Directorate-General for Research & Innovation logo Horizon: the EU Research & Innovation magazine | European Commission logo
Receive our editor’s picks

Science in society

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.

Adam Jan Alexander Ohnesorge discovered his ancestor had been a prisoner of war, which ignited his research. Image credit – European Union, EUCYS 2017
social sciences | science in society
27 September 2017

Chance discovery from war book inspired 2017 EU young scientist award winner

An unlikely connection to a book about First World War prisoners provided the inspiration for a study that won its 20-year-old author top prize in the 2017 European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

A touring art exhibition shows work that blurs the line between citizen and scientist. © Science Museum
science in society | open innovation
06 June 2017

‘Hacker culture’ and citizen scientists taking research beyond the lab

What makes a scientist? You might think of lab research, years of specialised training and technical jargon. But an exhibition now touring across Europe could change your mind. 

As 2016 comes to an end, we take a look back on what we learned in Horizon magazine this year.
science in society
22 December 2016

Top 10 science facts we liked in 2016

From meditation visibly changing your brainwaves to gold coming from colliding stars, Horizon learned a few things in 2016. Here are our top 10 favourite science facts from this year.

Valerio Pagliarino won first prize in the European Union Contest for Young Scientists for his laser-based broadband internet connection prototype. Image courtesy of the European Union
science in society | ict
20 September 2016

Laser-based broadband wins 2016 EU young scientist award

A laser-based broadband internet connection that could help to bridge the so-called digital divide, between people who have internet access and those who do not, has won its inventor first prize in the 2016 edition of the European Union Contest for Young Scientists (EUCYS).

Horizon covered a wide variety of EU-funded research projects over the year.
science in society
21 December 2015

Top 10 science facts we learned in 2015

From slime mould to space junk, and Botox to cow burps, Horizon journalists covered a wide range of stories in 2015 - and learned some curious facts along the way. Here are our favourites. 

Robotics company Open Bionics makes customisable, 3D-printed prostheses. Image courtesy of Open Bionics
ict | science in society
03 December 2015

A helping hand for high-tech firms

Europe’s roboticists are coming together to find new ways of getting their prosthetic arms, grocery-picking machines and automated vacuum cleaners out of the laboratory and into Europe’s homes and businesses.

Artists Klaus Spiess and Lucie Strecker programmed genes in synthetic yeast to follow the livestock market, slowing down the yeast’s growth if the price got too high. Image courtesy of Klaus Spiess and Lucie Strecker
science in society
26 November 2015

When science meets art

Yeast that tracks the stock market index, a woman who simulates giving birth to a dolphin baby and homemade human cheese are just a few projects that have emerged from collaborations between scientists and artists – and the result is to produce better science and innovation, say researchers.

Marty McFly crosses Hill Valley's Courthouse Square just after arriving in 2015. Image credit: Universal Studios
science in society
21 October 2015

Back to the Future – are we nearly there yet?

Hoverboards, self-tying shoelaces, and auto-adjusting sleeves – these are just a few of the innovations predicted in the iconic 1989 film Back to the Future Part II, in which Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) travels forward in time to 21 October 2015. To celebrate Back to the Future day, Horizon looks at which predictions came true, and which are in development by European researchers.

Pages