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2018
Heating, a major trial
Temperatures in cities need to fall – and fast. But how?
Fighting energy waste in buildings
Buildings accounts for a huge proportion of the world’s energy consumption. Zoom on some innovative solutions to cut the waste.
The concrete challenge
It’s the world’s most ubiquitous construction material – but it comes with a hefty environmental cost.
Amsterdam’s Waterworld
An expert discusses the challenges of creating a major district entirely with floating houses.
2017
Leaders in cybersecurity
Europe is often at the forefront in the fields of digital safety, antivirus protection and encryption. Here are three examples.
Is big business gobbling up public funds?
A quarter of European research money goes to companies. As the EU drafts the next iteration of its Horizon 2020 programme, experts discuss the pros and cons.
“Encouraging impact thinking”
An expert in technological change discusses the EU’s research programme and identifies the next challenges for innovation in Europe.
The German cloud
The country is getting a lot of attention for its strict privacy laws. But is it the only option for a data-safe harbor in Europe?
The next frontier: quantum cryptography
As familiar encryption systems reach their limits, the strange world of particle physics offers new solutions.
Patch me if you can
To spread viruses and malware, hackers take advantage of loopholes in IT system. Vulnerability fixes exist, but users download them all too rarely.
Europe’s new research élite
Eight success stories show how European scientists are shaping tomorrow’s world.
The data disaster
Recent months have seen a major increase in cybercrime. But that’s not the only threat to our private information.
Engineering healthier humans
Drawing on their knowledge of algorithms, design and materials, engineers can help improve healthcare in many arenas.
When robots steal our jobs
A universal basic income would mitigate the negative effects of automation. But it might be more effective if combined with apprenticeships.
The european robotics industry fights back
Asia’s acquisition of two of the continent’s crown jewels came as a wake-up call. To stay competitive, Europe must innovate.
Invasion of the job snatchers
Make no mistake, the intelligent machines of the Fourth Industrial Revolution will lay waste to human employment – unless governments act.
Team players
Machines are getting much better at learning from humans and interacting with them. The next challenge: getting robots to talk to each other.
Medicine: the debate over Big Data
Should doctors have access to huge datasets? The potential to improve healthcare is obvious, but privacy remains equally important.
Cobots: our new partners at work
Collaborative robots are boosting productivity, but they will also require us to rethink how we approach our jobs.
Life-saving lessons
Linking engineering and medicine has led to better diagnostics, drugs and treatments. But it’s not always easy to collaborate successfully.
Avoiding the sound of silence
With Europe’s ageing population, hearing loss will become a major concern for public health. A new generation of technologies can slow the process.
How noise kills
Sound pollution has become one of the main health hazards in European cities. New technologies may provide some solutions.
Successful and resolutely European
Not every start-up wants to move to America. Here are four that have remained loyal to their home turf.
Europe sees the light
To reach their full potential, the most innovative European start-ups often have no choice but to let American giants buy them. But this is changing.
Keeping innovators at home
The European Commission turns its attention to four key aspects of the problem.
A new frontier for artificial intelligence
Using algorithms to process sound is a booming field. Here are four promising innovations.
Sound from all directions
The latest innovations provide listening experiences that are more immersive than ever. Some technologies even use bones to transmit sound.
Where have all the start-ups gone?
America is all too attractive for Europe’s innovative technology, but there are ways to stop the haemorrhage.
Europeans who have returned
Home is not just where the heart is – increasingly, it’s also where you find the innovators, the money and the quality of life.
Speaking of algorithms
Artificial intelligence raises thorny questions that will be keeping human brains very busy.
Balancing pleasure and health
Our eating habits are often based on accepted wisdom without scientific basis. Researchers are now trying to sort the facts from the myths.
Machines as caregivers
Artificial intelligence has enormous potential for health care – from diagnostics to rehabilitation to services for the elderly.
The double-edged promise of AI
Some people fret that artificial intelligence will end civilization as we know it, others believe it can solve every problem.
War without humans
Lambèr Royakkers of the Eindhoven University of Technology analyses the dangers of having machines make life-or-death decisions.
It’s time to eat better
If 10 billion people are to be fed we need to drop fashionable, damaging diets that have no evidence base and get behind rational advances in food science.
Grandma’s mixer gets fancy
Cooking blenders are invading European kitchens, with the promise of healthy and fresh nutrition without time wasted on cutting and stirring.
Dealing with a sea of plastic
Polymer packaging makes up most of the world’s marine debris. New biodegradable or edible containers could offer a better solution.
2016
The inevitability of free papers
Scientists are making headway in challenging the traditional publishing model for research papers. The big winners may include ordinary citizens.
Buildings that live and breathe
From London to Hamburg to Singapore, architects draw inspiration from living organisms to design energy-efficient buildings.
Why open science?
The birth of a movement in four main questions.
Science in the age of big data
The digital revolution and the ability to process huge amounts of information have changed the way research is done. Here are three examples.
Labs without borders
Designers working with biologists and engineers: not so long ago such collaboration would have been unusual. Now it is at the heart of European Science.
MOOCS: this revolution will wait
They’re more and more exclusive And they’re often full of already highly qualified students. Are Massive Open Online Courses failing to democratise education?
Medicine: ethical questions
Sharing medical data leads to more targeted treatments, but also bears the risk of abuse. Adam Molyneaux of Sophia Genetics discusses the complexities.
Power to the people
Citizen science relies on the public’s curiosity and enthusiasm – not to mention computing capacity – to supplement the work of scientists.
Medical solutions inspired by biology
Sharks are a useful model, both for their slick skin and for their antibodies that can be used to treat cancer.
Turning nature into a factory
How a salamander inspired a robot, a protein became a sensor and a molecule helped design a water purifier.
Insects in the spotlight
Beetles, butterflies and spiders are some of the bugs that inspire engineers. What makes these insects so prone to imitation?
The connected athlete
Amateurs can now enhance their performance and their health by using wireless devices and biosensors that monitor behaviour, environment and physiology.
Rail safety: back in the spotlight
Trains are particularly safe. But IT bugs and problems with the signalling systems represent a constant security threat.
New materials for new records
Aluminium, carbon and even bamboo: sport results today depend highly on the materials.
Ending the pain
Computer simulations and data analysis can now help prevent injuries, while individual prostheses hasten the recovery process.
Putting goods back on the tracks
Some smaller countries are showing how efficiency-enhancing innovations can begin to shift some goods transport away from lorries.
Driverless trains: the difficult next step
Will autonomous locomotives one day operate outside urban areas?
Electricity’s bright future
Petrol power helped shape the 20th century, but its decline may define the 21st. So how will the future of urban transport look?
Going with the flow
The fight against congestion is getting some new tools: mobile phones and complex algorithms.
Self-driving cars? Don’t hold your breath
Safely mimicking all foibles in software and hardware of driving will take at least another decade, if not longer.
Urban Mobility: is Europe too timid?
There are bright ideas for how to make our cities more fluid, but they won’t do much good unless decision-makers show more vision and courage.
From games to health
Smart glass and phone apps may have been developed for gamers, but now they are among the many technologies crossing over into the healthcare field.
Clearing congestion
It can be difficult to effect behavioural change in large cities, but Stockholm and London have shown that a well-conceived nudge will deliver results.
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.
Why we don’t sleep
Bad nights are disruptive to a person’s life. Fortunately, scientists are constantly learning more about the causes.
Tick-tock goes the body clock
You can sleep when you’re dead, they say. In the meantime, though, circadian rhythms are best not tampered with.
Why we sleep one third of our time
You may think you’re resting, but your brain is fulfilling critical tasks from building memories to reinforcing learning to clearing toxins.
Extreme scientists on the cutting edge
Six researchers reveal just how far they go to discover some of nature’s deepest secrets or test novel technologies.
“Modern life is just too interesting to sleep longer”
We spend one third of our time sleeping, but scientists still don’t know why. A prominent researcher reviews the most likely explanations.
Searching for the future Galileos and Keplers
Will Europe ever be able to compete with Silicon Valley? The answer lies not only in our universities and research parks but also in our primary and secondary schools.
2015
Keeping the data safe
What if Estonia’s system is hacked? And what if an unsavoury government, domestic or foreign, got hold of Estonia’s information?
Five estonians to watch
Inspired by Skype, ambitious entrepreneurs have the confidence to believe their dreams can come true
Life after Skype
Estonian programmer Jaan Tallinn helped create the file-sharing application Kazaa and then the famous video-call system. Now he wants to save the world.
From selfies to the fifth dimension
Rapidly evolving camera technology is changing our very notion of photography.
The russian legacy
As the big neighbour to the east rattles its sabre once again, Estonia is confident that its technology will allow it to survive, no matter what
A revolution in lighting
Modern illumination is not only much more efficient, but increasingly responsive to the rhythms of human life.
The land of e-everything
From medical records to taxes to ID cards, Estonians rely on – and trust – information technology more than any other nation in the world.
The importance of darkness
For most organisms the absence of light is vital, too.
Human: too much brightness?
One of the basic certainties that unites all life on this planet: night follows day follows night. But then we started to mess with it.
Year of the light
Everywhere you turn, optical engineering is at the heart of new technologies. No wonder 2015 has been named the Year of Light.
The shades of grey
The vision of a world in which everyone lives longer and better is attractive – but for societies the changes will be over-whelming. An ethicist and a sociologist discuss the implications.
When 80 became the new 40
Life spans in the developed world have doubled over the past two centuries — and scientists are working hard to decipher the code of aging.
Growing perfect grapes
Is France ready? One winery has taken the plunge, using real-time sap flow measurements to more accurately manage the irrigation of its vines.
The farmer and the little blue bird
A French farmer considers Twitter a fabulous way to forge a connection between farmers and consumers.
Fields of innovation
To improve crop yields, the agricultural world is turning to such cutting-edge technologies as drones, robots and networked sensors.
How old are you really?
Age is so much more than years elapsed since your date of birth.
Growing spinach where the sun doesn’t shine
Once seen as a “towering lunacy”, vertical farms are all the rage from the U.S. to Europe to Asia.
The sweet smell of sweat
Everyone knows that animals use odours to communicate. Now a growing body of research suggests that humans do, too.
Too little, too much
To guarantee an uninterrupted flow of electricity, Europe must improve its storage capacity and build a super grid.
A tank full of sunshine
Solar energy won’t fulfil its potential until the storage problem is solved. Here’s how.
Master of fragrances
The exclusive creator of Hermès perfumes Jean-Claude Ellena revisits his brilliant career, revealing a glimpse of his perfumer’s palette.
Humans, dogs – and now e-noses
Canines still take the lead when it comes to sniffing out smells. But the latest research shows that machines are closing the gap.
The high price of inaction
For more than 40 years – ever since the Great Oil Crisis of 1973 – scientists, governments and media have been warning that the world must reduce its dependence on fuels derived from hydrocarbons. Initially, the main worry was supply – would the world run out of oil and gas before we found alternatives? But by the 1980s, an even greater danger came to the fore: climate change, aggravated by the massive amounts of CO2 being spewed into the atmosphere by oil-derived fuels.
2014
Think yourself healthy
The vagus nerve, which connects the brain to various organs, plays an essential role in the mind-body relationship. Can you train it to make you happy?
The invisible killers
With its horrible symptoms and 80% mortality rate, Ebola fever is especially frightening. The cases in Spain and the U.S. served as a reminder that procedures for strict disinfection, while simple on paper, are less so in practise. Even the Western health system cannot entirely protect us from this virus.
Beating the Superbugs
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise, but the pipeline for new drugs is drying up. Researchers are developing new strategies to avoid a resurgence of illnesses that once seemed easy to cure.
“The field has finally reached scientific maturity”
Happiness can be understood objectively, says pioneer researcher Ruut Veenhoven.
Happy? Your smartphone will know
New technologies and citizen science offer innovative ways to track and quantify emotions. They are uncovering new ingredients in the recipe for happiness.
New ways of fighting bacteria
Four novel approaches to keep killers in check.
Take it, use it, change it, create
You no longer need to be an electronics wizard to build sophisticated devices. “Makers” like the four profiled on these pages are unleashing their creativity thanks to Raspberry Pi and Arduino boards.
A world of invisible colours
Chemical cameras reveal a world that is invisible to the human eye. Smaller and cheaper devices are now finding uses from agriculture to cancer diagnostics.
Microscopy: Going beyond the limits of light
Super-resolution techniques have pushed back the limits of optics, becoming an essential tool in the life sciences.
Power from thin air
Mobile devices need energy – lots of it. Instead of focussing only on improving battery performance, some scientists are looking at the ambient energy that is all around us.
The other wonder gas
By being the first to extract methane hydrates last year, Japan has launched a new global race.
To frack or not to frack
Can America’s shale-gas revolution be repeated in Europe? The furore over earthquakes and chemicals has obscured more important issues.
Bacteria, on your plate
Already sold in health-food stores as nutritional supplements, micro-organisms could help feed the world if prices came down.
It’s food, but not as you know it
From lab-hatched eggs to caterpillar croquettes, the food of the future may not be familiar, but that doesn’t mean it won’t taste good.
The power of thought
An amazing project may enable paralysed humans to walk again, with the help of an exoskeleton controlled directly by their thoughts.
“New social norms will have to be accepted”
The latest portable technology will connect humans from head to toe. But it could also endanger both our safety and our social lives, warns Wijnand IJsselsteijn.