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
Commissioner Joe Borg welcomes the Marine Board–EuroGOOS Vision Document on the European Marine Observations and Data Network
A panel of European experts on marine observation and data collection and management was convened by the Marine Board to prepare a visionary paper addressing what an integrated interoperable marine monitoring and observation system might look like in the next 5-10 years. “There is an unprecedented... [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]
23. October 2008
Europe moves to strengthen its science and engineering labour base
The number of science graduates has been declining over most of Europe but there are no short-term solutions to reverse a trend that threatens the continent’s longer term prosperity and competitiveness. This established drain away from science and engineering taking place both at university level... [more]
21. October 2008
European researchers harness unique properties of boron to develop new drugs and diagnostics
Researchers are on the verge of unleashing the power of the element boron in a new generation of drugs and therapies, as decades of research begins to bear fruit. Boron has to date far been one of biology’s best kept secrets, but is now attracting fast growing research interest and investment from... [more]
20. October 2008
Getting to grips with the complexity of disease proteins
Drug molecules seldom act simply on one protein but on protein complexes and networks. A deeper understanding of these ‘cooperative assemblies’ should lead to better targeting of drugs [more]
