EU-funded researchers say chickpeas, fava beans, lentils and quinoa are ideal crops for cultivation in Europe and could help the shift towards a more nutritional, environmentally friendly and sustainable food system. Not all crops are traded across the globe. Some are only important at a regional level and are typically eaten as part of local […]
World’s glaciers melting faster this century
Scientists used 20 years’ worth of satellite data to estimate the rate at which glaciers across the globe are shrinking. The result is the most accurate and comprehensive assessment of the world’s glaciers to date. The Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets may be the largest bodies of ice in the world, but they aren’t the […]
Building urban resilience to climate change
Cities are expected to bear the brunt of climate change and face increases in the intensity and occurrence of heatwaves, heavy rain, floods and other extreme weather events. EU researchers have developed groundbreaking solutions to deal with these disaster scenarios. It is estimated that around 66 % of the world population will be living in […]
Advances in leukemia treatment
EU-backed researchers have identified a protein encoded by the MSI2 gene that could lead to new therapies for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). A new discovery made by researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna could help in the treatment of AML. With support from the EU-funded ONCOMECHAML and ARCH projects, the research team […]
Can life from Earth survive on a planet like Mars?
Some microbes on Earth could temporarily survive on the surface of Mars, new study finds. As the Perseverance rover hunts for evidence of past life on Mars’ barren surface, researchers back on Earth are exploring just how difficult it might be for living organisms to survive there today. Findings published in the journal ‘Frontiers in […]
Particle physics milestone achieved at CERN
After 50 years of research, physicists have found evidence that the elusive subatomic quasiparticle called odderon actually exists. For most of us, physics terms like odderon are (and always will be) part of science fiction. However, this is not the view of the scientific community, whose determined members spent almost half a century searching (without […]
Why do people migrate?
Striving to gain better insight into migration around the world, researchers have completed the first-ever systematic literature review that aims to answer two questions: What makes people want to migrate? What causes them to actually migrate? In the course of history, human migration has transformed lands and the mix of races, ethnicities and languages of […]
Scientists solve mysteries of the world’s oldest computer
Another piece of the ancient computer’s puzzle has been solved. The 2 000-year-old Antikythera Mechanism, the first analogue computer, was a bronze hand-powered device from ancient Greece filled with complex gears. It was used to predict the positions of the planets and events like lunar and solar eclipses. The machine was even used to set […]
SARS-CoV-2 mutations thwart body’s killer cells
An EU-backed study has shown that when the SARS-CoV-2 virus mutates, it can prevent killer T cells from recognising infected cells and eliminating them. In the ongoing battle against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, antibodies play a vital role in fighting off infection. However, they don’t work alone. Another protagonist is the killer T cell that finds […]