Engineers might disagree. However, not all bridges are built with steel, concrete and asphalt. Some are made entirely of cooperation and coordination. This is the type of bridge connecting Europe’s closest neighbour, the African continent.

Hydroelectricity plays an important role in keeping the grid humming throughout Europe. While wind and solar generate energy under some conditions, hydropower can start generating power whenever the grid needs it, so-called baseload energy. The big issue now is how to design hydropower technology with fish in mind.

The implementation of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan and the EU Mission on Cancer will go far beyond research and innovation to develop new solutions and improve the lives of Europeans, says Joanna Drake, Deputy Director-General, DG Research and Innovation.

Young people often have little say in decisions and policies designed to improve their health. But there’s no one better placed to tell policymakers what needs to change and how, than this generation of young Europeans. What if they were empowered to help write those policies and become their own agents of change?

Before the term "digital twin" was first used twenty years ago, engineers at NASA were already developing ground-based replicas of spacecraft infrastructure. Today’s manufacturers are also seeing double, taking advantage of digital duplicates to better understand and predict product performance. Now EU scientists are looking to apply the same principles to the natural world – building more and more digital twins of the ocean.

Often quickly disposed of but lasting in the environment for tens to hundreds of years, plastic litter pollutes our seas worldwide, creating a serious threat to wildlife and contributing to climate change as they break down.

Shortening the diagnostic journey and providing effective treatments are key to a longer and healthier life for patients. These are just a few of the major milestones in rare disease research spearheaded by the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC), a joint initiative by the European Commission and the US National Institutes of Health launched in 2011. As the largest consortium in rare diseases research in the world today, with close to 60 organisations, IRDiRC has taken international rare disease collaboration to new heights.

A new computer tool is testing drugs against cancers to achieve a better understanding of cancer mutations, ushering in more targeted tumour therapies with fewer side effects.

Researchers have made significant progress in diagnosing and treating rare diseases. However, as most rare diseases still have no treatment, there is still much to be done. This month, we explore the current landscape of EU-funded research and innovation as regards new treatments and diagnostic pathways.

Current treatments for cystic fibrosis are not suitable for all patients. The lack of treatment options is distressing for people suffering from a rare type of this degenerative and life-threatening disease. But researchers are making major advances.

Most farm managers in Europe are nearing retirement. There is a need to revitalise rural areas in Europe and create opportunities for younger people. Social scientists are scrutinising the problem of rural decline, highlighting success stories and policy actions and tracking paths back to a more prosperous countryside.

Whoever said there’s nothing more boring than watching grass grow, wasn’t thinking about seagrass. Often confused with seaweeds and rarely receiving the attention they deserve, there’s nothing boring about seagrasses. In fact, they are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world.

Horses have been intrinsically entwined with human history for the past five millennia, acting as an early means of rapid transport and playing a key part in agriculture, warfare and sport.

Since the discovery of electricity, inventors have struggled with how to store it. Batteries emerged relatively quickly as the most common way to preserve energy chemically, but from portability to rechargeability, it has taken centuries of tweaking elemental combinations to create the batteries our modern devices depend on.

Power above, crops below. What a bright idea! Researchers are testing the effectiveness of growing crops under solar panels.

Children and adolescents tend to have more mild disease compared to adults if they catch the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, but they are still struggling to cope with the pandemic. Curfews, closures, and lockdowns are taking their toll on their emotional wellbeing.

Four huge robot arms surround the gleaming metal shell of what will soon be a top-of-the-range automobile. They jerk into life, attaching the bonnet, the wing mirrors, and other panels. It’s the kind of precision operation you can find at car factories around the world these days. But here’s a question worth considering: could we pull off a feat like this only about a billion times smaller?

In a lab in Amsterdam, arachnophobes have volunteered to encounter their eight-legged nemeses to help researchers hoping to conjure and obliterate fear memories. These studies, as well as new understanding of overlooked brain regions, are revealing how fears linked to PTSD or phobias work, and how they may be treated.

The idea of cryogenically freezing a person to preserve their body until many years into the future has long been a staple of science fiction stories. However, the need to reliably store biological materials such as cells or tissue is a common concern for scientific research and, increasingly, for society too.

The coronavirus pandemic has upended the lives of people around the world, with our youth among the hardest hit as their education, work opportunities and social lives are put on hold.