http://ec.europa.eu//research/index.cfm?pg=whatsnew en Fri, 24 May 2013 14:47:33 GMT http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=rss For more RSS news feeds click the link above. Fri, 24 May 2013 14:47:33 GMT http://ec.europa.eu/research/index.cfm?pg=rss http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_23_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30093 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.]]> Thu, 23 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-23:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_23_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30093 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_22_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30075 ENRAH-SME was a pioneering European Union (EU)-funded project which laid the crucial groundwork for a major breakthrough in the understanding and potential treatment of a rare childhood neurological disease.]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-22:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_22_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30075 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-oil_spills&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30076 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.]]> Wed, 22 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-22:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-oil_spills&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30076 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_17_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30033 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.]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-17:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_17_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=30033 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-hydro-coat&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30034 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. ]]> Fri, 17 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-17:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-hydro-coat&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30034 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-pancaresurfup&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30014 "If I have received radiotherapy to my abdomen (to treat cancer) and I have a heart problem or a new cancer 30 years later, to what extent is this linked to the radiotherapy I received?" asks Dr Lars Hjorth of Lund University in Sweden. ]]> Thu, 16 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-16:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-pancaresurfup&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=30014 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-fantom&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29974 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. ]]> Tue, 14 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-14:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-fantom&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29974 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-modtrain&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29955 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. ]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-13:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-modtrain&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29955 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-3encult&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29954 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. ]]> Mon, 13 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-13:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-3encult&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29954 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-one-p&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29936 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. ]]> Fri, 10 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-10:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-one-p&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29936 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_09_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29933 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.]]> Thu, 09 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-09:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_05_09_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29933 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-pegaso&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29924 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. ]]> Wed, 08 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-05-08:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-pegaso&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29924 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_29_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29833 For Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, of the University of Uppsala in Sweden, news that the European Union (EU) was to provide funding for a project aimed at using research into canine genetics as a kind of 'fast-track' to help provide cures for many important human diseases marked the achievement of a long-held ambition.]]> Mon, 29 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-29:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_29_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29833 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_26_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29813 Age related hearing loss (ARHL) is far too easily ignored. Its onset is insidious. Its progression gradual. People with declining hearing often mistakenly believe the problem is that their conversation partners mumble or speak too quickly – and as hearing ability diminishes further, social exchanges slowly turn from fluid repertoires to too many non sequiturs. Frustrated from no longer being able to understand others well in social settings, people may stop going to the theatre or senior centres, or even just to a restaurant with friends or family. This social isolation, in turn, is associated with depression and cognitive decline. Disturbances of gait and balance have also been linked to ARHL.]]> Fri, 26 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-26:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_26_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29813 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_25_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29793 The UN Security Council has expressed concerns that the adverse effects of climate change could lead to certain threats to international peace and security. However, research suggests that scarcity can lead to cooperation rather than conflict. In order to improve our understanding of the factors involved, the European Union (EU)-funded CLICO project studied the world's most exposed and vulnerable areas to both floods and droughts - the Mediterranean, Middle East and Sahel (MMES) regions.]]> Thu, 25 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-25:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_25_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29793 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_23_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29753 Each year, twice as many people die in Europe from hospital acquired infections than from road accidents. These infectious diseases have developed antibiotic resistance and spread despite the best efforts of staff, mainly through textiles like bed linen. But the technology developed by a European research project helps fight back against the so-called superbugs, by using a revolutionary nanotechnology to treat bed linen and other textiles.]]> Tue, 23 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-23:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_23_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29753 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_12_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29653 Mobile "smart" phones, wireless Internet access, Bluetooth and other types of wireless communication devices and technologies are becoming so commonplace that it is getting harder to think of the time when they didn’t exist. Most people living in the European Union (EU) use some form of wireless equipment, and the number and variety of uses continue to grow.]]> Fri, 12 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-12:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_12_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29653 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-innosound&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29655 Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics in Munich, Germany, spent the past three years working with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to develop IT tools for the design of top-quality wooden and metal organ pipes. In December 2011 the team, set up in the context of the EU-funded research project "Innosound", unveiled a first prototype that cut by 20% the organ pipes' size and reduced by 15% total organ production costs. The study was backed by €625,000 in EU funds. ]]> Thu, 11 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-11:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-innosound&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29655 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_07_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29593 In countries with well-developed healthcare systems, dying as a direct result of a condition brought on by pregnancy is a remote and shocking possibility. Nevertheless, one such condition, pre-eclampsia, affects 2% of all first-time mothers, and, moreover, to date no viable screening test has been developed. ]]> Sun, 07 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-07:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_07_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29593 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_05_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29573 Anyone living near an airport will testify to the ferocious sound of airplanes taking off and landing. It can be deafening very close to the runway and still very disruptive at a distance. But thanks to a European Union research project, those thundering flyovers could be muffled, sparing the eardrums of people under the flight paths.]]> Fri, 05 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-05:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_05_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29573 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_02_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29533 In their quest to better understand the past, archaeologists also take great care to preserve the resting grounds of ancient artefacts. This is not always easy in large digs. But the Radiography of the Past (Radio-Past) project has harnessed the skills of international research teams to develop the next generation of non-destructive approaches to archaeology, including aerial surveying and remote-sensing technology. This approach has unearthed new evidence from buried settlements across Southern, Central and Western Europe which sheds light on how Roman cities and societies were constructed.]]> Tue, 02 Apr 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-04-02:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_04_02_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29533 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-storage&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29520 Powering a car with batteries is basically a question of numbers. The more you have, the further you can expect it to go. However, larger batteries do not necessarily bring more mileage. Their sheer weight and size can cancel out power gains and limit performance; a battery in a 1200 kg Tesla Roadster weighs in at a hefty 450 kg. ]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-03-27:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-storage&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29520 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-rapolac&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29519 The production of advanced high-tech components for aircraft and other aerospace applications is an expensive and time-intensive process involving design, prototyping and then machining of parts often using costly high strength-to-weight materials such as titanium. A new production approach developed under the European Union (EU) -funded RAPOLAC project (Rapid Production of Large Aerospace Components) can bypass the prototyping stage and build a new part in a fraction of the time with production costs reduced by as much as 40%. ]]> Wed, 27 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-03-27:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-rapolac&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29519 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_03_26_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29513 Health-care products, cosmetics and infant formulas are just a few everyday products that use molecules derived from marine organisms. A ground-breaking EU project has discovered several new sources of these compounds and developed a new method of sustainably manufacturing them. The benefits for Europe, from major pharmaceuticals to regional development, could be immense.]]> Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-03-26:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/headlines/news/article_13_03_26_en.html&item=Infocentre&artid=29513 http://ec.europa.eu/research/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-tellibox&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29516 Used all over the world to ship goods stamped with "Made in …", containers are at the very heart of global trade. They have been around since the 1950s and have literally revolutionised the way we manufacture, trade and consume goods. ]]> Tue, 26 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT tag:ch,2013-03-26:/infocentre/article_en.cfm?id=/research/star/index_en.cfm?p=ss-tellibox&calledby=infocentre&item=Infocentre&artid=29516