Food safety tests could soon be easier and faster: EU-funded researchers are developing lab-on-a-chip technology for the rapid detection of multiple pathogens in multiple samples. Work on a portable pre-industrial prototype is under way.
Essential for manufacturing high-tech products, rare earth metals are in short supply. EU-funded research is investigating how to extract rare earth magnets from electric vehicle motors and recycle them, in a move that could also create jobs in Europe's materials sector.
The EU-funded GRAGE project is taking an innovative approach to creating harmonious, sustainable and inclusive citizenship for the elderly in Europe's urban areas. Bringing together researchers from diverse fields, the project is also addressing the global challenges of urbanisation, demographic change and environmental distress.
Rapid diagnosis is vital for controlling outbreaks of the deadly Ebola virus. Currently this can only be done in complex laboratories and samples from infected patients are dangerous to handle and transport. Faced with this challenge, an EU and industry-funded project is developing fast, local tests to spot infection quickly and safely, helping to contain its spread and saving lives in the process.
The EU-funded Invisible Waters project is studying groundwater and competing uses in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile to develop an analytical framework for visualising, understanding and ultimately conserving this most vital resource.
Additive manufacturing is re-defining what can or cannot be accomplished in the production of parts, and research continues to redefine what can and cannot be accomplished with additive manufacturing. An EU-funded project has set out to break new ground for the 3D printing of complex ceramic components.
The world's cities account for less than 3% of its land surface, but they are already home to much of its population. By 2050, two-thirds of us are projected to live in urban areas, where joined-up management of food, water and energy will be increasingly important. A wave of partly EU-funded projects is about to explore this sustainability issue.
If flaws in infrastructure - a ship or a bridge for example - are spotted early, the damage can be repaired before anyone gets hurt, and before the costs mount. It's a nice theory, but there are currently many uncertainties in ensuring structural safety, as well as a lack of specialists. An EU-funded project is addressing both problems.
To stay safe on the roads, we need good infrastructure, alert road-users and effective technology. But what about a general safety culture? A team of researchers from countries with very different approaches to road-use is developing a cultural approach to road safety with the ultimate objective of cutting traffic accident numbers.
The EU-funded SWEETOOLS project aims to improve our understanding of the role of sugars in human biology. Exploring optimised versions of biosynthesised proteins combined with chemically synthesised drugs could help the development of novel biomedicines and vaccines targeting, for example, influenza.
