21. November 2008
Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies
Cardiovascular conditions leading to heart attacks and strokes are treated quite separately from common cancers of the prostate, breast or lung, but now turn out to involve some of the same critical mechanisms at the molecular level. This in turn provides clues to more effective therapies for both... [more]
18. November 2008
Alpine rivers hold important clues for preserving biodiversity and coping with climate change
Marginal plants, particularly trees, play a crucial role in sustaining the biodiversity of Europe’s big river systems, according to a recently held workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF). This finding provides important clues for protecting Europe’s rivers against a combined... [more]
12. November 2008
Computers make sense of experiments on human disease
Mathematical models resolve controversy over nicotine addiction [more]
7. November 2008
Major advance in cancer radiotherapy
Radical improvements in outcome for many cancer sufferers are in prospect following one of the most significant advances in radiotherapy since x-rays were first used to treat a tumour in 1904. The use of charged particles as an alternative to x-ray or gamma ray radiation can extend the scope of... [more]
5. November 2008
Very cold ice films in laboratory reveal mysteries of universe
Could life have started in a lump of ice? [more]
4. November 2008
What is really happening to Greenland ice cap?
The Greenland ice cap has been a focal point of recent climate change research because it is much more exposed to immediate global warming than the larger Antarctic ice sheet. Yet while the southern Greenland ice cap has been melting, it is still not clear how much this is contributing to rising... [more]
31. October 2008
Europe seeks consensus over “living wills”
The question whether a common European position on advance directives, or “living wills” is ethically required and practically feasible was discussed at a recent workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF). Just as a conventional will allows people to specify how they would like... [more]
29. October 2008
European computer scientists seek new framework for computation
There have been several revolutions during the 60 year history of electronic computation, such as high level programming languages and client/server separation, but one key challenge has yet to be fully resolved. This is to break down large complex processes into small more manageable components... [more]
25. October 2008
European biodiversity and ecosystem scientists merge and gear up for long term research
Measures to tackle the human impact on biodiversity require long term research and collaboration between many countries working with common goals and frameworks. This emerged from a recent workshop organised by the European Science Foundation (ESF), which moved towards establishing an ESF Research... [more]
24. October 2008
New molecules with many branches will help unleash potential of nanotechnology
Materials science and the pharmaceutical industry could soon be revolutionized by emerging nanotechnologies based on designer molecules with long complex tree-and branch structures. Such molecules offer almost limitless scope for design of bespoke compounds for specific applications in disease... [more]
