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Mar Menor lagoon feeling the heat
09 09 2008 Environmentalists the world over are keen to preserve biodiversity but climate change is giving them a run for their money. One victim to such change is the Mar Menor (little sea) lagoon located on the Costa Calida coastline in Spain, say researchers from the University of Murcia. In their latest study, the researchers found that an up to 5oC rise in water temperatures by 2013 will not only influence the ecological status of many coastal lagoons, but will trigger processes of eutrophication as well. Their findings were recently published in the Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science journal.
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Protecting the European wildcat
08 09 2008 When humans began venturing into virgin land, the demise of the wild animal began. Despite the odds stacked against it, the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), as cute as a domesticated tabby but a little more fierce, has managed to survive across Europe in countries like France, Germany and Spain. But can the European wildcat be protected from potential danger? Yes, says a team of German and Spanish researchers who successfully developed an ecological model that identifies potential habitats and corridors for this wildcat. Their findings were recently published in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.
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Improving the quality of life in later years
03 09 2008 Vast improvements in the quality of life of the elderly can be achieved by bringing nursing and physiotherapy teams into residential care homes for older people. According to an intensive two-year pilot scheme undertaken in the United Kingdom, not only will this improve quality of life for patients, but hospital admissions will also fall as a result.
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The answer to changing currents lies in the wind
02 09 2008 In the Age of Sail, knowledge of the world's ocean currents was a must. They controlled the fortunes of sailors and whole nations. Now a collaborative study between Spanish and German researchers has discovered for the first time how small variations in surface winds significantly changed the ocean currents of the North Atlantic. These changes may have been responsible for the abrupt climate change that occurred during the last glacial period.
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Soy foods may reduce sperm count
02 09 2008 Scientists are urging caution to all men who love their soy food. A research study recently published in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal, Human Reproduction, has revealed that men who eat an average of half a serving of soy food a day have lower concentrations of sperm than their counterparts who do not eat soy foods.
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Getting to the root of plants
27 08 2008 A diverse team of researchers from Europe, Asia and the USA have unearthed new information on how roots grow and develop. Specifically, how roots are able to move out sideways out of the central root and into the soil. Their discovery has opened the way to further research that may eventually lead to the creation of new crops with improved root structure, improving their chances of survival in difficult soils.
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A star's death cry; revealing its secrets
25 08 2008 A European-led team of international astronomers have discovered clues that suggest that a star that recently went supernova may have exploded more violently than previously thought and collapsed into a black hole. This brutal explosion produced a series of gamma-ray bursts that were only just able to be registered by the astronomers. This discovery could mark an important milestone for astronomers everywhere, as it is providing them with more information of one of the galaxy's most violent events.
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The buzz on sickly bees
22 08 2008 Humans aren't the only ones to get confused when they fall ill. Bumble-bees, the fuzzy insects that most people love, actually fail to remember where nectar-rich flowers are located. Researchers at Britain's University of Leicester conducted a study to investigate the effects that illness has on bumble-bees. Their findings were recently published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.
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IBD targets children too
20 08 2008 Contrary to what people believed in the past, Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a condition that does not discriminate against age. In a long-term study, a team of researchers in Italy has found that the number of children affected by IBD has increased over the years. Their results were recently published in the European Journal of Pediatrics.
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'B-COOL' project developing eco-friendly car air conditioning
20 08 2008 The EU-funded B-COOL project, set to end in 2008, has been developing a new, high-efficiency, low-cost air-conditioning system for small, A and B segment cars, using CO2 as a refrigerant.
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Cracking open pearl fraud
18 08 2008 Over 75 years ago, Japanese innovator Kokichi Mikimoto shovelled 720 000 pearls into a burning furnace. His actions reverberated around the world and across time itself. By showing his willingness to destroy so many pearls, he made a commitment to sell only the very best and to destroy the rest. To this day, Japanese pearls demand and receive a premium. As a result, many try to pass off their pearls as Japanese, even though they may come from elsewhere. Now two scientists from Germany have developed a method to determine the birthplace of pearls.
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ADDRESSing European energy needs
18 08 2008 A revolution is set to occur in the world of European energy delivery. The ADDRESS European project, funded to the tune of EUR 9 million by the EU, aims to provide European citizens with the next evolution in energy delivery through the development of smart energy grids of the future. These grids will give consumers for the first time the ability to actively participate in energy delivery, choosing when they consume their energy as well as giving them the opportunity to supply energy into the energy grid.
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The risk-taking singer gets the girl
18 08 2008 Do behavioural keys influence social interactions between animals, especially love? A group of researchers from Belgium's University of Antwerp and Hungary's Eötvös University say they do. In a study published in the open-access journal PLoS ONE, the researchers used bird song as a model to investigate whether behavioural traits involved in sexual advertisement can provide us with information on the personalities of wild animals.
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Filling the need for broadband speed with GigaWaM
12 08 2008 Everything is going online in today's high tech world. You can do your banking, fill in your tax and even purchase your groceries online. People are able to do this thanks to the vast increases in internet speed. But with increased traffic, comes increased traffic jams. The European project GigaWaM has received EUR 3 million from the EU to modernise people's broadband access and get rid of traffic jams once and for all.
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Europeans advance bone implants technology
12 08 2008 European researchers are relentless in their pursuit to develop technologies across the board. Case in point is medical technology and bone implants. Enter a team of researchers from the Germany-based Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research who have developed a simulation programme calculating the internal structure and density distribution of bone material.
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Researchers link diabetes to male infertility
07 08 2008 Contrary to what the general public believes, latest research shows a link between fertility and diabetes in men. Speaking at the recent European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology conference, Dr Con Mallidis from Queen's University Belfast in the UK said the findings of the study indicate that diabetes causes damage to sperm DNA.
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Babies are what you eat
05 08 2008 Researchers working out of the Royal Veterinary College of London have arrived at the conclusion that women who are either pregnant or breastfeeding and eating junk food may be condemning their children to a life plagued with ill-health and obesity. This turns on its head the old adage, 'you are what you eat' to 'you are what your mother eats'.
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EU funds development aid project in Swaziland
02 08 2008 The European Union has allocated EUR 130 million for development projects over the next eight years. These monies come as part of the new 10th European Development Fund (EDF) and National Indicative Programme (NIP) for the year 2008-2013.
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Detecting diseases in the palm of your hand
30 07 2008 Portable laboratories the size of your palm, capable of analysing food for diseases such as salmonella, no longer belong in the realms of science fiction. A team of European researchers are on the fast track to producing just such a lab. OptoLabCard, a project funded by the EU to the tune of over EUR 3 million, offers to not only protect the health and well-being of millions of Europeans but also to save hundreds of millions of euros spent treating gastrointestinal infections.
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EU project taking CO2 out of the atmosphere
29 07 2008 'The European Commission is committed to encouraging industry to reduce its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and research plays a vital role in that,' said the European Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potočnik. The accumulation of CO2 is considered to be the main cause of climate change. However, the EU-backed project CO2SINK, with financing to the tune of EUR 8.7 million, aims to reduce greenhouse emissions through CO2 sinks â€' in other words â€' storing it underground.
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More evidence for green tea and cardiovascular risk link
25 07 2008 What is so special about green tea? Experts say this tea, which is rich in catechin polyphenols (i.e. compounds that have antioxidant activity), helps lower bad cholesterol levels, kills cancer cells and fights heart disease. New research by a team at the University of Athens Medical School in Greece adds more weight to the latter, highlighting that drinking green tea (Camellia sinesis) improves the function of endothelial cells lining the circulatory system. When endothelial cells dysfunction, atherosclerosis advances, thus increasing cardiovascular risk. The findings were recently published in the European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation.
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EU continues support for Solomon Islands project
24 07 2008 The Government of Solomon Islands, a country in Melanesia consisting of almost 1 000 islands, recently announced that the EU-backed Phase 3 Micro-Project, which targets growth and sustainable rural development, will be implemented in 2009, effectively continuing the successes of Phases 1 and 2. Funding for Phase 3 stands at EUR 7.2 million. Commenting on the good news, Solomon Islander Minister of National Planning and Aid Coordination, Steve Abana, noted how Honiara finalised the Phase 2 Rara Water Supply Project recently.
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OPTIMAL project holds final forum in Paris
22 07 2008 The partly EU-funded OPTIMAL project, developing innovative procedures for aircraft approach and landing phases, held its final public forum on 25-26 June 2008 in Paris. The event was attended by more than 150 participants from Europe, America, Asia and Africa.
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New findings in immune system may hold key to survival of amphibians
22 07 2008 2008 has been declared the year of the frog by the Association of zoos and aquariums marking major efforts to combat the amphibian extinction crisis. The frog and other amphibians form a vital part of the global ecosystem and give an indication of the overall health of the environment. Unfortunately however, close to 50% of amphibians are facing extinction. However, European researchers may have found the key to reversing this decline.
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New era dawns for world’s oceans via EPOCA
22 07 2008 Last June, the EU’s largest research consortium to combat ocean acidification was launched. The European Project on Ocean Acidification (EPOCA) combines over 100 scientists from 27 organisations in 9 countries. Its aim is to document ocean acidification and investigate its impact on biological processes. Based on this information the project can then predict its consequences for the next 100 years, and advise policy-makers on potential thresholds or tipping points that should not be exceeded. The project is partly funded by the EU with EUR 6.5 million.
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