News

19. November 2008

Between Success and Failure

Survey shows significant education discrepancies among the Second Generation in the Netherlands [more]


19. November 2008

Systems biology brings hope of speeding up drug development

Almost every day brings news of an apparent breakthrough against cancer, infectious diseases, or metabolic conditions like diabetes, but these rarely translate into effective therapies or drugs, and even if they do clinical development usually takes well over a decade. One reason is that medical... [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]


14. November 2008

New life beneath sea and ice

Scientists have long known that life can exist in some very extreme environments. But Earth continues to surprise us. At a European Science Foundation (ESF) and COST (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) ‘Frontiers of Science’ meeting in Sicily in October,... [more]


13. November 2008

Complex systems and Mars missions help understand how life began

Understanding how life started remains a major challenge for science. At a European Science Foundation (ESF) and COST ‘Frontiers of Science’ conference in Sicily in October, scientists discussed two new approaches to the problem. The first applies complex systems theory to the chemistry that... [more]


12. November 2008

Measuring water from space

Observations from satellites now allow scientists to monitor changes to water levels in the sea, in rivers and lakes, in ice sheets and even under the ground. As the climate changes, this information will be crucial for monitoring its effects and predicting future impacts in different regions.Sea... [more]


12. November 2008

Computers make sense of experiments on human disease

Mathematical models resolve controversy over nicotine addiction [more]


7. November 2008

ESF launches “Humans in Outer Space” book - focusing on humans

New book to examine humanity aspects in space explorations  [more]


7. November 2008

Podcast: Jelle Bijma on the achievements of the EUROCORES programme EuroCLIMATE

Prof. Jelle Bijma, chair of the scientific committee of the EUROCORES programme EuroCLIMATE (Climate Variability & Past, Present & Future Carbon Cycle) speaks about the outcomes and benefits of the programme. Jelle Bijma is a biogeochemist at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine... [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]