European Union News - Research & Innovation

The FOOD4ME project points out that individuals tailor-made diets will help improve the health and well-being. The physical and genetic make-up of each individual would be assessed to ensure the right diet is going to work for the right person.

A team of researchers from the Dublin-based Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) carried out a comprehensive study of cancer cells, which shows how cancer cells react to chemotherapy. This new knowledge will move forward the development of increasingly effective cancer treatments and could go some way to reducing relapse.

The European Commission encourages students to pursue scientific careers to meet its ambitions goal of being one of the most innovative regions of the planet throughout the ERA-NET scheme and the article 185 of the TFEU. Europe will need for reaching this objective at least 1 million new research jobs in the near future; this is the reason why the European Commission encourages and fosters an understanding of science among young Europeans, and in turn helps them follow related careers. Both the ERA-NET scheme and the Article 185 Initiative are helping drive this objective.

The European Commission published the grants for research and innovation which are the biggest ever such funding package. Its main goal is to promote research to tackle the biggest societal challenges facing Europe and the world. With these grants, the Commission is expected to create nearly 450,000 jobs and nearly €80 billion in GDP growth over 15 years.

The European Commission has sent requests for information under EU infringement procedure to twenty EU Member States which have not yet notified measures to implement in full new EU telecoms rules into national law. If they fail to reply in two months, the Commission can send the Member States concerned a formal request to implement the legislation, and ultimately refer them to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The unintentional release of ENMs used in products, including facade coatings for buildings, could play havoc on both the environment and human health. The NANOHOUSE EU funded project suggest that a product design can affect the unintentional release of ENMs and their risk assessment criteria should be used to assess and minimise potential risks.

According to the European Commission, European researchers, engineers and entrepreneurs must have easy and fast access to scientific information, to compete on an equal footing with their counterparts across the world. Therefore, they are invited as well as all other interested parties to send their contributions on how to improve access to scientific information.

The European Commission has launched a pilot Partnership with the aim to enhance European competitiveness while tackling societal challenges by bringing together key stakeholders from the demand and supply side. The initiative is part of the preparatory work for the 2012, European Year for Active Ageing.

'Cravings last less than five minutes on average. To help distract yourself, try sipping a drink slowly until the craving is over' or 'This is it! - QUIT DAY, throw away all your fags. TODAY is the start of being QUIT forever, you can do it!' are some examples of supportive and encouraging messages used as a therapy to help smokers quit this habit. The study, led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom, shows text messages are a very convenient way for smokers to receive support to quit smoking.

The propensity for cardiac death has genetic components, according to an international team of researchers. The team has discovered a genetic variation that may be putting people at higher risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). The findings could help shed light on the genetic contribution of SCD susceptibility and offer key targets for functional studies to probe the aetiology and pathogenesis of SCD.