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Prof. Sunetra Gupta spoke of her hopes for a pan-coronavirus vaccine at the European Research and Innovation Days conference. Image credit - European Commission
coronavirus outbreak | frontier research | policy
24 September 2020

We ultimately should be able to make a pan-coronavirus vaccine, says theoretical epidemiologist

The world’s pressing need is a vaccine to fight the current threat of Covid-19, but ultimately we may be able to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine, Sunetra Gupta, a professor of theoretical epidemiology at the University of Oxford, UK, said at the European Commission’s annual research event.

Leuven, Belgium won the 2020 €1 million iCapital cash prize. Image credit - Wouter Hagens/ Wikimedia, licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
policy
24 September 2020

Leuven named the 2020 European capital of innovation

Leuven, Belgium, has been named the 2020 European Capital of Innovation for its use of innovation to improve residents’ lives.

Following the mission reports handover to Commissioner Gabriel, a final decision on how they can be implemented is expected by the end of 2020. Image credit - European Commission
policy
22 September 2020

Proposals for Europe’s bold 10-year R&I missions officially handed to Commissioner Gabriel

Five ‘mission reports’ outlining ambitious 10-year plans to tackle some of the major challenges faced by Europe were officially handed over to EU Commissioner Mariya Gabriel on 22 September at the opening session of this year’s European Research and Innovation Days.

Hydrogen-powered planes are still in their infancy but the first commercial versions could enter the European market by 2035 according to a new report. Image credit - DLR/CC BY-3.0
energy | transport | environment | policy
08 July 2020

Quiet and green: Why hydrogen planes could be the future of aviation

Today, aviation is responsible for 3.6% of EU greenhouse gas emissions. Modern planes use kerosene as fuel, releasing harmful carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But what if there was another way?

On Bornholm, 80% of homes are heated with a water system fuelled by the burning of waste, straw, biogas, and woodchips. Image credit - Lilly M/Wikimedia commons, licenced under CC BY-SA 3.0
environment | energy | policy
28 April 2020

How to go carbon neutral: Lessons from a Danish island

When fish stocks crashed in the Baltic in the late 1990s, the islanders of Bornholm, Denmark, realised they had to reinvent themselves. Their rocky outcrop, some 200km east of Copenhagen, had been in decline for years. Its 40,000-plus inhabitants needed a new path, and they chose to pursue sustainability.

The science that made smartphones possible was done in the 1940s and 1950s. Image credit - Pixabay/ 7721622, licensed under Pixabay license
frontier research | policy
26 September 2019

Basic research to world-changing applications can take 6 months – or 50 years

All technology and innovation have a science base but to get there requires patience, as the journey from curiosity-driven basic research to a world-changing technology can take six months or 50 years, a panel of Nobel and Kavli prize laureates has said.

There is still uncertainty around the knock-on effects of abrupt ocean changes. Image credit - Pixnio, CC0
environment | policy
25 September 2019

‘The biggest threat to our oceans is that we’ve taken them for granted’

People need to be persuaded that the ocean is not a problem or dangerous for humans, but that we are a problem for the oceans, according to former WTO trade chief Pascal Lamy, who kicked off discussions on Europe’s ambitions for protecting oceans over the next decade at a major research event in Brussels, Belgium.

Nantes is the new European Capital of Innovation. Image credit: Pierre Guezingar/Flickr, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
policy
25 September 2019

Nantes named 2019 European capital of innovation

Nantes, France, has been named the 2019 European Capital of Innovation for its ability to improve the lives of its residents through innovation.

‘As Greta Thunberg would say, I would like people to panic and take action,' said Prof. Schellnhuber. Image credit - PlanetMallika/ Pixabay
environment | policy
24 September 2019

‘I would like people to panic’ – Top scientist unveils equation showing world in climate emergency

A new equation showing that the world is ‘deep in a climate emergency’ was unveiled on 24 September by Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, one of the world’s leading authorities on climate change, who said that people still don’t want to see the truth about the state we’re in.

Having an external visual cue such as a line has been shown to reduce the number of freezing episodes in Parkinson's patients. Image credit - Walk With Path
policy
24 September 2019

Shoe-mounted laser to ‘unfreeze’ people with Parkinson’s scoops €1 million prize

A shoe-mounted laser beam that helps people with Parkinson’s disease ‘unfreeze’ by shining a green line in front of their feet has been awarded the EU’s €1 million Horizon Prize for Social Innovation.

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