart and Sustainable Cities is organised by the OpenChina-ICT project under the aegis of the European Commission through its FP7 research-funding programme, aiming at facilitating ICT related research cooperation between Europe and China. This event (free of charge) will be held in Guangzhou, P.R. China on May 31, 2013 and will bring together policy and main research stakeholders from Europe and China specialized on the ICT aspects of Smart and Sustainable Cities to create feasible research collaboration with the emergence of concrete projects. ...

    • Fujitsu Innovation Gathering - 30 May 2013, Dublin

      What next for Big Data, the Cloud and High Performance Computing? How to extrapolate R&D value and turn technology into tangible business solutions? What role for Ireland? Fujitsu invites you to join the discussion with industry strategists, leading academia and state agencies at a unique, one day conference in Croke Park on Thursday, 30th May 2013 to find out how Ireland can best position itself to maximise innovation and R&D collaboration to drive commercial success.

    • ICE Flooding 2013 - 23 May 2013, London

      The Institution of Civil Engineers is holding its first national-level flooding conference. Focussing on developing flood resilient communities, the programme examines every stage; from planning, design and construction, drainage and insurance to engaging the puvlic.

  • Research Headlines
    • All-optical broadband ... cheaper, faster and greener
      A European team of researchers is exploring new ways of using fibre-optic technology to deliver ultra-high-speed internet access to even the remotest locations in Europe, at less cost and with less impact on the environment. It is ambitious, but innovative solutions are needed to strengthen Europe's digital economy and provide jobs.

  • Success Stories
    • Water-friendly hydraulic technology to make heavy machinery greener
      Bulldozers, diggers, tractors: these heavy machines all apply the same basic hydraulic powers for their trays and claws. Around 85% of all hydraulic fluids leave their system through slow leaks, line breaks or system failures. Exhausted lubricants could be a severe fire risk, with a cumulative impact on plants, fish, and wildlife. When the fluids need to be disposed of at the end of their life, the cost, at €1 per kg, is around the same as the lubricant itself. As the costs associated with disposal rise, there is a growing demand for alternative options.

Thursday, 16 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Imina Osemwegie Soul (NG): How do you see research and innovation making a difference for a better future?
      It does! But only if we create the right channels. Because there are different types of research: economic research, development research and human research. So it depends on the role every country wants to play. Europe has enough resources, all it need to do is to work on economic research, which means create more labour, more working environment, then it will change the economy. Because at the moment the economy is stagnating, it is not moving forward, because no new jobs are created, every old jobs have been taken, so it is like a boomerang situation. All they need to do is to open up the system, that allows more trainee and more work.

Wednesday, 15 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Benjamin Bruyninx (BE): What is needed to exit the crisis and help Europe's economy to grow?
      I think it depends on what we consider as Europe: is it politicians or people in the street? I think that the solution may come from the people and the citizens. There is an important to change the mentalities and I think that people have to be more critical about the world in which they are living and we have to change our habits and our way to consume goods and find new values. And I think that politicians have to help that and they have to believe and to realize that we have to change the system in which we're living and the economical system and the philosophical, political way to consider the world and society in general, today.

  • Research Headlines
    • Exploring the genetic and neurobiological bases for mental disorders
      Psychiatric disorders are a major, though often "hidden", health problem. It is estimated that mental disorders affect more than 160 million Europeans - 38% of the population each year. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one in four of us will suffer from at least one mental disorder during our lifetime. In addition to the direct impact this has on patients and their families, the impact on national healthcare systems is significant. In Europe, the annual cost is estimated to be more than €200 billion.

  • Success Stories
    • A European Flood Alert System to protect Europe's cities
      In August 2002 Europe was struck by a disastrous flood when the Elbe and Danube overflowed, affecting the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia. The cities of Dresden and Prague particularly suffered extensive damage. In response to this disaster, the European Commission's in-house science service, the Joint Research Centre (JRC), launched the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS).

    • Enhancing sustainability by unlocking the secrets of wood
      If the world is to live within its environmental limits, the need to make the most sustainable use of its raw materials will become ever more vital. Increasingly, this will require us to focus on making maximum use of all the components of those raw materials, right down to the waste products. In today's world, everything has to be used.

    • Leading the charge into the future, one electric car at a time
      Overconsumption of fossil fuels, excessive carbon emissions and threats to air quality are all urgent problems that would be addressed if all-electric vehicles were fully operational and in widespread use. Research conducted by the European Union funded Fuerex project could give consumers in the near future the option of driving a car with almost zero emissions, without compromising on the range of the battery.

Tuesday, 14 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Bryna Benhoff (US): What is needed to exit the crisis and help Europe's economy to grow?
      There's no worse or better there's only different. And I can promise you that. In the US, there are so many different issues and class disparity and you see that people that are poor are becoming so much poorer. Now they are starting to become a social stygma. And unemployement is just as bad except they have no net to fall into. Now Europe have the safety net which brings a lot of people into. You know you don't have the motivating factors but I would say it is going to just...Both sides needs to swallow their pride and realise that they have to make changes, especially in today's world where you can't just throw money in industry anymore, you can't just say: We need to manufature more goods because we don't need more goods. We need to have ideas, like from talent places that were out today that you need to start opening your mind. The systems are very closed right now, and you need to start opening those up and maybe steal some ideas from both sides.

  • Research Headlines
    • Understanding cell behaviour to help treat major diseases
      The ability to measure concentrations of oxygen inside living human cells is a key requirement to help advance our understanding and treatment of a range of serious medical conditions. These include ischaemic stroke (where the stroke is caused by a blockage in the artery, preventing sufficient oxygen from reaching the brain), neurodegenerative disorders, and cancer.

  • Success Stories
    • Innovative infrared testing device set to reduce aircraft development costs
      To make modern aircraft ever lighter, faster and more fuel efficient, manufacturers are continually introducing new advanced materials, composites and super lightweight structures. Before using them on a plane, the integrity and performance of these materials have to be tested in a non-destructive way, to see how they would perform in the real-life pressure and temperature conditions of flight. Among the techniques aero-space testing facilities currently rely on are two important tests: one using laser beams and one using thermal imaging to see inside the material under stress and detect problems in structures caused by hidden defects. European researchers have found a way to replace these two with a single test.

Monday, 13 May 2013

  • Press Centre
    • EU chooses finalists for innovation in public administration prizes
      The European Commission has today announced the 18 public authorities shortlisted for its competition to find the most innovative public initiatives in Europe. The finalists are competing for nine prizes worth €100,000 each. The purpose of the prizes is to encourage modern approaches to public spending, which accounts on average for half of EU gross domestic product. The prize money has to be used by winning administrations to scale up and expand their winning initiatives.

  • Research Headlines
    • Developing new weapons in the fight against cancer
      Cancer causes some 13% of deaths worldwide. Of these deaths, some 90% are caused not by the original cancer, but by its spread to other parts of the body. These secondary cancers, known as metastases, are most often caused by 'circulating tumour cells' (CTCs) which escape from the primary tumour and travel around the body in the bloodstream. In the process, CTCs often undergo modifications that make them more resistant to treatment than the primary tumours.

  • Success Stories
    • New smart robots to improve inspection of nuclear plants
      Nuclear power accounts for one sixth of the European Union (EU)'s energy consumption, and there are power plants in 14 of the 27 member states. Safety is a priority and there are regular maintenance checks on every aspect of the plants. But what happens if cracks appear in the machinery that are so small and deep that they escape the human eye? And how can one check every corner of a nuclear reactor when some areas are, by necessity, shrouded in radiation?

    • On the right track
      When Europe's rail pioneers created the first steam engines some two centuries ago, they gave little thought to whether their inventions might be used in other countries: while their ingenuity helped transform travel, they never got round to setting uniform rail technologies across the continent.

    • How to save historic buildings from climate change
      From Roman temples and Gothic churches to Greek theatres and medieval castles, Europe is peppered with historic buildings that reflect its rich cultural heritage. But these monuments all need to be preserved, a task complicated by age, pollution, tourist demands and climate change. Now science is lending a hand in this task, with a new European Union research project developing measures to reduce energy loss from within old buildings.

Sunday, 12 May 2013

Week 19

Saturday, 11 May 2013

Friday, 10 May 2013

  • Success Stories
    • Plastic materials for environmentally friendly devices
      A radio made completely of plastic? We might see them in the near future, claim scientists. In 1977 researchers discovered that certain types of plastic can conduct electricity, just like metals. Initially these plastics remained a curiosity, but by improving their electrical properties researchers have now opened the way for their use in a large number of electric and electronic devices.

    • Automated machine to harvest white and violet asparagus
      As a food, asparagus can trace an illustrious lineage back 20,000 years to Egypt; it features in the world's oldest surviving cook book, Apicius's third century 'De re coquinaria'; it is packed with vitamins, and a very good source of dietary fibre. No wonder the asparagus is such a prized food. But its reputation as the ultimate gourmet vegetable is also reflected in its delicate cultivation, with white asparagus in particular requiring labour intensive hilling. And in Europe, this dedicated nurturing is threatening the crop as farmers struggle to find the manpower needed to harvest asparagus.

    • Mapping the vulnerability of Europe's seas
      The seas are Europe’s lifeblood. With the highest ratio of shoreline to land area of any continent, Europe is very much a maritime continent. Now, an EU-funded tool called EMIS (Environmental Marine Information System) allows policymakers and citizens to monitor those seas at the click of a button.

Thursday, 09 May 2013

  • Research Headlines
    • Charting Europe's nanotechnology 'roadmap'
      Nanotechnology is opening the way to a new industrial revolution. From 'individualised' medical treatments tailored for each patient to new, environmentally-friendly energy storage and generation systems, nanotechnology is bringing significant advances. Exciting new futures await those businesses able to get ahead in the race to turn this wealth of promise into commercial success. But in a field which requires a high degree of coordinated effort involving many different stakeholder groups, including researchers, policymakers and commercial players across a wide variety of industrial sectors, it has perhaps been inevitable that fragmentation, disconnectedness and duplication have stood in the way.

Wednesday, 08 May 2013

  • Research Headlines
    • Paving the way for thought-controlled prostheses
      Understanding how the brain processes new skills and actions can help to improve learning and aid research into neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders such as Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. An EU-funded project has collected new data on the development of neural mechanisms of action learning and habit formation and addiction through the manipulation of the brain’s molecular networks. This could lead to breakthroughs in thought-controlled prostheses.

  • Success Stories
    • A new research facility for the Middle East
      Wel-known accelerators, like the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, the European Laboratory for Particle Physics near Geneva, smash subatomic particles together to study their properties. But there is another group of accelerators where electrons don´t collide, instead they are kept circulating through a ring-shaped vacuum tube, called a storage ring. While they are racing around this ring they produce intense radiation.

    • Reducing forest-fire danger and damage on a European scale
      About one million hectares of forests, which corresponds to one third the size of Belgium, are destroyed by fire every year in the Mediterranean basin. Forests are an important economic resource in that region, and the loss of forests weighs on the economies of the affected countries, especially in North Africa where a warming of 2 degrees Celsius and decreasing rainfall has been recorded. It is expected that climate change in North Africa will substantially increase the yearly losses to fire.

    • The ultimate flight simulator
      For pilots, one of the most difficult skills to learn is 'upset recovery' - righting a plane that has stalled or been thrown into an unstable situation due to weather or a technical problem. When a pilot is not able to fly out of an 'upset' and the plane proceeds out of control, accidents can result. And it is precisely because these extreme conditions seldom occur in real life that it is hard for a pilot to be prepared for them: up to now, no flight simulator reflects adequately how an actual aircraft behaves during upset situations. Alternative training methods – such as using large commercial aircraft for training or smaller ones – are either too dangerous or too expensive, or may not be comparable to how large aircraft behave and respond.

    • Brighter future for Mediterranean and Black Sea ecosystems
      Where better to enjoy a relaxing coastal trip than the Mediterranean? However, with large areas of this and the Black Sea basin under threat from environmental change, collaboration within the local scientific communities is more important than ever.

    • Operation Innovation
      In 2006, several years before innovation became the buzz word across the world, the EuroMed Innovation and Technology Programme (Medlbtikar) was making waves across the MEDA region. This three year, €7.24 million programme successfully offered the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs) new and improved instruments to stimulate innovation. It also encouraged networking between the MPCs and the European Union.

    • Boosting research on Morocco's medicinal plants
      The use of plants in medicine is as old as medicine itself. Today, in the age of high-tech drug design, the pharmaceutical industry continues to draw on naturally occurring compounds in its search for new treatments. The fragrance and nutritional supplement industries are perhaps even more reliant on plant-sourced chemicals.

    • An Earthquake early-warning system for a safer Europe
      Even 10 seconds can make a difference. When Japan was hit by the earthquake in 2011, early-warning systems were in place, and within seconds even the high-speed "bullet" trains stopped. About half of Europe is also a high-risk earthquake area, especially Mediterranean countries like Greece, Italy, and also other regions around the Black Sea.

Tuesday, 07 May 2013

  • Events
    • 2013 NEM Summit - 28-30 October 2013, Nantes, France

      The NEM Summit, organised every year since 2008 by the NEM Initiative in close cooperation with leading industrial and academic players worldwide, is the “not-to-be-missed” annual event for all those interested in Future Internet developments and in the fast paced evolution of the networked and electronic media industry. ...

  • Research Headlines
    • Assessing the impact of indoor air pollution on Europeans
      The health impact of indoor air pollution is a real environmental health issue, which is believed to have a bearing on respiratory conditions such as asthma. This has prompted a European study to take action. While outdoor pollution is often cited as the cause of many asthma related issues, indoor threats are also being addressed in the light of World Asthma Day.

  • Success Stories
    • Real Partnerships. Real Results
      The Mediterranean sea is a huge marine ecosystem with an area of 2.5 million km². The wellbeing of this unique ecosystem is vital for the health of the 427 million people living in the countries around it and the 175 million visitors it receives each year. Nevertheless, it remains fragile and continues to deteriorate due to the devastating effects of pollution. Effective decontamination is crucial and this is just one area where the Mediterranean Innovation and Research coordination Action (MIRA) is making a welcome impact.

    • Monitoring pollution in Europe: what and where
      Imagine you are an enthusiastic gardener and cherish a perfect lawn. Instead of picking the weeds by hand you use an herbicide that kills all the weeds except the grass. The result is that you will have added a considerable amount of chemicals to the soil, some of which are nasty, persistent and will stay around for a long time. The rain will transport these chemicals via sewage systems to rivers, and ultimately these chemicals will end up somewhere, in lakes or the sea. There they will enter the food chain, and be part of your next fish dinner.

    • European gene therapy research may restore essential human senses
      A world without hearing, sight or smell; without music, the light of the day or the scent of a delicious meal. This is the reality for those who suffer from congenital cilia diseases, a condition stemming from genetic defects; they go through life missing one or more senses.

    • Improving safety in vehicles for all European citizens
      Road accidents killed almost 35,000 people in the European Union (EU)'s 27 member states in 2009, the latest year for which statistics are available. While this number represents a fall of 38% since the start of the 21st century, there is still great scope to improve vehicle safety in Europe.

Monday, 06 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Khadija Rejdy (BE): What is needed to exit the crisis and help Europe's economy to grow?
      At this moment, I believe that you cannot get out of something if you have the same mentality as you started with. So, for me, the big thing to get out of this crisis is to have a change in mentality: we can't look at the problems the same way as we came in to the problem...So, meaning by that is having these entrepreneurs out there, that change things, that really see it from a different point of view, from an innovative point of view, it can be the same way, but just the approach is very much different. Again linking towards a strong leadership in it and having those change agents.

Sunday, 05 May 2013

Week 18

Saturday, 04 May 2013

  • Horizon 2020 - video testimonials
    • Steve Phillips (GB): How do you see research and innovation making a difference for a better future?
      More robust infrastructures, pragmatic reaction If we look at some of the challenges, I mean climate change, is a key one facing us, and a lot of the people will say we need to do a lot for climate change. Which is actually true,there is a lot of mitigation things we're doing. But we also, need heavy investment. in some of the adaptation methods as well. I've just come bacl from a tour of the United States, looking at what the're doing dealingwith all their extreme events. We have to make our system in Europe,all our society more robust for the changes that are going to happen. and this is not a defeatist in, saying we cannot prevent it, it is just a pragmatic reaction to the fact, things are going to happen.

  • Research Headlines
    • Super surfaces at your service
      Every time a firefighter braves an inferno, a scientist wonders if a new material or special flame-resistant coating could be created to protect him. Today, armed with nanocomposite techniques and insights into bio-based materials, new classes of smart, adaptable super-surface coatings are possible, according to European researchers.

Friday, 03 May 2013

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