Looking in the mirror in the morning can help us assess when we are under the weather. Now researchers are using modern technology to capture information about physical appearance to assess the state of health of elderly people.
Asthmatics already know that certain weather conditions can leave them short of breath. If sufferers of this and other diseases had access to an alert system warning of environmental conditions that could put them at risk, lives might be saved. The EO2HEAVEN project has done the groundwork for such a system. It is already in use to some extent in Germany, South Africa and Uganda.
HighTech Europe team has created a pioneering network to channel scientific and technological advances to benefit the European food sector.
Europe takes a leading role in combatting climate change, cutting its emissions and helping forge global consensus to address the problem. European action on this front includes research to learn more about weather systems across the planet, as two recent European Union (EU)-funded projects show.
The role of the media in guaranteeing that citizens have the information and tools they need to fully engage with democratic processes has been put into the spotlight in recent years. While the freedom of journalists and media organisations to report the truth has largely been taken for granted in democratic societies, new challenges and difficulties are raising new questions about how these freedoms can remain resilient.
The European Union (EU)-funded project SEXUAL SELECTION has shed light on why shorebirds reverse parenting roles, with males carrying out the child-care duties. The study reports that an imbalance between the number of males and females triggers the change - when there is a higher ratio of males to females. The research is the first supporting the idea that sex ratio plays an important part in the evolution of role reversal in shorebirds, which could have implications for humans as well.
ImpactMin project team developed new methods and tools for monitoring the environmental impact of mining using remote sensing.
Many lung cancer patients have trouble breathing – and if they can’t be cured, the struggle for air can become a relentless ordeal. Pulmonary stents – tubes inserted in the lung – can help. EU-funded researchers are taking this technique another step ahead with a new type of stent designed to improve and potentially extend the lives of people going through the final stages of the disease.
Forest-based industries have long been a significant part of the European economy, converting wood into pulp, paper, cardboard, energy and a range of other wood-derived products. However, the side-streams of these industries contain a potential treasure-trove of valuable materials which have not been fully exploited so far. These materials include precious compounds known to have anti-cancer properties, which have in effect been discarded as waste.
The Costa Concordia and South Korean Sewol ferry tragedies have highlighted the importance of safety in passenger shipping. Thanks to EU-funded research, evacuating large passenger ships should be smoother and safer in future. EU-funded researchers are also helping to design more stable cruise ships and ferries.
In a society that has to understand increasingly big and complex datasets, EU researchers are turning to the subconscious for help in unraveling the deluge of information.
The European Union (EU)-funded project GreenNets has developed a sustainable software solution for mobile networks, cutting energy costs and reducing CO₂ emissions.
In more than 15 years since the first vehicle drove on the surface of Mars, no rover has had the ability to make its own decisions about where to go and what objects to examine. This has limited rovers’ capacity to explore a planet with varied landscapes that include sand dunes, steep cliffs, or valleys deeper than the Grand Canyon. The European Union (EU)-funded project PRoViScout has developed a navigation system that enables a rover to decide on its own which geological features to inspect.
Air and noise pollution are among the most insidious threats to our health. But what if we could monitor both from our smartphones? The AirProbe and Widenoise apps, developed by an EU-funded research project called EVERYAWARE, have made this possible. Partners from Belgium, Germany, Italy and the UK have developed this system to increase people’s awareness of their environment.
Ancient and historical masterpieces are often exposed to the potential harmful effects of a changing environment or inappropriate restoration and handling. Until recently, the lack of a wider perspective of the heritage conservation activities in Europe, as well as the absence of a universally accepted code as to what constitutes best practice to conserve art and artefacts, have been limiting factors to the development of European research in this field.
Connecting experts with their counterparts in different regions of the world and making the latest research results freely available to all is likely to represent a great boost for the scientific inquiry. The EUAsiaGrid project helped establish an Asian e-Science Grid Infrastructure that fosters access to scientific data and facilitates the creation of collaborative partnerships
Efficiently detecting possible collisions is vital for the locust - an insect that often needs to quickly overcome big obstacles and avoid what might be, otherwise, a 'fatal crash'. The research team involved in the European Union (EU)-funded project NEURAL DEVELOPMENT has studied the insect's nerve circuits. The project results are expected to help develop highly accurate collision sensors in cars, surveillance technology and video games.
Reckless of the raging heat and the billowing fireballs, the firefighter advances undaunted towards the blazing car. Getting within range to start dousing the flames, the firefighter spots a person slumped unconscious over the steering wheel and messages back to colleagues to summon help.
Although pigs are actually one of world’s cleanest creatures – despite their reputation to the contrary – cleaning up after them is a challenging task. The bulk, gas emissions and associated odours give pig manure a bad name. But if you know how to extract them, there are value nutrients secreted in the slurry. The EU-funded EfficientHeat project has advanced waste disposal while giving pig farmers the potential to turn manure into money.
Research and development remains vibrant in the Spanish solar market industry, an example of which is the European Union (EU)-funded LIMA project. The project shows that Spain continues to benefit from the strong infrastructure developed in the country over the last 20 years.
