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2019
Cities: at the forefront of climate action
For centuries, cities have been laboratories for new progressive ideas. Facing climate change, they can act like pioneers for a sustainable lifestyle.
The end of Moore’s law reign
Since the 1960s, Moore’s law has guided the production of processors and transistors. However, the continuous shrink of silicon chips approaches physical limits.
The perils of ranking
Global lists are a key source of information for students choosing a university. But how relevant are they to the learning experience?
2018
The battle for batteries
The European Commission wants to build a strong battery industry that can compete with Asia, but has it entered the game too late?
Europe’s answer to GPS
When Galileo is fully functional in 2020, it will provide the most precise navigation ever, even at the North and South Poles.
The Herculean tasks of quantum computing
Forget the hype, quantum computing is still in its experimental infancy. Researchers must overcome five big challenges before real-world applications can emerge.
Europe’s battle for more innovation impact
How can European countries become leaders of innovation? Two experts discuss the continent’s weaknesses and possibilities.
Data scientist: the sexiest job
These modern-day alchemists spin masses of raw data into gold. Here are four reasons to become one.
Plastics under fire
As environmental pressure increases, industry is responding with innovative products made from organic sources and more responsible use of plastics derived from petroleum.
A boon for privacy, a headache for business
Europe’s new regulations protect user data. But they may also block information-sharing that affects health and safety.
Munich: the new hub for digital cars
Germany’s auto industry is embracing the hottest technologies. The capital of Bavaria is driving the shift.
Making the blue greener
From an environmental standpoint, marine exploitation has been a catastrophe. Innovation is showing the way towards sustainable oceans.
Using 3D printers to build houses
Digital technologies can save time and money in construction, but the complexity of the processes will make automation difficult.
An enigmatic cosmic flash
Astronomers add a piece to the puzzle of why radio telescopes keep picking up fast bursts from the universe.
Asia: Europe stays in the game
As Chinese research increasingly dominates science, Danish universities have set up a centre in Beijing to foster exchanges.
2017
Barcelona: Costa del sport
The capital of Catalonia is a technology hub with a vibrant start-up environment. A celebrated football team’s innovation hub was the catalyst.
Clashing over noise and waves
Danish scientists express doubts about the breakthrough detection of gravitational waves. A Portuguese physicist explains the controversy.
Silicon photonics: the next revolution
Say goodbye to copper wires. Silicon photonics promises greater energy efficiency, lightning-speed processing and innovative health devices.
Search for rigour
While the scientific method strives for objectivity, experimental results are still prone to unconscious bias and error.
Artificial empathy
The decapitation of the robot named hitchBOT has offered greater insight into social robotics.
Nuclear tombs for the ages
Radiation-eating bacteria could make underground storage of nuclear waste safer.
Welcome to Health Valley
Building on skills honed over the centuries, western Switzerland has become a world leader in biotech.
Energy efficiency: greening the bottom line
Contrary to popular belief, sustainable solutions can be good for business. A look at some of Europe’s most innovative efforts.
Should english be the only language of science?
The playing field is not level, say the advocates of plurilingualism.
Spotlight on Toulouse
Europe’s aerospace hub is a thriving, synergistic blend of industry giants, start-ups and research centres.
Tackling the gender gap
New initiatives are helping women climb the ladder at technical universities.
The missing link in primate paralysis
A wireless brain-spine interface allows monkeys to walk again.
Galileo puts Prague on the cosmic map
Long known for its scientific creativity and skilled workforce, the Czech capital is redefining itself as a hub for space technology.
Flying the “big science” flag
Europe is once again on the hunt for emerging research and development trends that will spawn radical social and economic rewards in years to come. Discover three of the candidate projects.
Opening up the echo chambers
Researchers look for solutions to address the distortion of online information.
The architecture of sound
Towards a more intimate musical experience: Hamburg and Paris introduce innovative acoustics to their spectacular new concert halls.
A new genetic revolution
The ability to modify sequences of DNA with pinpoint precision promises new drugs, healthier livestock and better crops.
Focus on Russia
Russia has produced an array of new tech companies since the late 2000s. But these start-ups remain virtually unknown outside the country’s borders.
The power of nudging
Gently swaying people to act differently is a trick long known to advertisers. Several initiatives have proven its benefits for implementation of private and public policy.
“Traffic remains a challenge”
A Danish expert explains his strategy for making urban life sustainable and liveable.
Challenging innovation
A study has questioned the benefits of robotic keyhole surgery for prostate cancer, so why are some experts still championing the technique?
Artificial intelligence: where it all began
With its leading research institutes and ground-breaking innovations, Europe plays a major role in the field of AI.
Construction: back to the roots
Wood has seen a slow-paced renaissance since the early 1990s, but ambitious proposals for timber structures now seem to appear.
2016
Uncovering Jupiter’s mysteries
After travelling 3 billion kilometres, a space probe begins to explore our largest planet.
All eyes on Eindhoven
Once dominated by light-bulb manufacturer Philips, the Dutch city is now home to a dynamic university and its circle of start-ups.
The circular economy: a boost for growth
How Europe is shifting towards a more sustainable system by reusing, remanufacturing and recycling.
Rock-solid climate solution
A technique for turning CO2 into stone has been pioneered in Iceland, but another kind of immoveable object could prevent large-scale success.
All Eyes on Ireland
Dublin’s “Silicon Docks” may be known as a welcome destination for U.S. tech giants, but the Emerald Isle has plenty of native innovation to shout about .
Our weighty new view of the universe
The recent discovery of gravitational waves has given us a completely new tool for observing the sky. Technologist spoke to some of the scientists listening for the miniscule ripples in space-time.
The science of beer
Brewing is often considered an art. For the researchers at BeerDeCoded, it’s a serious scientific endeavour.
A plane’s dirty little secrets
Careful study of the waste carried by aircraft now offers valuable clues on how infectious diseases spread.
Lights out over Ukraine
Hackers were most likely behind a power outage that affected 700,000 people in western Ukraine in December 2015. What actually happened?
The beauty of waves
A Dutch innovator offers a visible view of an invisible world.
All Eyes on Sweden
Some of the most significant triumphs in online innovation, like Spotify and Skype, are Swedish creations.
Blockchain: on the verge of revolutionising society
The technology behind Bitcoin holds immense potential that we’re just now beginning to fathom.
Bikes are back
Cycling is healthy and good for the environment – so no wonder bicycle use in some European cities has doubled since the early 2000s.
Zoom on Spain
Spain has become a technological leader in fields from mapping to aeronautics to graphene production.
Hello, is there life out there?
Thanks to the digital revolution, finding alien life, if it exists, is getting closer.
2015
Wind turbines without blades
The idea sounds preposterous, but Spanish start-up Vortex Bladeless is convinced that it can win over the sceptics.
Flu: the disease that won’t go away
Why does the common illness keep outsmarting scientists?
Can you trust what you read?
Thanks to major European initiatives, scientific publishers are feeling the pressure to crack down on plagiarism
Winners and losers of biodiversity
The presence of a single species – Homo sapiens – is having a dramatic impact, allowing some to thrive and pushing others to the brink of extinction.
Sharing: business or benevolence?
Everyone has heard of Uber and AirBnB, but they are not the only game in town. Some platforms are purely altruistic, some very capitalistic.
From plastic waste to homes
Can you clean up litter and house people with one idea? Yes, says an innovative Danish student.
Climate engineering
Prudent plan B or desperate measure?
Sending a signal
Computer-science wizard Frederic Jacobs creates a new app that makes cryptography seamless and freely available to millions of mobile users
Augmented humans? Not so fast!
Human augmentation elicits reactions that are not unanimously positive.
7 ways to hack for profit
Cybercrime has gone mainstream – to the distress not only of individuals but also of targets as large as American cities.
The sins of peer review
More than one million scientific articles are published every year. The process that was established to control their quality is increasingly being called into question.
“A Swiss Army knife for genetic engineering”
Prize-winning French biologist Emmanuelle Charpentier explains her revolutionary discovery.
2014
The young man and the sea
Activism in action: a 20-year old takes on the mass of floating plastic garbage.
E-cigarettes: the burning question
They definitely help people stop smoking, but they may be just another ticking time bomb. Are they a positive solution or an unhealthy crutch?
Rise of the geek lawyers
How science fiction can inform a generally staid profession about the legal issues of the future.
Biohackers who want to change the world
The biohacking movement, which appeared in the U.S. in the late 2000s, has now spread to Europe.
Bzzzz… here come the kamikaze mosquitoes
In an effort to combat dengue fever, Brazil has authorised the dissemination of a transgenic insect. Now the question is: will the critters do their job?
Privacy, after Snowden
People are increasingly concerned about the safety of personal data. The market is responding with new encryption products that are easy to use.
Here comes the graphene revolution
The EU has committed €1 billion to this revolutionary new material. What are the challenges, what are the promises?