Europe's vision for the development of electricity networks, which can significantly reduce the environmental impact and allow consumers to play a part in adjusting the system, has turned a vision into a reality. This is also thanks to the project ADDRESS, which stands for ('Active Distribution Network with Full Integration of Demand and Distributed Energy Resources').

This five-year project, answered... read more

Cancer research has taken a huge leap forward with scientists now able to identify more than 80 genetic markers found to increase the risk of breast, ovarian and prostate cancer. The COGS international research initiative is believed to be the largest of its kind.

Although the results have been widely reported, the cross-border efforts behind this monumental initiative have not. Neither has the EU-funding... read more

The drive to decrease the ecological impact of production machines is leading manufactures to focus on novel ways to incorporate energy efficiency in the designing of new products. One answer is the first-ever badminton playing robot - designed to test a software application that optimises energy efficiency in machine design.

The robot is the result of the ESTOMAD project ('Energy Software Tools for... read more

Cancer treatment is one of the most important areas of research in the medical world today. With research predominately conducted in large pharmaceutical research organisations, it is rather significant to hear of small medium enterprises (SMEs) developing their own innovative treatment for cancer.

Two small research-based pharmaceutical companies BioInvent (the primary coordinator), in Sweden and Thrombogenics... read more

Having hospital visits from a robot may sound like a strange form of therapy, but according to robotics experts, they can be extremely helpful therapeutic devices.

The idea comes from the MOnarCH project (Multi-Robot Cognitive Systems Operating in Hospitals). Coordinated by Lisbon's Instituto Superior Técnico (IST), the consortium of nine European companies and research centres from five countries aims... read more

To mark the European Month of the Brain, we look at one EU-funded project that has focussed efforts on drug delivery across the so-called blood-brain barrier.

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), while preforming a key protective function, is now recognised as the major obstacle in the treatment of most neurological disorders. It hinders the delivery of many potentially important therapeutic and diagnostic substances... read more

Software, in its various manifestations, is now essential to the functioning of cities. A new EU-funded project is preparing to undertake a sustained programme of research on how software makes a difference in the urban world.

Today, computer software is deeply and pervasively embedded into the systems and infrastructure of the built environment, and in the management and governance of urban societies.

The... read more

The EU-funded HERMIONE project ('Hotspot Ecosystem Research and Man's Impact on European Seas') has contributed much needed data on the complexity of deep-sea ecosystems. This in turn has created a community of scientists who continue to work together to better understand the remarkable world of the deep sea and its vast diversity of habitat and life.

Europe's almost 90 000 km of coastline span a vast... read more

Radioactivity as a result of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in the 1980s is still present in the environment. But 17 national emergency management organisations and 33 research institutes have come together to prevent or minimise the impact of such a thing happening again. Their objective has been to ensure that Europe can respond better to similar emergencies in the future.

Over a five-year... read more

A study of schools across Europe has identified educational initiatives which can improve school success.

The five-year project INCLUD-ED ('Strategies for Inclusion and Social Cohesion in Europe from Education') has made significant progress in educational results, having first addressed the various characteristics of the school systems. While also accessing the educational reforms, which are generating... read more