Scientists are unleashing the power of neutrons to improve understanding of everyday materials and tackle fundamental questions in physics. By MICHAEL ALLEN Apart from flashbacks that the hit Netflix series Breaking Bad may have conjured up, most of us have likely happily forgotten what we learned in chemistry classes back in school. So here’s a quick … Read more
As medical centres increasingly come under attack from hackers, Europe is bolstering protection. By TOM CASSAUWERS Amid the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2021, the Irish healthcare system’s computers were breached by hackers who gained access to patient files and posted hundreds of them online. As a result, the network had to be shut down. The reverberations … Read more
European projects are developing new ways to clamp down on international trafficking of cultural goods. By ALEX WHITING Lujza Varga is a local player in a European campaign against a global plight: the trafficking of historical objects including artworks. Varga works for the Hungarian National Museum, which is taking part in an EU-funded project to help … Read more
While flying is a major contributor to the climate crisis, behind the scenes scientists are designing cleaner and faster airliners. By Tom Cassauwers The passenger planes of today are based on designs that have been fundamentally the same for decades. This means that flight times have also changed very little. But what if people could … Read more
The robotic bee replicants home in on the unsuspecting queen of a hive. But unlike the rebellious replicants in the 1982 sci-fi thriller Blade Runner, these ones are here to work. Combining miniature robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the plan is for the robotic bees to stimulate egg laying in the queen by, for … Read more
In February last year, as oil prices spiked following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, computers stopped working at the Amsterdam-Rotterdam-Antwerp oil trading hub. This group of terminals concentrated at some of Europe’s biggest ports had fallen victim to a cyberattack. Barges couldn’t be unloaded and supply was disrupted. Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure like energy companies, hospitals and … Read more