Computing’s quantum shift

With the race to build a new generation of computers heating up, European companies are eyeing the game-changing opportunities. By  Tom Cassauwers At some point in the future, the medicines that people take for everything from a simple cold to a complex disease like Parkinson’s might result from a discovery made using quantum computers. These … Read more

Categories ICT

Researchers and small businesses join forces against hackers

Improved cybersecurity defences for electronic commerce have emerged from EU-funded projects. By  Tom Cassauwers What do a Greek pharmacy, a Spanish multinational bank, a German foundation specialised in the digital economy and a UK university have in common? They all helped develop software tools with EU funding to counter cyber and physical threats to e-commerce … Read more

Categories ICT

Nuptials notice: foods and robots are getting married

Edible electronics are being developed to assist rescue operations and go inside hospital patients, setting the stage for all-consuming tech to become consumable. By  Anthony King Professor Dario Floreano is a Swiss-Italian roboticist and engineer engaged in a bold research venture: the creation of edible robots and digestible electronics. However counterintuitive it may seem, combining … Read more

Digital replicas of patients can help them get healthy

Simulations of the human body and advanced data promise more personalised medical treatment for a range of illnesses. By  Jack McGovan In a laboratory in the Italian capital Rome, Marco Evangelos Biancolini and his team are poking patients to gauge the effectiveness of different surgical procedures. But it’s not actual people under a scalpel – it’s … Read more

Brain gain: Europe’s big advances in neuroscience

EU researchers are coming up with new ways to tackle the range of illnesses tied to the human body’s most complex organ. By  Horizon Staff In the southern French city of Marseille, health researchers have developed a way to operate more effectively on epilepsy patients. In Milan in northern Italy, scientists have come up with … Read more

Robots are becoming human helpers on the factory floor

New machines can improve conditions for workers and boost industrial productivity. By  Helen Massy-Beresford On the shopfloor of a Dutch machine manufacturer called Hankamp Gears, workers remove bulky equipment from a pallet, lift the material above their shoulders and painstakingly attach screws to it. Then helping hands suddenly show up to do the heavy lifting, … Read more