VIDEO

EU-funded researchers planted, harvested, processed and analysed the life cycle of woody crops to establish how efficient and environmentally friendly they are as a source of fuel for electricity and heat.

ELECTION SERIES #1 There is now more information circulating than at any other time in history. Every day mind-boggling amounts of data are produced, reaching over 2.5 quintillion bytes. With the European elections just around the corner, we take a look at an ERC funded project on how politicians stay knowledgeable amidst this information overload. The research by grantee Prof. Stefaan Walgrave from the University of Antwerp compares how different politicians process information and then act on it in three western, post-industrialist parliamentary democracies - Israel, Belgium and Canada. An original study, which unveils some optimistic findings just as voters prepare to head to the polls.

A microchip device to detect tumour cells in the blood, at a glance There are trillions of cells in the human body of different sizes and shapes. In such a densely populated environment, the chances of detecting a single tumour cell circulating in the bloodstream, seem pretty weak. Yet, to prevent potential metastasis, responsible for 90% of cancer-related deaths, early detection is a must. Liesbet Lagae, an engineer based at Imec in Leuven, Belgium, is developing a microchip device that hunts, inspects and sorts out malignant cells circulating in the blood, sharply and cheaply.

Cities and regions around the world are increasingly inter-connected. One clear factor for this connectivity is foreign investment: the flow of capital, skills and knowledge that can – under the right circumstances - "bless" an area, improving its economic and social standing. ERC grantee Riccardo Crescenzi studies where these flows are concentrated, how different actors choose where to invest and what are their impacts on both the home and host economies.