Europe and Japan push supercomputing boundaries

From predicting climate change to developing new medicines, supercomputers underpin modern science. Europe and Japan are now working together to make them even more powerful and reliable. By Tom Cassauwers Stepping inside a supercomputer facility is usually an overwhelming experience. These vast machines contain hundreds of thousands of processors working together to perform calculations far beyond … Read more

Europe’s libraries look beyond books as they reimagine their role

Across Europe, libraries are being reimagined as community hubs and creative spaces for the digital age, as researchers join forces with local communities and creatives. By Hannah Docter-Loeb More than 2 000 years ago, the Library of Alexandria in Egypt stood as a symbol of knowledge and discovery in the ancient world. But it was never … Read more

AI joins the quest to find new treatments for rare diseases

Rare neuromuscular diseases often lack treatments because developing targeted drugs is slow, costly and risky for companies. A new approach using AI and stem cell models could finally shift the balance. By Tom Cassauwers Belgian AI company Kantify was doing business as usual until a cancer diagnosis forced the team to rethink their direction. “We built algorithms … Read more

An arms race over disinformation: using AI to detect AI

In a world full of deepfakes and fake news, EU-funded researchers are building tools to help journalists tell what’s real and what’s not. By Anthony King Last winter, as Christmas markets opened across Europe, social media was flooded with alarming videos. Posts claimed that radical Islamists were “invading” Christmas markets. One clip appeared to show … Read more

Back to school: robots learn from factory workers

A Czech startup is making factory automation easier by letting workers teach robots new tasks through simple demonstrations instead of complex coding. By Anthony King What if training a robot to handle dirty, dangerous work on the factory floor was as simple as showing it how? Czech startup RoboTwin is doing exactly that, helping factory … Read more