After an organ transplant, a patient must take powerful drugs to suppress rejection of the new body part. The EU-funded THE ONE STUDY project is testing whether some of the body's own immune cells can improve organ acceptance. Initial clinical trials are underway.
EU-funded researchers have conclusively shown that large-scale, cost-effective manufacturing of graphene is possible, opening up new product possibilities and ensuring that Europe remains at the cutting edge of applied nanotechnology.
When oil-seed plants and fish are processed, how can we use the parts not traditionally used in food? How about food ingredients, skincare and pesticides? EU-funded researchers have demonstrated sustainable ways to get the most out of produce. Companies are already building factories and machines to put the results to good use.
EU-funded research indicates air pollution and global warming are locked in a vicious circle. The research is feeding into efforts to cut air pollution and fight climate change.
EU-funded researchers have developed three new tools to kill malaria-carrying mosquitoes. They are now working to bring their low-cost innovations to market quickly – a boost to the global battle against this deadly disease.
The robot Kompaï helps older, dependent or disabled people to live independently at home for as long as possible. Kompaï was designed to accommodate in particular people suffering from cognitive decline. People can be safe at home and stay in permanent connection to the outside world due to internet access and dedicated applications in Kompaï.
The fall detector validated in the FATE project is a highly sensitive device for fall detection. When a fall is detected, a message is sent to a phone number of a relative, carer or alarm monitoring centre. The device is very small and light and can be worn in a customised belt comfortably and securely at all times. It can be easily connected to the user smartphone using Bluetooth. A proprietary App for Android makes its management very easy and transparent for the user.
Parkinson’s disease affects more than one million people in Europe today and this number is expected to double by 2030. Most of the symptoms are connected to movement, which makes it very important to monitor the patients' motor conditions. The REMPARK project developed a prototype of a monitoring device for patients. This device opens new possibilities for a more accurate disease management as it allows real-time monitoring of the evolution of the patient in ambulatory conditions.
An EU-funded project has advanced lung cancer research by focusing on its weak spot – the epigenetic (or non-inherited) changes that differentiate cancer cells from healthy cells, making them prime targets for new therapies and earlier detection. The project results are already contributing to clinical trials and new screening tools.
Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a devastating, inborn, progressive neurodegenerative disorder with a very early onset in childhood. The EU-funded project CHROMOREPAIR helped shed light on underlying issues in CS and related disorders, which may ultimately open the way for novel diagnostic options and treatment targets.
Marine bacteria play a crucial role in biogeochemical processes such as the cycling of carbon and nitrogen. They have a variety of functions, which in some species are triggered only when seasonal conditions indicate that the time is right. A Marie Curie fellow has taken a closer look at the task division among these tiny agents of change.
Political cynicism and alienation, as well as moves towards violent extremism, threaten the values that underpin democracy. EU-funded research reveals how we can engage young people in peaceful civic and political processes.
Growth in Central and Eastern European economies has slowed in recent years – and its rewards are spread unevenly. An EU-funded project studied how economic, social and environmental policies could work together to make these economies fairer and more sustainable.
When the Sun sends a great mass of solar material hurtling through space, the repercussions can be felt here on Earth in the form of a geomagnetic storm. One EU-funded scientist set out to understand why these eruptions happen, and to create a methodology for predicting the timeframe between the explosion and its impacts 150 million kilometres away on our planet.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the hardest cancers to detect, making survival rates very low. The EU-funded SaveMe project has engineered nanoparticles that find the cancer using receptors for the tumour cells’ unique biological signal – a step towards early detection.
Innovative snow-making technology may help winter tourism destinations boost snow cover and extend their ski seasons.
With today’s technology, supercomputers of the future would consume the amount of energy needed to power a little town. To allow the further development in exascale supercomputing without that extremely energy-intense trade-off, Exa2green developed a set of energy efficient High-Performance Computing (HPC) components, tools and algorithms.
Although cervical cancer can be prevented, about 60 000 women in Europe develop the disease each year. Key to bringing this figure down and ultimately saving lives are effective vaccination and screening programmes. The findings of the EU-funded PreHdict project have been instrumental in improving programmes in Europe.
Europe still depends heavily on coal, despite the strides made in developing renewable energy sources. To use this coal more wisely, an EU-funded project investigated a resource-saving way to access more coal while cutting the CO2 it releases into the atmosphere.
People can now access millions of scientific data resources about our planet thanks to the EUROGEOSS project. EUROGEOSS (‘European approach to the global Earth observation system of systems’), backed under the Environment Theme of the EU’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) to the tune of EUR 6.1 million, has developed an innovative way to search thousands of Earth observation catalogues.
