Search Results for: Research

BY MONICA DOBIE

THE CANADIAN government has followed in the footsteps of the European Union (EU) by banning the use of lead acetate in progressive hair dyes namely, Grecian Formula 16 (Canadian sister of the fabled Grecian 2000 Cream in the UK).…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE FIRST-EVER multilateral treaty covering the Balkans has been signed in Athens, creating a European Energy Community, linking the gas (and electricity) policies of south-eastern Europe with those of the European Union (EU). Indeed, under the treaty, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and Kosovo must apply EU energy legislation, including related environmental and competition laws.…

KEITH NUTHALL
THE EUROPEAN Commission has released formal tenders for Euro 20 million of research projects into sustainable energy systems, which will be funded by the European Union’s (EU) outgoing sixth framework programme. Brussels specifically wants to fund projects that will yield medium and long-term benefits.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AS EUROPEAN Union (EU) ministers this month (November) resume their discussions on the medium-term (2007-13) budget for EU institutions, they have a lot of balls to juggle, including farm subsidies, the infamous British rebate, overall economic competitiveness and future EU research spending.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
THE UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is claiming developing countries can prosper more from tourism by setting up locally run websites that enable potential customers to research, reserve, and pay for trips and hotel stays electronically.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
AN ITALIAN cruise-liner will become an important air pollution monitoring station helping European scientists assess the impact of industrial and transport emissions on climate change. The European Commission and the Costa Crociere line have installed an automatic air pollution monitoring station on its Costa Fortuna ship.…

BY KEITH NUTHALL
IT’S tough extracting DNA samples from microscopic organisms, but much easier to harvest such data from the environment where they live, such as soil and seawater. This concept has inspired the European Union (EU) to help launch the METAFUNCTIONS project.…

KEITH NUTHALL
A GROUNDBREAKING European Union (EU)-supported research project is developing an electricity storage system, based on hydrogen fuel cells. The HELPS (Hydrogen-based Electrical energy system for Local Power Storage) project is aiming to produce technology serving as:

*An emergency back-up system, for when the national grid is down;

*Energy storage for renewable generators, such as solar and wind for autonomous networks, helping release energy in the night, when there are clouds and no wind; and

*A peak power lowering device, regenerating when energy is available and cheap, providing power when loads and tariffs are high.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
FOOD scientists have discovered that innocuous and bland-tasting watermelon actually contains high levels of lycopene, a cancer-fighting anti-oxidant found in tomatoes but not much else. The US Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says watermelon could prove an effective alternative to people with tomato allergies or bouts of acid reflux, given it offers similar quantities of lycopene to tomatoes.…

BY MONICA DOBIE
NEW US research has found government advisories on fish consumption and mercury poisoning do more harm than good; rather than deterring women from eating fish, they should ensure low-mercury fish is available. The study, appearing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, has warned such advice, particularly that aimed at women of childbearing years, causes a drop in fish consumption, damaging nutrition.…