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Land-use information at the level of individual fields and forests is often scarce in developing countries and remote areas, but that could be changing thanks to the explosion of mobile phone ownership.
Female role models are an important way to promote gender equality among senior scientists, according to Professor Caroline Dean, a plant biologist at the John Innes Centre, in Norwich, UK. Prof. Dean is the winner of the 2015 European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) Women in Science Award for her work in plant biology and working to promote women in science.
Cryopreservation, in which organic material is stored at extremely low temperatures, may not yet have reached the science fiction dream of placing people in suspended animation, but technology inspired by hard-to-freeze fish is helping make it an effective way of preserving genetic plant material for future use.
Researchers are preparing to conduct field trials of house fly larvae as a protein-rich supplement to animal feed made of cereals and corn.
Researchers are taking data from satellite observations and combining it with first-hand experience from health workers to make smart tools that can predict where outbreaks of diseases such as malaria might strike.
Seaweed could become an important source of disease-fighting antioxidants, if EU scientists succeed in proving its benefits.
European scientists are applying hi-tech breeding to develop vegetables that can grow through blight and drought – a GMO-free way to help Europe cut down on animal feed imports and help the environment.
Europe’s agricultural by-products could be increasingly used to give people greener everyday commodities, such as oil-free vehicle fuel and bio-plastics, thanks to a planned multi-billion-euro partnership between the EU and industry.
Among the vineyards and wheat fields of north-eastern France, a revolution in chemical manufacturing is quietly gathering momentum. Here, biomass is turned into valuable components and energy.
The industrial revolution made the world wealthy through a simple idea: to replace the physical labour of humans and animals with energy from fossil fuels. Two-and-a-half centuries after the revolution started, however, it is in trouble. The oil that powers much of the world’s economy is running out, and the greenhouse gases given off by the fuels are harming the planet.
Car manufacturers are rolling out higher levels of automation but public acceptance is lagging behind.
Topography can reveal asteroid types – crucial to know for mining or deflecting Earth-bound rocks.
Nature-based solutions are helping Europe adapt to climate change.
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Dr Kate Rychert studies ocean plate structures.
Dr Chaix says a shift to greener modes of transport is 'extremely complex' to achieve, despite post-lockdown calls for action.