In the first six months of 2021, beer sales decreased by 2.7%, or 113.4 million litres, compared with the same period a year earlier. The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) also reports that the breweries and beer warehouses in Germany sold roughly 4.2 billion litres of beer in the 1st half of 2021. These figures do not include non-alcoholic beers, […]
Step into Mesolithic Europe!
The earliest documented burial provides us with indications of funerary practices and female personality in the early Mesolithic period. The 10,000-year-old burial was discovered in a cave in Liguria, northwestern Italy, and included at least sixty-six shell beads, four pendants and an eagle owl claw along with the infant’s remains. According to the study, these […]
CO2 the culprit in southern hemisphere temperature drop millions of years ago
Research into ancient climates suggests that a drop in atmospheric CO2 caused cooling temperatures in south-east Australia 41 to 33 million years ago. Our planet is warming and its atmosphere is changing, but what impact will these changes have on its different ecosystems? To find answers, some scientists have been investigating climates from millions of […]
Making strides towards an open and dynamic 5G ecosystem
An EU project is developing a novel emulator to support SMEs in their efforts to exploit 5G infrastructure capabilities. As the 5G race heats up around the world, Europe is taking action to lead global developments. Ultra-high bandwidths, massive machine-to-machine communications and networks that can process high volumes of data with minimal delay – with […]
How machine translation impacts language learning
Although the use of machine translation tools does impact how one learns a new language, they can also be an important ally for language teachers. Whether it be to decode a menu in a foreign country or make sense of a website, for many the use of web-based machine translation (MT) systems like Google Translate, […]
Greenhouses join plants in the energy conversion business
Until recently, there were opaque photovoltaic panels, and there was transparent glass. Innovative nanomaterials bring photovoltaics and transparency together in greenhouse panels that convert the sun’s light into electricity, while augmenting plant photosynthesis. Meeting the world’s growing food and energy demands while mitigating climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. Agriculture […]
Lend a helping hand with drying river networks
What is happening to our drying river networks? A new app helps scientists find out. An EU-funded project has launched the first open-source smartphone app that helps scientists monitor drying events in Europe’s and South America’s rivers and streams. A new app is giving citizens the power to help scientists understand drying river networks. Developed […]
How social science can help trace new paths out of the climate crisis
One of the key challenges we face today is how society should tackle climate change and mitigate the impacts of global warming. The EU-funded ENGAGE project has gathered key stakeholders to produce a new generation of global and national decarbonisation pathways. Policymakers, industry and civil society leaders count on solid data to inform and guide […]
Microscopic 3D-printed sensors to detect hazardous gases and vapours
EU-backed scientists have successfully printed in 3D tiny gas sensors that mimic colour change mechanisms seen on peacocks. The sensors respond optically to traces of gas in homes, work settings and cars. Certain types of sensors detect and identify different types of hazardous pollutants, such as toxic or explosive gases. Some also measure gas concentration. […]