Understanding the neurobiology of decision-making is a scientific challenge. The EU-funded project Select-and-Act , completed in 2012, used experimental and modelling approaches to better understand how the brain selects different patterns of motor behaviour.

In the battle against malaria researchers at the University of Neuchâtel (Switzerland) have developed a new eco repellent that stops mosquitoes from attacking humans.

Global warming is leading to an increase in mosquito-borne diseases such as malaria . It is considered the plague of developing countries. According to the World Health Organisation , it is responsible for one child death every minute.

A major challenge in combatting malaria is to develop effective yet sustainable mosquito repellents.  Now, the ENAROMaTIC project, a European effort to reduce the spread of malaria completed in 2012, may have done just that.

European researchers have looked how the analysis of your genes could help to determine the dosage for patients who need to take blood thinners.

Coumarins— blood thinners against thrombosis, or blood clotting, are amongst the most widely used drugs worldwide. Millions of mostly elderly people depend on them. But finding the right dosage is a painstaking process.

Cost-effectiveness is paramount for any new medical technology. If pharmaceutical companies do not see a profit, new drugs will never see the light of day.

Poor air quality costs Europe more than €700 million per year, in health expenditures and loss of economic performance, according to official EU sources.

We are all exposed to polluted air. Among main air pollutants are nitrogen oxides —the so-called ‘NOx ‘— and ozone , which cause irritation of respiratory tract and eyes, favouring cough, lung infections in children and asthma.

Air quality is a public health issue. As recently as last October, the World Health Organisation classified global outdoor air pollution as ‘ carcinogenic to humans .

“Antibiotic resistance threatens a return to the pre-antibiotic era”. The World Health Organisation uses this strong expression when referring to a phenomenon that is rapidly spreading: the increasing resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial medicines, such as antibiotics .

November 18 th is the annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day . Its purpose is to highlight the increase of bacterial resistance to antibiotics on the continent .

Patients affected by a bacterial infection can usually be treated with an antibiotic. But sometimes a resistant bacterial strain is causing the infection .

Nowadays, doctors treat patients with broad spectrum antibiotics without testing. But if they want to test they can send the bacteria away to a laboratory. This microbiology laboratory will test sensitivities to antibiotics for them.

Air quality is not a local problem. Like clouds moving through the sky, pollution is transported from one location to another by wind patterns in the atmosphere .

Drinking water flowing from your tap can contain harmful bacteria, viruses and single-cell animals. And most countries do not routinely test for all these bugs.

Diamonds are sometimes considered as a girl’s best friend. Now, this expression is about to have a new meaning. Indeed, nanometric scale diamond particles could offer a new way to detect cancer far earlier than previously thought.

Micronutrients are minerals and vitamins, such as iodine, iron, or vitamin A. Although ingested in tiny amounts, they are an essential part of our diet .