Search Results for: Research

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Union (EU) Council of Ministers has approved a string of reforms to EU pharmaceutical legislation, designed to boost research, innovation and the working of the EU internal market while protecting patients. They include a new regulation on authorising and supervising medicines (and on EMEA); directives on EU codes on human and veterinary medicines and a directive on traditional herbal medicines.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A EUROPEAN Union (EU) research project is trying to develop robots that learn new skills and communication devices that can talk to each other, all without human intervention. The Euro 4.3 million ECAgents project will attempt to bridge gaps “between complex systems research and IT”, said Stefano Nolfi, from lead project partner Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies in Rome.…

BY ALAN OSBORN
SEEN in the context of the past decade, the entry of 10 new member states to the European Union (EU) which took place on May 1 has proved nothing like the disaster for the nuclear industry that was once feared.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission is releasing Euro 18 million over the next five years to improve the quality and safety of organic food in the European Union (EU), by boosting standards in farming, manufacture, transportation and retail. Funded by the EU’s sixth framework programme on research, the ‘QualityLowInputFood’ project will develop new technologies for pork and poultry production.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
PORTUGAL is being threatened with legal action at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to ensure European Union (EU) nuclear safety standards are applied at the country’s nuclear technology institute, the Instituto Tecnológico e Nuclear, which houses a research reactor.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
AMERICAN scientists have developed technology that could help fight a major garden industry pest, detecting and identifying the presence of black vine weevils through the computerised interpretation of their bodily vibrations. James R. Fisher, entomologist from the USA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), has developed a wand-like microphone that can be inserted onto a large nail placed at the root in nursery pots.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank (EIB) is lending Austrian pre-shaped steel manufacturer Voestalpine AG Euro 50 million to help it boost its metallurgical, welding and steel-forming processes plus undertake automotive sector research and development. The money would help fund a pre-rolling stand at the Leoben/Donawitz plant and a high-performance rolling mill at Voestalpine’s Schienen GmbH.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
SCIENTISTS have discovered that proteins from a harmless microorganism can reduce the presence of campylobacter and other pathogenic bacteria in poultry intestines by 99.9 per cent. In small trials, the proteins, called bacteriocins, almost wiped out campylobacter, reducing their presence to a millionth when fed to chickens.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE WORLD Heath Organisation has released a report detailing new developments in neuroscience research regarding craving, compulsive use, tolerance and dependence related to psychoactive substances, such as nicotine. The paper discusses how genes interact with environmental factors to sustain psychoactive substance-using behaviours, suggesting novel diagnostic tools and behavioural and pharmacological treatments.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
A KEY link in the European Union’s (EU) European Research Area (ERA) is being developed this month (April), with the launch of the SARNET network of excellence on nuclear accident research. It is one of the largest ERA initiatives, involving 18 research organisations, 11 private companies, ten universities, four utilities and six safety authorities.…