An air quality study has for the first time detected nano-sized particles of air pollution in children’s urine. With a diameter of just 100 nanometers – a thousandth of the width of a human hair – these ultrafine particles are the smallest particles found in air pollution and have been linked to heart disease and respiratory conditions … Read more
The European Union is scaling up its investment in battery technology with the announcement of a €10 million open competition to design a better battery for electric vehicles and a €50 million cash injection to develop Europe’s largest green battery factory. Batteries will play a vital role in helping to achieve the EU’s goal of … Read more
Mining isn’t the only way to extract valuable metals. Soon, they could increasingly be recovered from waste, reducing the need for new raw materials and helping Europe’s transition to a low-carbon economy. In the EU, many raw materials needed in industry, from car making to medical implants, are imported from abroad as they aren’t available … Read more
Hundreds of kilometres away from any sea, ocean or sandy beach, students from countries such as the Czech Republic have been discovering their connection with the marine world. While Europe’s landlocked states are understandably not so preoccupied with seas and oceans, camps run by members of Ecsite — the European network of science centres and museums — … Read more
Sharing best practice farming techniques with farmers from different cultures and traditions could help increase the quality of our soils – a vital step in ensuring that we can grow enough food for people in the coming decades. At Wageningen University in the Netherlands, scientists are coding an app that will allow farmers in countries … Read more
Spills of crude oil that devastate huge areas of the oceanic environment could be cleaned up by naturally occurring microorganisms. It’s one application of new research into how bacteria break down oil, which could also help oil companies assess the quality of new reserves. In 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill released around 5 million … Read more