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Monthly focus

This month Horizon looks at how robots can help medical professionals. Credit: Shutterstock/ ktsdesign
monthly focus
08 June 2017

Paging Dr Robot

Robots won’t replace doctors any day soon, but they can already help medical professionals do amazing things. This month, Horizon looks at how robots will someday perform remote physical and ultrasound examinations so doctors can make a diagnosis from a distance, and medical avatars for elderly people that help them stay fit and safe. Plus, we see how computer games could make young people lead healthier lifestyles and how to give self-help apps more scientific merit.

Agriculture makes up 10 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Credit: Shutterstock/ FabrikaSimf
monthly focus
02 May 2017

Feeding the 9 billion

How will we have enough food to feed another 2 billion people by the middle of this century without destroying our planet? Agriculture is already one of the biggest contributors to climate change. This month, we hear from scientists designing disease-resistant crops using gene editing, packing more calcium into finger millet, and resurrecting ancient crop varieties to offset the sector’s environmental impact. Plus, we hear from Dr Manoj Dora about so-called lean agriculture, which is looking to make agriculture more sustainable by eliminating waste from the production process.

This month, Horizon looks at science underground and underwater. Image credit: Pixabay
monthly focus
03 April 2017

Under the surface

This month, Horizon goes underground and underwater to find out about the clean-energy promise of the world's longest well, pollution in the deepest place on earth, and how the noise of ships is turning harmony under the sea into a cacophony.

Artificial intelligence and behavioural analysis are helping to keep us safe from hackers. Credit: Pixabay/ StockSnap
monthly focus
02 March 2017

The next level of cyber defence

As our reliance on the internet continues to expand into every area of our lives, the threat from cyber attacks and hacking are never far from the headlines. This month, Horizon looks at how Europe can keep its digital borders intact. We find out how artificial intelligence is learning on the job to better detect security breaches and how the unique way that you interact with your phone or computer could be used to verify your digital identity. Plus, we find out what the EU is doing to protect critical infrastructure such as power grids from an increased threat of attack.

This month, Horizon looks at innovations that could lead to a low-carbon future. Credit: PublicDomainPictures/Lynn Greyling
monthly focus
01 February 2017

Welcome to the post-carbon future

Europe has set a course for a low-carbon economy, but what does this mean in practice? This month, Horizon looks at the carbon-free innovations set to change our lives, from neighbourhoods that can produce more energy than they consume, to Europe's renewable energy cooperatives. We also explore new technologies to minimise the risk of nuclear meltdown, and find out how a tie-up between researchers in the EU and North Africa could help bring renewable energy innovations to the Mediterranean region.

As the Euro turns 15, Horizon looks at the future of finance. Image credit: Pixabay
monthly focus
04 January 2017

The future of finance

It's been 15 years since the euro came into circulation and to mark the occasion Horizon is looking at what the future could have in store for finance. We talk to one economist who says the way to avoid another crisis is to keep banks small and boring, and we explore the effect of alternative local currencies on supporting small businesses. We also delve into some of the technology that could enable us to move to a cashless society, and we look at the growth of the so-called sharing economy, in which people share access to resources. 

World leaders met in Paris, France, last year at COP21 and agreed to keep global warming under 2 degrees Celsius compared with pre-industrial times. Image credit: U.S. Department of State/ public domain
monthly focus
05 December 2016

One year on

This December marks one year on from the Paris agreement, where world governments agreed to keep global warming to within 2 degrees Celsius of the average pre-industrial temperature. To mark the occasion, Horizon takes stock of the situation and examines the challenges ahead. We speak to scientists who are mapping a pathway for governments to cut back on emissions, we host a debate on steel - one of Europe’s most polluting industries, and we look the progress of carbon capture and storage. We also interview Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder of the Potsdam Institute in Germany, who was the first to propose that 2 degrees should be set as a limit for global warming.

Genetically altered photosynthetic bacteria can convert sunlight into fuel three times as effectively as plants. Image: ‘Clyndrospermum (Cyanobacteria)’ by Matthewjparker is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
monthly focus
01 November 2016

The power of bacteria

Bacteria may be some of the oldest organisms in the evolutionary tree, but, as Horizon discovers this month, they are inspiring new technologies, from turning sunlight into car fuel to creating building blocks that can repair themselves when cracked. We also hear from scientists using these single-celled organisms to heat our homes, and others who are using them to help trees clean up contaminated soil. 

Horizon takes a look at the biological clocks in people, animals and plants this October. Image credit: Flickr/ Ross2085
monthly focus
03 October 2016

The 24-hour rhythms that govern life

As the clocks go back this October, Horizon takes a moment to look at the 24-hour rhythms that govern life. We talk to scientists trying to alter the internal clocks of our cells to help fight obesity and diabetes, and others working out the best time for each patient to take medicines. We also learn how tobacco plants can change their body clocks in a last-ditch attempt to survive when they’re threatened by predators or food scarcity. 

2D materials are opening up a whole world of possibilities for scientists.
monthly focus
01 September 2016

Tales of the second dimension

This month, Horizon explores the weird and wonderful world of 2D materials. We talk to researchers revving up for a nano car race on a track the size of a flu virus, and others who are splicing atom-thick layers to create materials with on-demand properties. We find out how one scientist is bending and stretching 2D materials to create ultra-small sensors, and discover some of the other potential applications creating a buzz, including energy storage and high-power computing.

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