EU-funded researchers have applied engineering know-how to understand what controls the mechanical strength of living cells. Their findings offer new insights into the spread of cancers as well as into diseases of the heart and nervous system.
Your father's exercise routine may have made you smarter according to EU-funded researchers studying how lifestyle choices affect brain function and memory. The findings could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.
Although being stuck in a brain scanner while being exposed to a horror film may not be everyone's idea of fun, monitoring volunteers' grey cells throughout this process can tell scientists a lot. EU-funded research using this and other memorable techniques has generated new knowledge on the way we process and transmit social information.
Plug-and-play smart cities? An open source platform jointly developed by Japanese and EU-funded researchers is facilitating the deployment of smart city technologies in urban centres worldwide to tackle urban challenges ranging from air quality and energy use to traffic congestion and infrastructure upkeep.
Until recently, there was no treatment specific to alpha-mannosidosis, one of the many rare diseases that jointly affect some 30 million citizens in Europe alone. Today, there is as EU-funded research developed enzyme-replacement therapy to stop the illness in its tracks, and this medicine is on the market.
EU-funded researchers are using innovative genomic and microfluidic technologies to identify useful enzymes in nature which could reduce the need for toxic chemicals, save energy, and boost the overall sustainability of a range of industries, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals.
Enzymes could make many chemical conversions more efficient, more sustainable and more affordable - and marine microbes produce an abundant variety of these biological catalysts, say EU-funded researchers who set out to find new ones for use in industry. A vast collection, new knowledge, four patents and a start-up are the result.
Air pollution is a major risk factor for health in Europe. EU-funded research is helping to find innovative, inexpensive and green solutions for improving air quality, particularly in urban environments.
An EU-funded project carried out an 'advance care planning' trial on patients with late-stage cancer in a bid to improve their welfare and boost their involvement in care-giving decision-making.
What is the best way to tackle sarcomas? Although clinical trials help to generate insight, they are hard to set up for rare diseases. An EU-funded project has organised several trials focusing on these malignancies, providing insight that is already helping to save more lives. It has also paved the way for further research to help patients.
