Search Results for: Research

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

IT is not often that Jan Figel, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for education, training and multilingualism makes headlines. Not only is the Slovak modest to a fault, but as under EU treaties, education policy is controlled by national governments, his responsibilities rarely get the headlines which other policy areas attract.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

INFORMATION technology has been identified as the top priority for targeted studies in the rewritten European Union (EU) seventh framework programme (FP7), commanding 16.7% of the overall budget. According to European Commission papers passed to the Times Higher Education Supplement, it is followed by health (11%), transport (7.6%) and nanotechnologies/materials/manufacturing (6.3%).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

NANOTECHNOLOGY is poised to have a significant influence on the recycling industry, with scientists convinced that it will have a significant bearing on how we recycle objects and dispose of redundant items. Most recycling, of glass, paper or plastic takes place at the chemical level of complex molecules and bulk materials, and the presence of undesired elements and compounds often makes recycling difficult or uneconomic.…

STORIES BY KEITH NUTHALL

NUCLEAR research has been spared the knife as the European Commission pares down its proposed seventh framework programme (FP7) following a tough budget settlement recently agreed with European Union (EU) ministers and MEPs.

This led to the overall 2007-13 FP7 budget being slashed from last year’s proposal of Euro 75.7 billion to Euro 54.5 billion, and the Commission has now written plans to divide this figure amongst its research spending priorities.…

BY DAVID HAWORTH, in Brussels

IT is not often that Jan Figel, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for education, training and multilingualism makes headlines. Not only is the Slovak modest to a fault, but as under EU treaties, education policy is controlled by national governments, his responsibilities rarely get the headlines which other policy areas attract.…

BY ALAN OSBORN

INTRODUCTION

WITH the approval in May of two key regulations covering respectively nutrition and health claims and the addition of vitamins and minerals to foods the EU has taken an important step forward in setting the legal framework for the food industry in Europe.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union (EU)-research project aimed at coating plastics and other materials with metallic or ceramic films has proved a big success, with a consortium coating plastic mobile phones to block electromagnetic waves. These have long been a health concern for phone users, but prior to the REOXCOAT project, the use of the required so-called ‘sputtering’ technique to create such coatings was limited to small component areas.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

THE WORLD Bank has launched a comprehensive anti-corruption initiative, to drive graft out of developing countries in general, and its own aid projects in particular. Bank president Paul Wolfowitz announced the plan at a speech in Indonesia, displaying some the zeal he displayed at the Pentagon, only this time in fighting financial crime rather than Saddam Hussein.…

BY MONICA DOBIE

IN a study that will dismay tipplers comforted by science reports claiming a little regular alcohol is good for you, a University of Mississippi study has concluded moderate intakes can actually stimulate cancer tumour growth.

The research showed when 2-4 drinks per day are consumed alcohol infiltrates cells charged with eliminating what is essentially a toxin.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL

A EUROPEAN Union ‘EUREKA’ research project has developed a computer control system for wine growing, enabling users to improve output and productivity. The ‘VI-TIS’ project has created an automated information and sensor system linking machinery and workers to a central control optimising vineyard data on soil conditions, weather, grape acidity and other considerations.…