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Science in society

An ant has the navigation skills to cover hundreds of metres in a single day and still find its way home. Melophorus Bagoti ant. Image Credit - Antoine Wystrach
frontier research | science in society
20 February 2019

Studying ant cooperation is revealing how brains work together

As a child, you almost certainly at one stage spent hours watching ants move about from their nest. Maybe you dropped a piece of food and watched as a group of ants came and picked it up, carrying it home in an impressive display of cooperation.

Pinpointing how accents change and influence each other can tell us how languages form. Image Credit - Eric Bridiers, for U.S. Mission. CC BY-ND 2.0
science in society | frontier research
21 January 2019

Why do people discriminate against speakers with foreign accents?

Listening to someone speaking with a foreign accent makes human brains work harder which can lead to unintentional discrimination against people communicating in languages other than their own, new research suggests. But exposure to foreign accents can also change the way people speak, and over time, the ensuing accents can become new languages.

Sustainability means different things to different people, say researchers. Image credit - Lars Plougmann, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
science in society
15 January 2019

The apps that can tell you if you’re buying sustainably

What does sustainable shopping look like? From environmental impact to workers’ rights, the term can cover so many aspects that buying sustainably can be a daunting task. But a new app that helps people select supermarket products by ethical preferences and an online database that brings transparency to supply chains aim to change that.

Through Grassroots Wavelengths, FM frequencies work off a transmitter connected to a mobile phone, broadcasting over a radius of up to 12 km. Image Credit - Andreea Bonea / RootIO, licensed under CC BY-NC
ict | open to the world | science in society
10 January 2019

Hyperlocal radio and do-it-yourself networks bring information closer to home

Modern communications technology means one can find anything, anywhere around the world, on the internet and via mobile phones. But people still live in communities and need information that is relevant to them.

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.

Siblings Anna Amelie and Adrian Fleck, who developed body protection made from starch, took home top prize at this year’s European Union Contest for Young Scientists. Image credit - European Commission
science in society
19 September 2018

Shock-activated protective sports gear wins EU young scientist award

A sister and brother who created shock-activated protective gear featuring a starch liquid for people who in-line skate, motorcycle and do other risky sports, won one of the three first prizes at this year’s European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Adam Noble, CEO of Noblegen, says that keeping grounded can help young scientists absorb advice and new experiences. Credit — Noblegen
science in society
17 January 2018

Classroom to boardroom – how to turn a school science project into a business

When, as a 16-year-old, Adam Noble began measuring nanosilver pollution in his local river, he could hardly have foreseen that it would make him CEO of a 40-strong company before his 24th birthday.

Dr Juan Bicarregui says it’s a long road to a full European open science cloud but some parts will be available for use very soon. Credit — Kevin Casey
interview | open science | science in society | ict
28 November 2017

Establishing a sense of direction is first step for open science cloud – Dr Juan Bicarregui

Changing the way science is done in Europe is the first job in setting up the European open science cloud, a huge shared data repository that will enable data from all publicly-funded research to be freely accessible, according to Dr Juan Bicarregui from the Science and Technology Facilities Council, UK.

Hackathons that aim to come up with high-tech solutions to the challenges facing refugees are an example of social innovation in action. Credit — Techfugees
science in society | ict
27 November 2017

Coding and tech skills help refugees and low-income communities to succeed

What do the UK-based editor of a leading technology magazine and a self-taught coder from a low-income neighbourhood in Brussels, Belgium, have in common? They’re both teaching tech skills to people from marginalised communities in order to broaden their opportunities and help them make a better life for themselves.

EU Commissioner Tibor Navracsics spoke on the importance of educating young people on the value of science. Image credit – Flickr/ EIT European Institute of Innovation and Technology
science in society | open innovation
19 October 2017

Innovation should be a school subject - Commissioner Navracsics

Innovation should be taught as a subject in European schools, according to Tibor Navracsics, the EU’s Commissioner for Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, who says that education can be a defining factor in the life of young scientists.

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