Author: Gareth Willmer

Italian architect and researcher Dr Chiara Mazzarella has long been captivated by the idea of finding better ways to use empty buildings. Across Europe, millions of homes and commercial buildings lie vacant, even as housing shortages and rising rents leave many people in precarious living situations. “We talk a lot about the circular economy, but […]

Imagine using space technology not just to explore the stars, but to stop a disease outbreak before it starts, or predict and monitor natural disasters such as floods.  That is exactly what European researchers are doing with Earth observation (EO) – turning satellite data into real-world solutions that protect people and the planet. Mosquito monitor Since 2020, a […]

In 1609, the Spanish galleon San Francisco sank off Japan after sailing through storms and hurricanes en route from the Philippines to Acapulco in Mexico. The shipwreck took with it many vital clues about centuries of trans-Pacific trade and cultural exchange. Now, over 400 years later, the San Francisco’s fate has inspired an international team of EU-funded […]

In Groruddalen, a large urban valley in north-eastern Oslo, Norway, the groundwork is being laid for an important shift in city transport.  Five self-driving electric cars began ferrying the public around the area in early February 2025. This marks a key milestone in an EU-funded initiative to integrate automated vehicles into public transport systems.  The Norwegian launch […]

David Clarke has a busy life juggling two jobs. He works three days a week recycling waste at a supermarket in Drogheda, his home town in eastern Ireland. On other days, he takes the hour-long bus ride to the capital Dublin to work in a gift hamper warehouse. Aged 44 and living with Down syndrome, […]

A hospital in central Paris has had an unexpected helper: a full-sized talking humanoid robot. Created by an international team of EU-funded researchers, it can interact with patients, provide practical information and answer questions to help people navigate around the hospital. Trials of the orange-and-white robot named ARI have shown promise, according to the team […]

Central Macedonia, a region on the northern mainland of Greece, is an important producer of food. It generates a quarter of the country’s agricultural output and is the source of much of Greece’s table olives, peaches, wine and dairy products. But this productivity also results in large amounts of agricultural waste.  EU-funded researchers are now […]

In the village of Lerești, in the centre of Romania, a bus with a purpose pulled up last August. Having already travelled through Lithuania and Poland, it was on the third of its five stops in Romania, on a mission to raise awareness of cancer – both ways to prevent it and options for treatment. […]

German mechanical engineer and research manager Martin Osbild is a fan of avoiding waste. At home, he would far sooner repair than replace broken household items – from washing machines to food blenders and bicycles. At work, the same environmental principles are high on his agenda. Osbild is leading a team of researchers at the […]