By harnessing unusual allies, pioneering cancer treatments could reduce the need for invasive surgery and save lives. By Tereza Pultarova Dr Marta Alonso, a Spanish biomedical researcher, developed an interest in paediatric brain tumours during a traineeship in the US state of Texas. Alonso had a chance encounter in 2007 at the MD Anderson Cancer … Read more
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
Making diets kinder to the environment and better for people’s health requires root-and-branch changes in production and consumption. By Anthony King As a young scientist, Dr Christian Bugge Henriksen never minded getting his hands dirty. He put on his wellies to study soil nutrients in barley and potato fields in his native Denmark. Henriksen has … Read more
Many working people in Europe are at risk of economic hardship, prompting EU researchers to seek policy answers. By Ali Jones For Lineke Smit, poverty in Europe is brought home to her almost every day at work. She is a member of the Netherlands branch of the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN), a non-governmental organisation seeking … Read more
Millions of people in Europe and elsewhere suffer degeneration of joint cartilage in the knee, driving EU research into better treatments. By Michael Allen Beyond making a tray of sushi rolls delectable, the potential uses of seaweed are growing fast amid discoveries that it may do everything from improve diets to ease bowel disease. Now seaweed … Read more
Better use of grass-covered areas across the EU can protect nature and strengthen agriculture. By Vedrana Simičević German farmers in the Lower Oder Valley National Park on the eastern border with Poland faced a dilemma: what to do with grass that was useless as animal feed. Like many of their counterparts in Europe, these agricultural … Read more