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).
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.
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.
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.
Dairy farmers are always looking for ways to cut costs and boost production. An EU-funded project aims to help. Its new technology lets farmers combine pasture feeding with automated milking systems – for more efficient production and happier cows.
Asthma treatments tend to be a ‘one size fits all’ approach, as it has proved impossible so far to identify different categories of the disease, its causes and its responses to different environmental triggers. This is particularly inadequate for severe cases of therapy-resistant asthma in adults and children.
Climate forecasts depend in particular on precise information – not only to estimate how living conditions on Earth may change, but also how humanity will have to adapt to these changes. A European Union (EU)-funded project, MACC, has developed an innovative system to collect and coordinate precise information to aid in these climate forecasts.
Global warming is the biggest threat to mankind in the 21st century as the ongoing battle against CO2 emissions takes many forms. Throughout Europe there is the growth and development of windfarms, research into wave energy, the focus on recycling, waste reduction, and prototypes of electric engines or engines fuelled by alternative energy technologies.
Food processers have struggled to produce low-fat versions of cheese and cheese-based products without much success. Taste, texture and other properties tend to suffer once natural fats are reduced in many foods. Thanks to the three-year EU-funded project CHEESECOAT, processors can now meet the demand from health- conscious consumers for a low-fat cheese with the flavour, texture and melting properties of traditional mozzarella.
An EU-funded project has demonstrated technology to shorten the time carbon takes to mineralise underground – from thousands of years down to a few. Storing captured CO2 underground is made safer – opening the door to its wider use in preventing global warming.
Seaweed is an important but under-exploited resource for food and feed ingredients, biochemicals and the production of biofuels. But it has been difficult to harvest efficiently on a large scale. Until now. The EU-funded AT~SEA project has developed advanced textiles that give high yields from floating seaweed farms and allow easy, mechanised cultivation.
One of the keys for treating and reducing the spread of sexually transmitted diseases is accurate, fast and affordable means of detection. This is especially true for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus that, according to medical researchers, is the leading cause of cervical cancer.
African countries have limited healthcare resources, making it crucial that policymakers use them wisely. EU-funded researchers have helped African governments access the best healthcare research possible when planning for the future and for emergencies.
EU-funded researchers have developed new tests to help protect travellers from toxic gases in case of a train fire. Their work could lead to safer trains and help develop Europe-wide fire standards for public transport.
An Italian-led European consortium is piloting an assembly line for a small electric car developed in an EU-funded project. The vehicle sets new standards for quality, efficiency and safety in the booming market for ‘micro’ electric vehicles.
It has become a cliché today to talk about the ‘IT revolution’. Computers have changed our lives beyond recognition. However, the scale of this revolution could be dwarfed by the advances promised by the next generation of information technology – quantum computing.
The EU-funded ADSEAT project has developed the world’s first virtual crash test dummy of an average female. The computational model is to be used in virtual testing of vehicle seat safety performance.
Due to increased market pressure to produce high quality and low cost fish, the aquaculture industry has been forced to develop technologies that reduce the level of risk to investors yet maintain reliable production output.
IMPRINTS project allowed the research team to integrate in an Early Warning operational platform developments such as hydrological warnings based on the rainfall anticipated by meteorological models and by weather radar networks.
Timely flood alerts and real-time monitoring of flood emergencies can save lives and prevent damage to property, infrastructure and the environment. Imprints, WeSenseIt and UrbanFlood are just three examples of EU-funded projects that have developed unique forecasting and alert systems to warn communities of impending floods.
