On 25 September, the Commission launched an online survey to gather opinions from stakeholders on the impact of the simplification measures introduced in Horizon 2020, and to ask for new ideas on future simplification.
Horizon 2020 is the biggest EU research and innovation programme ever. Almost €80 billion of funding is available over seven years (2014 to 2020) – in addition to the private and national public investment that this money will attract. This publication presents the full set of Key Performance and Cross-Cutting Issues Indicators for Horizon 2020, including those for the European Institute of Technology and EURATOM.
An international team of researchers, led by ERC grantee Prof Rune Linding, discovered how genetic cancer mutations attack the networks controlling human cells. This knowledge is critical for the future development of personalized precision cancer treatments.
To confront the current challenge of managing a city of 20 million, the Egyptian government has revealed plans earlier this year (2015) to build a new capital city, 45 kilometres east of Cairo. The ambitious project tackles growth over the next 50 years and has been set to adapt to future challenges, including population density and land constraints. Like Cairo, many other metropolises are currently under pressure.
Tired of endlessly looking for a parking spot? Dreaming of having a bird's-eye view to locate free spaces in a congested city? ERC grantee Prof Luc Van Gool is a research leader in the area of computer vision. With his project "VarCity", he works to innovate existing 3D city modelling by using object class recognition methods and crowd generated data.
We know that clouds in the Earth’s atmosphere are made of liquid water droplets, ice particles or a mixture of both. Still, our basic understanding on the nature of these ice particles, how they form and their role in climate continue to be poor. The results of Dr Benjamin Murray's ERC research, published today in Nature, add a new piece to the atmospheric puzzle.
Legumes fix nitrogen in the soil, helping other plants to thrive. But do they get anything in return? Indeed they do, says EU-funded research, if they’re combined with suitable non-leguminous crops.
You can’t see it, you can’t touch it, nor is it something you could hear, taste or smell. Dark matter is all around us, and its mass produces measurable gravitational effects. Other than that, it interacts with the visible universe even less than previously thought, according to the results of recent EU-funded research.
An archaeological project has challenged assumptions that the Early Iron Age wine trade was simply a coastal activity. Through analysis of ancient wine containers found in Central Europe, an EU-funded researcher has asserted that early European trade was more complex than previously thought.
People born with dwarfism (achondroplasia) can also have problems with the spine, breathing and hearing. An EU-funded project developed a protein that can potentially restore growth in those affected by the genetic mutation that leads to dwarfism.
The European Commission adopted yesterday the ERC Work Programme 2016. The programme foresees €1.67 billion for grants to top researchers. Within the new series of competitions, the ERC has opened today the first one, the call for Starting Grants 2016, with a budget of €485 million and deadline of 17 November 2015. This scheme is open to researchers with 2 to 7 years of experience since completion of PhD and a promising scientific track record.
Controlling a TV set by pushing an invisible, yet tangible button in mid-air or projecting content onto a screen of mist – such futuristic technologies may find their way into our homes sooner than we think. First results of the EU-funded project INTERACT are already attracting a lot of interest from industry.
Without catalysts, humans wouldn’t have got far. They trigger many of the processes on which we rely, from age-old mechanisms deep down in our cells to the production of contemporary consumer goods. They could also smooth our path towards a sustainable future. EU-funded researcher Xile Hu has delivered promising advances.
When Prof. Heino Falcke obtained an ERC grant to study and identify the sources of ultra-high energy cosmic rays, back in 2008, he could not imagine that his research would provide an important clue to better understand lightning and thunderclouds much closer to us.
Prof. Emma Master works on new enzymes and proteins that can be used to produce renewable materials from plant fibres. Her findings could boost the biochemical and bioplastics markets.
With her ERC grant, the 5000th awarded to a leading scientist in Europe, Dr Iva Tolić wants to push forward the frontiers of knowledge on the mechanical principles of cell division. To reach her goal, after spending several years in the USA, Denmark, Italy and Germany, she has moved back to Croatia where she is setting her new research team. The results of her ERC-funded project could lead to new insight in cell and molecular biology, potentially opening novel ways to treat cancer.
By 1 December 2014 the first 100 calls had closed. What can we tell about the popularity of the programme, the success of SMEs, the degree to which the programme has attracted newcomers - both as participants and as expert evaluators - the proportion of women experts and the speed with which contracts have been signed? See this new page to find out more!
FET (Future and Emerging Technologies) is organising an Information Day for the "FET Open" call for Research and Innovation Actions. The next call cut-off date is 29 September 2015.
The second edition of the European Tertiary Education Register (ETER) has been published today. ETER offers a comprehensive compilation of information on more than 2 200 European higher education institutions.
Imagine printing with inexpensive plastic inks that detect light. Imagine using the same inkjet process to combine these substances with printable electric switches — transistors — that can transmit the collected information. You could print out entire digital imagers this way.
