Health

Rediscovering voyages that changed trade, culture and medicine across the Pacific

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Researchers retrace a sunken Spanish galleon’s trans-Pacific route, uncovering global connections. © vlastas, Shutterstock.com

New EU-funded research, sparked by a 17th-century shipwreck, reveals how centuries of trans-Pacific trade shaped medicine, shipbuilding and geographical knowledge, and built cross-cultural connections still relevant today. By Gareth Willmer In 1609, the Spanish galleon San Francisco sank off Japan after sailing through storms and hurricanes en route from the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico. The shipwreck … Read more

Battling the heat: Europe takes action to protect health in a warming world

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EU-funded researchers are developing strategies to protect people from rising temperatures, focusing on vulnerable groups and clearer climate-health communication. By Vittoria D’Alessio The environmental impact of climate change – shifting weather patterns or vanishing biodiversity – is widely recognised. But do we truly understand the toll rising temperatures are taking on human health? Members of … Read more

From protecting patients to predicting disasters: AI supercharges nuclear tech

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Researchers are using AI to improve nuclear technology across a wide range of fields, from healthcare to earthquake prediction. © bigjom jom, Shutterstock.com

EU-funded researchers are using AI to transform nuclear technology, making medical scans safer, streamlining nuclear plant maintenance and allowing earlier prediction of earthquakes. By Tom Cassauwers Whenever you have a scan at a hospital, both you and the operators are exposed to a small amount of radiation. For hospital staff, this means a slow trickle … Read more

Smarter science: staying one step ahead of the next pandemic

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EU-funded researchers are improving surveillance systems to detect emerging infectious diseases spread in different ways, including by mosquitos. © frank60, Shutterstock.com

From mosquito monitoring to sewage surveillance, EU-funded researchers are combining diverse data techniques to spot early signs of emerging infections before they strike. By Andrew Dunne As the world woke up to a global pandemic in early 2020, a new EU-funded research initiative was just getting underway – the Versatile Emerging Infectious Diseases Observatory (VEO). … Read more

Bringing the outdoors in: architecture that nurtures our connection with nature

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Lessons learned from the traditional connection with nature in Japanese and Danish architecture could help build greener urban spaces for the future. © PhD Carmen García Sánchez, 2020

EU-funded researchers are exploring the role of architecture in designing living spaces that harness the healing power of nature to improve the health and well-being of urban populations. By Bárbara Pinho Dr Carmen García Sánchez likes to ride her bike in the Danish countryside. That is how she first discovered how closely post-war Danish architecture … Read more