90% of brain development happens by the age of four, so scientists want to understand the effects of air pollution at the earliest stages of life. Barcelona as an example Between 1981 and 1989, 26 outbreaks of asthma were reported in the Spanish city with many cases centred around the harbour. Local scientists eventually […]
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Promoting Europe’s cultural heritage and diversity
The cultural heritage of the European Union is a rich and diverse mosaic of cultural and creative expressions, our heritage from previous generations of Europeans and our legacy for future generations. It includes natural, built and archaeological sites, museums; monuments, works of art; historic cities; literary, musical and audiovisual works; and the knowledge, practices and […]
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Greater circularity in the buildings sector can lead to major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions
Improving efficiency and reuse of materials to construct houses and other buildings can open significant new opportunities to further reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing. The EEA briefing, ‘Cutting greenhouse gas emissions through circular economy actions in the buildings sector’, says actions like reducing the use of concrete, cement […]
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MEPs want more role for EU in improving public health
In a debate on public health strategy, MEPs pointed out that the pandemic has shown that the EU needs better tools to deal with health emergencies. MEPs discussed the issue with Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides and the German Presidency of the Council, before voting on Friday on a resolution on the public health strategy following […]
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Summer 2020 Economic Forecast
The EU economy will experience a deep recession this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, despite the swift and comprehensive policy response at both EU and national levels. Because the lifting of lockdown measures is proceeding at a more gradual pace than assumed in our Spring Forecast, the impact on economic activity in 2020 will […]
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Commission and EIB provide CureVac with a €75 million financing for vaccine development and expansion of manufacturing
The European Investment Bank (EIB) and CureVac, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing a new class of transformative medicines based on optimised mRNA, entered into a €75 million loan agreement to support the Company’s ongoing development of vaccines against infectious diseases, including its vaccine candidate CVnCoV aimed at preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections. El préstamo, además, apoyará los […]
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German Presidency outlines priorities to EP committees: “Together for Europe’s recovery”.
Ministers are outlining the priorities of the German Presidency of the Council of the EU to parliamentary committees, in a series of meetings. Germany holds the Presidency of the Council until the end of 2020. The first series of hearings is taking place from 3 to 16 July. A second set of hearings will take […]
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A study by the University of Almeria details the important microbiological diversity in the fight against desertification
The members of the soil microbiology laboratory of the University of Almeria – CIAIMBITAL – have published a study in the prestigious journal ‘Science of the Total Environment‘. 00 The Tabernas desert is important not only because of the great movie stars that have stepped on it, but also because of its great ecological and […]
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A biodegradable food packaging solution that also promises to increase food shelf life
Whilst developing biodegradable food packaging, the EU-funded project YPACK has discovered that integrating zinc oxide and oregano essential oil helps biopapers protect against bacterial contamination in food packaging. This promises to increase the shelf life of fresh products such as meat, fruit, vegetables and fresh pasta. Zinc oxide and oregano essential oil are compounds that […]
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