Until now, few biosensors have had the required sensitivity to detect single molecules. A novel approach for improved biosensor sensitivity has opened new avenues for developing new kinds of biosensors.

Quantum mechanics is about to fundamentally change the way we can transmit and sense information. The idea is that information—represented by physical quantities such as the spin or the polarisation of an individual photon—can be transmitted with the help of so-called quantum entanglement.

When a ship runs aground, or two vessels crash into each other, the damaged one may lose its stability, or worse, sink. But imagine if after a ship accident, balloons popped up like car airbags to keep the disabled vessel upright and afloat .

How do you express the bliss felt in a concert? Why is the execution of a piece of music better than another? Is an ensemble of musicians engaging an audience? Antonio Camurri , professor of human ...

Each time we read our e-mail, login to online shopping sites, watch a movie online or use our mobile phone, we are using random numbers to establish a secure connection.

Within the framework of the European ATLAS project, a team of researchers in Naples has created a LASER-based prototype that could revolutionize medicine and our knowledge of the human genome .

Almost every one of our cells has an entire copy of our genome. But only differing subsets of genes are active and expressed in any given cell. Epigenetics is the study of how the activity of our genes is controlled and regulated .

Cancer research could soon benefit from a new technology allowing investigation of how the DNA interacts with the proteins. Recent advances in tackling the disease stem from a change in our view of the genome —all the genes contained in our DNA.

Quantum computers will be much more powerful than those we have today.  But they do not exist yet. So, what do quantum computer scientists study? They plan algorithms to be used if and when quantum computers will be built.

Sharing emotions is a central part of human communication. Moreover, the internet is becoming an important medium to share them. And this has given rise to collective emotions in online groups.

Millions of people undergo surgery each year. Many of them suffer from moderate to severe pain afterwards. This post-operative pain may impede recovery or even lead on into chronic pain .

Modern information technologies allow medical researchers to draw on a huge pool of patient data. These are routinely assessed in hospital settings or through health care systems.

Low-cost sensors and wireless communication technologies have enabled moves towards smart homes and smart cars. Using similar technologies, scientists involved in an EU-funded project called ALL-SMART-PIGS are now developing technologies that turn pigs’ farms into smart farms .

One of the biggest challenges today is to understand the human brain and we never have been closer to realize it. More than 130 institutes are taking part in  one of Europe´s largest research projects , funded with 1.

Talking or reading. Texting a message or listening. The dilemma of choosing between various tasks is not an invention of the modern information age. Humans and all vertebrates have to prioritise their actions.

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.

Laughter research is no laughing matter at the Numediart Institute of the University of Mons , in Belgium. Members of this research institute are involved in an EU-funded project, called ILHAIRE , due to be completed in 2014.

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.

As smart phones are becoming ubiquitous, they increasingly serve as a link to social networks. Networks sharing of large concerts or sporting events with 3D imagery will soon be made possible thanks to a new technology developed under SceneNet , an EU funded project, due to be completed in 2016.