An EU-funded cooperation project between India and several EU countries could transform food processing by products into food ingredients and new food products by providing sustainability and competitiveness to the food industry.
Nanotechnology looks certain to be a major source of progress in the future, benefiting society with its advances and boosting Europe’s economy by opening up new commercial possibilities. However, to achieve these gains, nanotechnology researchers need the best tools.
Two linked European projects, FIBLYS and UnivSEM, have risen to the challenge - creating a unique new machine described by one of its developers as a nanotech ‘Swiss Army knife’.
Significant progress has been made in the fight against cancer and HIV, two diseases that affect millions of Europeans every year.
The EU-funded APO-SYS project investigated how the genetically programmed process of cell death can be modulated to improve the treatment efficiency of these disorders and, hence, potentially save the lives of millions of patients.
Sea waves can produce very high forces but they also tend to have very low vertical velocities. Exploiting wave energy from these low velocities often requires large generators which are too bulky and expensive for efficient use.
However, a European consortium has developed a prototype that "snaps" energy out of the rise and fall of the swell, allowing for the efficient extraction of energy. With a generator that is relatively small, light and cheap, the prototype is designed to resist corrosion while deployed in water depths of up to 60m.
Researchers within the NAIMIT EU-funded project are testing genetically altered bacteria known as Lactococcus lactis, which is showing promise to produce a valid treatment for Type I diabetes.
Success in these clinical trials already has had profound implications for future innovation and could have a positive impact on human health.
Professor Aharon Gedanken says he dreams of a day when hospitals are infection-free. "We are getting closer to the dream," he says of his EU-funded project, which demonstrated how textiles treated with nanoparticles can kill deadly bacteria.
Plastic films are used for packaging a wide range of products, offering protection against humidity and potential contaminants. Over time, however, these films let in air, diminishing the properties of the packed products. And while multilayer films combining several plastics are often used to improve protection, most of this packaging cannot be recycled.
The researchers behind the EU-funded WHEYLAYER project found a cheese-based biodegradable alternative to conventional multilayer films.
Bluefin tuna is so highly prized that it is being driven to extinction from the high seas due to intensive and often illegal fishing. A European research project has found a way of breeding tuna in captivity, potentially saving the coveted fish.
As a third of the fruit and vegetables Europe consumes are grown in greenhouses, protected horticulture represents a sizeable and growing proportion of the industry.
EUPHOROS project helped cut farmers’ energy requirements by half and provided innovative solutions for reducing water, nutrients and pesticides use and implementing low-energy climate controls.
Ochratoxin A (OTA) is one of the most abundant toxins that contaminates food and is deemed to be a 'health risk' by experts. OTA suppresses the immune system and can even cause various forms of cancer in both humans and animals.
The AQUASZERO project has developed low cost adsorbents in the form of granules that can remove arsenic from drinking water. The product can be used in existing water treatment filter cartridges where the arsenic bonds firmly to the AQUASZERO granules. When the granules are saturated they can be safely buried in the ground as inert waste.
EPOSBED has developed a solution to help patients with their mobility problems, as well as make work easier for care-givers. The project team – whose 10 partners include eight SMEs – has designed an automated, adjustable bed that allows patients with limited mobility to change their position without needing assistance from medical staff.
The EU-funded research project DINAMO has used the unique properties of diamonds to develop a radical new way to study molecular processes in living cells.
This new technology can, for example, detect the onset of cancer far earlier than was previously possible, opening the path to more effective treatment and potentially saving the lives of countless cancer patients.
The ISU-DEP project aims to increase the autonomy of elderly and bedridden people by supporting caregivers, and restoring dignity and self-esteem through sensitive personal hygiene.
Based on advanced optic technology, device can detect quantities of less than 1 mg of explosives at a 20-metre distance.
The FallWatch Consortium brings together a wealth of European technology and expertise in a tiny triangular patch called Vigi’Fall that can be worn by the user in a non-intrusive, permanent manner.
Unique Vigi’Fall fall detection solution could help save 500,000 hospitalisations and 40,000 premature deaths caused by falls in Europe every year.
Materialise is a pioneer in Additive Manufacturing software and solutions, more commonly known as 3D printing, which has grown in size from a university spin-off to a multinational thanks in part to EU research funding.
In recent years we’ve seen face, voice and fingerprint identification software move from Sci-Fi films into real life affordable devices, such as smartphones and tablets.
Rapidcool, an innovative project supported by European Union research funding, aims at reducing the energy requirements for cooling drinks at the point of sale, saving retailers’ money and ultimately helping the environment.
The goal of the Human Brain Project is to build a completely new information computing technology infrastructure for neuroscience and for brain-related research in medicine and computing, catalysing a global collaborative effort to understand the human brain and its diseases and ultimately to emulate its computational capabilities.
