At a time when major changes are affecting the environment - climate change, habitat change, landscape change - the planet’s biodiversity is increasingly under potential threat.
EU-funded researchers have developed novel technology for treating cancer patients that could deliver drugs exactly where they are needed in the human body. The potential breakthrough, which combines diagnosis and treatment, could significantly boost the effectiveness of the drugs currently used against cancer – giving patients a better chance of surviving.
Many efforts are being made at a governmental and global level to reduce deforestation and other major contributors to climate change. The REDD-ALERT project focused on how such international and national policy initiatives – for example, the discussions taking place under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – could be translated into ideas for action on the ground.
Through the work of the EU-funded NanoMal project, a new robust, handheld diagnostic device, known as Q-POC has entered the malaria arena.
Several fish stocks are at risk of collapsing almost everywhere around the world and a large part of the problem is down to illegal catches.
Cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer are just some of the many life-threatening conditions caused by the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV).
Modern industry faces increasing demands for high-precision manufacturing. Not only are designs becoming more and more complex, with dimensions specified down to microscopic levels, but also these items frequently have to be produced as individual, customised parts or in very small batches.
EVOLVINGROBOT is a European Union (EU)-funded research project which has developed an artificial intelligence system to control tiny robots, enabling them to replicate the ‘swarming’ behaviour seen in insects such as bees or ants, or even in birds and fish. It is an innovation which could have far-reaching implications for a range of human activities, from medical to industrial, military and disaster relief.
Today, we are faced with the challenge of providing safe, nutritious and affordable food for the world's ever increasing population.
Transparency, security and reliability of individual containers are factors that are incredibly difficult to verify in the world of international goods transport.
An embedded system is an information processor that is part of a larger system and is expected to function without human intervention.
Sequencing the mouse and human genomes has provided scientists detailed knowledge of both species’ genetic composition, and highlighted their startling similarity.
EU-funded researchers are working to ensure that people with a medical need for controlled opioid medicines such as morphine can get them.
As the world continues its efforts to combat climate change and to move away from its dependence on fossil fuels, solar energy looks set to become an important technology for the future
A major consumer of time and money in the manufacturing of aircraft, motor vehicles, electronic equipment and other products is adapting assembly lines to produce different sizes, shapes and styles of such complex items. Work must stop along the line while machines are reconfigured to change how raw materials are cut, holes are drilled, and rivets are punched into place.
Burning with an energy density three times greater than fossil fuels but without producing carbon dioxide, hydrogen has obvious environmental credentials.
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.
Fading eyesight is a natural consequence of ageing. Presbyopia is a particular ocular condition that can affect everyone after the age of 45, hampering the ability to focus and leading to cataracts (the clouding of the eye lens) later in life.
Reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is a key priority facing the world today as it attempts to mitigate the scale and effects of climate change. EUROCHAR, a European research project, is developing a technique which not only promises to help tackle this priority, but also offers additional benefits in the form of environmentally-friendly energy production and enhanced soil fertility.
A new manufacturing process for surgical implants will reduce the recovery time associated with traditional implants. Developed by EU-funded researchers, the innovative method can be used to build made-to-measure prosthetic teeth, spinal disks and skull plates in 48 hours.
