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A smart platform for smoother city travel

Public transport users dread confusing connections and frustrating delays in cities. An EU-funded project brings together travel and traffic data, helping travellers get from A to B on time, with less stress.

 
A vision of personalising medicine for epilepsy patients

EpiPGX is a FP7-funded project that brings together clinical researchers, geneticists and computational biologists from leading centres across Europe to link genomics and treatment outcomes for patients suffering from epileptic seizures. The project, led by Prof. Sanjay Sisodiya from the University College London, UK and running over four years, aims to ultimately contribute to a personalised medicine strategy for epilepsy patients.

 
Researchers document health impact of noise

Policymakers now have tangible evidence that living, working or studying in a noisy environment is not only annoying … it could also have a serious impact on your health, productivity and learning ability, according to EU-funded researchers. They have produced new guidelines to help policymakers address the problem.

 
How local action can boost Europe’s flood resilience

Rail lines swept away by floods in south-west England earlier this year demonstrated that Europe’s flood defences need to be strengthened. What is needed are more flood-resilient buildings and infrastructure. An EU-funded project has developed guidance on how to integrate flood resilience into urban planning – helping to protect lives, communities and infrastructure.

 
Energy-efficient factories with 'water-powered' machines

Today’s factories and processing plants can be miracles of engineering, with whirling machines, moving modules and flowing liquids. Many factories rely on actuators, motors controlling mechanisms that help lift, press or open different technological components and machine parts. These can be fuel intensive and expensive to run, however a European Union (EU)-funded demonstration project has found a way to make both energy and cost savings by developing revolutionary hydraulic actuators.

 
Adapting to climate change, Mediterranean style

Climate change is global – but affects people locally. An EU-funded project is giving Mediterranean businesses and local governments the information they need to plan ahead by taking the impact of local climate change into account. The project is also helping to build a Europe-wide climate information service.

 
Imaginative solution to lifelong learning

In today’s rapidly changing economy, workers need to upgrade their skills constantly. Such continuous lifelong learning is essential to ensure Europeans have the complex problem-solving skills needed to remain employable and for companies to remain competitive. Backed by some of Europe’s top universities, an EU-funded project has launched a free online course to teach these skills. Registration for the first course, which starts on 8 October 2014, is underway.

 
Enhancing HIV treatment with more precise patient modelling

HIV is not curable but it is treatable, states Dr Francesca Incardona, CEO of EuResist Network GEIE and research area manager at Informa s.r.l, the SME responsible for coordinating the EuResist project. The thirty-month initiative was devoted to providing better treatment by implementing an intelligent system that uses patients’ clinical information together with viral genetic data.

 
Using satellites to get a closer look at erupting volcanoes

A European Union (EU)-funded project has developed a new satellite-based system to collect and disseminate information on volcanoes worldwide. Monitoring and studying active volcanoes on the ground can be difficult, dangerous or even impossible, particularly during an eruption. Without these accurate, real-time measurements, scientists cannot fully assess the hazards posed by lava flows and clouds of gases and ash.

 
Predicting the eruptions of unrestful volcanos

Volcanic eruptions are notoriously difficult to predict. Ground-breaking research by EU-funded scientists on the signs of volcanic unrest aims to improve eruption forecasts. Their work on the best ways to communicate such alerts could also help save lives.

 
Clean bill of health for electric cars

Could electric cars cause cancer? Like all electric devices, and indeed like all motor vehicles, they do produce electromagnetic fields. However, these fields are far too weak to give cause for concern, say EU-funded scientists at the end of a comprehensive research project.

 
Next EDCTP programme to continue delivering life-saving solutions for sub-Saharan Africa

EDCTP represents a flagship program for conducting sound multi-country clinical trials in sub-Saharan Africa, building a true partnership between Europe and Africa, and fostering African leadership in scientific research. The EDCTP program has also contributed to improving linkages between African researchers and research organisations, which resulted in the launch of four African Regional Networks of Excellence for clinical trials.

 
Better volcano forecasting boosted by EU funding

Volcanic eruptions are notoriously difficult to predict. With increased seismic activity at Iceland's Bárðarbunga volcano, and lava flowing at nearby Holuhraun, experts are carefully monitoring and analysing large amounts of data being collected from the area.

 
Stem cells use “first aid kits” to repair damage

Neural stem cells – master cells that can develop into any type of nerve cell – are able to generate mini “first aid kits” and transfer them to immune cells. This is the result of a study published today in Molecular Cell, and led by ERC grantee Prof. Stefano Pluchino, based at the University of Cambridge (UK).

 
V-MUST.NET: How museums will look in the future

2014 marks 2 000 years since the death of Augustus, founder of the Roman Empire. A unique new exhibition is using the anniversary to showcase Europe’s very latest in virtual museum technology.

 
Simulating the body’s immune defences

T-cells are white blood cells that circulate in the body, scanning for cellular abnormalities and infections. Sometimes the detecting process goes awry and the T-cells mistakenly attack the body's own cells, which occur in autoimmune diseases, or they ignore harmful cells like cancer.

 
Stem cell mysteries unravelled

Although stem cells are only microscopic in size, they contain tremendous promise. Through them deeper understanding can be gathered on how cancers progress and persist and, in the case of embryonic stem cells, they look set to become a powerful tool for regenerative medicine.