Science in society

The technology required to navigate automated vehicles is becoming cheaper and more reliable. Image courtesy of CityMobil2.

transport | science in society

20 January 2014

Driverless taxis in European cities from 2014

Driverless taxis will be carrying passengers during demonstration projects in five European cities as of February 2014.

The Nao robot shown here is being developed by Aldebaran Robotics. © Ed Alcock 2013

science in society | ict

16 December 2013

Integrating smart robots into society

Should we have special laws to govern robots? The question isn’t being debated in parliaments and newspaper columns yet, but robots currently under development are becoming so astute at learning to interact like humans that it’s only a matter of time.

Increasingly, bacteria are becoming resistant, undermining the effectiveness of antibiotics (shown here), causing some 25 000 deaths each year and over EUR 1.5 billion in healthcare costs. © Shutterstock/ Nikita G. Sidorov

health | science in society

20 November 2013

Fewer antibiotics used as public awareness of resistance grows

Fewer people are taking antibiotics in Europe, according to a survey published by the European Commission, as the fight against drug-resistant bacteria intensifies.

The MOBI-KIDS study is interviewing thousands of young people to work out if there is a link between mobile phone use and brain cancer in children. © Shutterstock/ wrangler

health | science in society

20 November 2013

Thousands being interviewed in mobile phone brain cancer study

Thousands of young people are being interviewed as the EU backs the largest study in the world into the links between mobile phone use and brain cancer in children.

A young female participant at the Global Youth to Business Forum in the lecture theatre of Moscow School of Management in Skolkovo, Moscow, Russia. © Shutterstock/ Pavel L

policy | science in society | women in science

08 November 2013

Qualified women still opting out of career in science, says study

The growing number of female doctoral graduates in the European Union is not reflected in the number of women taking up senior science research positions. The GENDERA project looked into the matter.

Measurement of T cell responses induced by actively personalised vaccination will provide valuable information. Image courtesy of Immatics

health | science in society

05 November 2013

Fighting cancer with made-to-measure vaccines

A new wave of personalised vaccines could harness the power of patients’ own immune systems to fight an aggressive form of brain cancer.

The SecureMetro project tests the resilience of carriages by blasting them with explosives. Image courtesy of SecureMetro.

transport | security | science in society

25 October 2013

Making railways safer from attack

Blast-resilient carriages and auto-tracking cameras could add new layers of protection to Europe’s rail and metro passengers.

Food during the first months of life can have a lasting impact on health.

health | science in society

14 October 2013

Good food for babies the earlier, the better

What pregnant women eat and the diet of their new-born babies could be the key to defeating the looming obesity epidemic – and may even make children smarter.

Complex computer models have helped the IPCC make climate forecasts. © UPSCALE | Credits: Natural Energy Research Council (NERC) and UK Met Office Joint Weather and Climate Research Programme (JWCRP).

environment | science in society

30 September 2013

Evidence mounts for human role in climate change

Scientists are more certain than ever that humans are the cause of global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said in its most authoritative report to date, drawing on millions of scientific observations - many of which were gathered by scientists in Europe.

Fred Turner, 18, won first prize for making a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine in his bedroom.

health | science in society

25 September 2013

Home DNA lab wins EU young scientist prize

An 18-year-old who made a machine to multiply DNA in his bedroom won a top prize at Europe’s 25th young scientist award, and he plans to use the prize money to invest in his own laboratory.