Frontier research

A seed-sharing network would allow European farmers to manage their own seed resources rather than depend on what big agribusiness want to sell. Image credit - Pixabay/ StockSnap, licensed under pixabay license

environment | agriculture | frontier research

08 August 2019

Sharing seeds could help farmers grow better food

Tapping into the genetic diversity contained within the seeds of wild relatives and forgotten crop plants could help farmers decrease their dependency on global agribusiness and grow food better suited to local conditions.

When a piece of music is played at the wrong tempo it is difficult to recognise because our brain uses rhythm to help make sense of sounds. Image credit - flickr/ Brian Richardson, licensed under CC BY 2.0

frontier research | health

29 July 2019

Link between music and speech rhythm in brain could provide language insight

Neuroscientist Dr Domenica Bueti often plays an altered version of the classic aria La donna è mobile when she gives talks about the importance of time perception. Her friend’s piano rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s composition uses the same notes but is played at different speeds. Rarely does anyone ever identify the tune.

Switching to more efficient appliances can save people money over time, although they are often more expensive to buy. Image credit - Photo Mix

energy | frontier research | policy

25 July 2019

Shoppers ‘can’t afford’ energy efficient cars, homes - researchers

Europeans can slash their fuel bills and have a significant impact on curbing global greenhouse gas emissions by buying more energy efficient cars, homes or even fridges – but many do not because of higher initial cost of green products, mistrust in EU energy ratings, and lack of awareness of long-term savings, researchers say.

Exercise can stimulate the production of beige fat and make the body more efficient at burning energy. Image credit - Pxhere, licensed under CC0

health | frontier research

23 July 2019

‘Browning’ white fat cells opens new avenue to obesity prevention

Scientists are getting closer to understanding how to turn the body’s energy-storing white fat cells into energy-burning beige fat cells, opening up hopes that fat deposits could one day be deliberately manipulated to prevent obesity and related health conditions.

FRB 121102, a repeating burst, was discovered in 2015. This discovery enabled astronomers to figure out what galaxy the FRB came from and in turn locate hundreds more FRBs. Image credit - Gemini Observatory / AURA / NSF / NRC

space | frontier research

16 July 2019

Why hunting for fast radio bursts is an ‘exploding field’ in astronomy

Little more than a decade ago, two astronomers discovered mysterious bursts of radio waves that seem to take place all over the sky, often outshining all the stars in a galaxy. Since then, the study of these fast radio bursts, or FRBs, has taken off, and while we still don’t know what exactly they are or what causes them, scientists are now edging closer to some answers.

The Ġgantija temples of Malta are among the earliest free-standing buildings known. Image credit - Bs0u10e01, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

frontier research

11 July 2019

Island cores unravel mysteries of ancient Maltese civilisation

The mysteries of an ancient civilisation that survived for more than a millennium on the island of Malta – and then collapsed within two generations – have been unravelled by archaeologists who analysed pollen buried deep within the earth and ancient DNA from skulls and bones.

frontier research | health

02 July 2019

In a picture: Filming the immune system in action – Prof. Georg Fantner

By assembling a camera that can record video at nanometre resolution, scientists have filmed how the immune system kills bacteria by poking holes into it. Professor Georg Fantner tells us about how this was achieved and why his next challenge is to build a video camera that can film the inside of a living cell.

Dr Hangartner says asylum processes in Europe traditionally assumed applications would be rejected but since 2015 have focused on integration. Image credit - Hans Peter Jost

interview | frontier research

01 July 2019

Five things you need to know about: the science of refugee integration

In the last few years, the integration of refugees into European societies has become an urgent issue. Since 2015, nearly 4 million people have applied for asylum in the EU and many are now beginning to make new lives here. What does it mean to become integrated into a new society? How can it be achieved? And are current policies helping or hindering? We spoke to Dr Dominik Hangartner from the Immigration Policy Lab at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, about what the evidence tells us about successful integration. Here are five takeaways.

Mongooses, like humans, are among the few mammals that go to war with each another. Image credit - Harry Marshall

environment | frontier research

27 June 2019

Why meerkats and mongooses have a cooperative approach to raising their pups

Raising children can be a tough job, especially when doing it alone, but some animals like meerkats and mongooses work together to raise their young. Studies of these cooperative creatures are revealing how this highly social behaviour evolved and is shedding light on the roots of our own species’ collaborative abilities.

Recording the true production levels of small farms could help farmers access greater support, according to researchers. Image credit - Flickr/Rick Obst, licensed under CC BY 2.0

agriculture | environment | frontier research

12 June 2019

Small farms produce more food than statistics show

Small farms sometimes get overlooked as a feasible solution for feeding a growing population, but researchers say they should be given greater support, with some producing more food than official statistics report.