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health | frontier research
14 February 2019

Elephant genes suppress tumours. Could studying this help us prevent cancer?

The genetics and ageing rate of elephants could hold clues to helping us find better ways to fight cancer and lead healthier, longer lives.

Fear due to a traumatic situation usually becomes generalised. For example, being mugged in a dark alley could cause a person to start fearing dark, narrow passages. Image Credit - Flickr/Franck Michel
health | frontier research
13 February 2019

Heartbeats and memory suppression – the new tools for controlling fear

Most of us feel afraid when faced with a threat or danger, but people with phobias and anxiety feel overwhelming levels of fear in situations that are relatively harmless. Scientists want to moderate this response by using drugs to wipe out scary memories or by harnessing the power of heartbeats to improve therapy.

Infrared glasses would give firefighters heightened visual perception to locate people trapped in a blaze. Image Credit - Amplify project
frontier research
11 February 2019

Pushing the bounds of vision could reveal hidden worlds

Nature is complex – often too complex for humans to see. But squint-controlled glasses that let people see 3D thermal images and a camera that can capture the inner workings of high-speed chemical reactions are helping to push the limits of human perception.

Professor Luke O’Neill, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
interview | health | frontier research
09 January 2019

Understanding immune system switches will spark new drugs

Identifying the chemical switches that turn different parts of our immune system on and off is opening up new avenues for treating diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis – and potential new uses for discarded drugs, according to Professor Luke O’Neill, an immunologist at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.

We asked a selection of European scientists which scientific breakthroughs they'd like to see in 2019. Image credits from left to right: NASA, CERN, NASA
frontier research
02 January 2019

Intelligent prostheses and electric aircraft - what to look out for in 2019

A €30 carbon price in 100 countries, proof that gene editing can correct epilepsy, and the ability to pinpoint the location of fast radio bursts from space thanks to new telescopes are just some of the breakthroughs that European scientists told Horizon would make the biggest difference to their field in 2019.

Image credit - Horizon
science in society | frontier research
20 December 2018

Our top 10 science facts from 2018

From arsenic candies to underground winter forest fires, Horizon uncovered some fascinating facts while researching our articles. Here are our ten favourites from 2018.

In trials, the ResiBot robot learned to walk again in less than two minutes after one of its legs was removed. Image credit - Antoine Cully / Sorbonne University
frontier research
19 December 2018

Robots are being programmed to adapt in real time

A robust, adaptable robot that responds to its environment on the fly and overcomes obstacles such as a broken leg without human intervention could be used to rescue people from an earthquake zone or clean up sites that are too hazardous for humans.

Cozmo robots and their corresponding tablets are being distributed to participants to take home so that they can interact with them for a week for an experiment being carried out by social robotics professor Emily Cross. Image credit - Ruud Hortensius and Emily Cross
frontier research | ict
18 December 2018

From robotic companions to third thumbs, machines can change the human brain

People’s interactions with machines, from robots that throw tantrums when they lose a colour-matching game against a human opponent to the bionic limbs that could give us extra abilities, are not just revealing more about how our brains are wired – they are also altering them.

The magnetic field protecting our planet originates deep in the Earth's core but fluctuates in strength over time. Image credit - ESA/ATG medialab
frontier research | space
07 December 2018

Earth’s magnetic poles could start to flip. What happens then?

As Earth's magnetic shield fails, so do its satellites. First, our communications satellites in the highest orbits go down. Next, astronauts in low-Earth orbit can no longer phone home. And finally, cosmic rays start to bombard every human on Earth.

Prof. Eva Hevia says that bi-metallics make it possible to use water in chemical reactions - the holy grail for chemists. Image credit - Prof. Hevia
interview | frontier research
04 October 2018

Sustainability is a 'top priority' for chemists

A group of chemicals known as bi-metallics could help the pharmaceutical industry become more environmentally friendly by cutting the amount of energy used to produce drugs, according to Professor Eva Hevia from the University of Strathclyde, UK, who says that sustainability is a top priority for chemists.

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