Month: July 2024

Breathing easier – nature-inspired treatments could relieve acute respiratory distress

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EU-funded researchers are looking to nature for inspiration on how to treat acute respiratory distress syndrome, a life-threatening condition affecting thousands every year. By Barbara Pinho In 2014, Professor Kai Zacharowski, Director of the Clinic for Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care Medicine and Pain Therapy at the Goethe University Hospital of Frankfurt, Germany, was treating a particularly … Read more

New aerospace and building materials could repair themselves thanks to fungi and bacteria

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EU-funded researchers are using biological matter to create unique new materials that can adapt to their environment and repair themselves. By Michaela Nesvarova The science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke famously said that ‘any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.’ For Dr Kunal Masania, an associate professor of aerospace structures and materials at the … Read more

Silkworms and shrimp may help regenerate damaged skin and bone

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EU-funded researchers are exploring new nature-based solutions to stimulate skin and bone repair. By Gareth Willmer In the cities of Trento and Rovereto in northern Italy and Bangkok in Thailand, scientists are busy rearing silkworms in nurseries. They’re hoping that the caterpillars’ silk can regenerate human tissue. For such a delicate medical procedure, only thoroughbreds … Read more

Greener greenhouses promise more energy-efficient growing power

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Commercial greenhouses in Europe are testing new energy and water efficiency technologies in support of the green transition. By  Bárbara Pinho In the province of Almería in southeastern Spain, farmers grow an estimated 2.5 to 3.5 million tonnes of fruit and vegetables every year in what has become known as Almeria’s sea of greenhouses. In this … Read more

Satellite oversight: ensuring Europe’s renewable energy security from above

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EU-funded researchers are using AI and satellite technologies to make the continent’s renewable energy infrastructure more reliable. By Jack McGovan Solar panels and wind turbines had to be shut down in Greece for a short period in May this year because the national electricity grid wasn’t able to absorb the amount of energy being produced. … Read more