Researchers are turning to two crops to tackle the environmental harm of apparel made with synthetic fibres. By Ali Jones From risottos to sauces, mushrooms have long been a staple in the kitchen. Now fungi are showing the potential to serve up more than just flavour – as a sustainable, bendy material for the fashion … Read more
Automation will play a growing role in people’s lives and Europe has the know-how to lead the way, according to a top Italian researcher. By Horizon Staff Professor Maria Chiara Carrozza believes people in the 21st century will find life more liveable in the growing company of their machine equivalents: robots. Carrozza, president of Italy’s … Read more
More effective treatments for snakebites that afflict millions of people worldwide every year are emerging from EU research. By Michael Allen In November 2023, police in the southern Dutch city of Tilburg issued an alert about an “extremely venomous” snake that was two metres long and had escaped from its confines. The green mamba was … Read more
A new generation of batteries may bolster the EU’s green ambitions. By Anthony King A green industrial future for Europe may depend on an element that is part of a household staple: table salt. Dr John Abou-Rjeily, a researcher at Tiamat Energy in France, is using sodium to develop rechargeable batteries. Sodium is a part … Read more
The inauguration of the world’s most powerful fusion machine brings the dream of clean, safe and abundant power closer. By Gareth Willmer In the eastern Japanese city of Naka stands a six-storey-high tower that is far from being an ordinary building. The device inside the cylindrical steel structure is called a tokamak. It’s designed to hold … Read more
European researchers are pioneering a vaccine and treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. By Andrew Dunne In 2005, an American triathlete named Jon Blais was diagnosed with an incurable neurodegenerative disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He was 33 years old. Given no more than five years to live, Blais set about ticking off … Read more