Ιούλιος 2013

Irrigated farms are the biggest consumers of fresh water in the Mediterranean region. In close collaboration with farmers, EU-funded scientists are developing water management tools and techniques for sustainable irrigation.

The EU-funded project ''Sustainable use of irrigation water in the Mediterranean region'' (SIRRIMED) was designed to enable increasing crop productivity in the face of scarce water resources. Researchers are addressing the issue at the farm, irrigation district and watershed level.

Combining the natural talent of bacteria to create porous membranes and of sponges to produce metal oxide nanostructures, EU-funded scientists are devising novel sensors, water purification devices and more.

Membranes have long played an important role in chemical processes for separation, distillation and purification. With advances in nanotechnology, their use has been extended to sensors and catalytic surfaces for chemical synthesis, diagnostics and drug discovery.

Europe is unique: it is a powerful economic community that strives for political and cultural equality and diversity. But keeping all linguistic groups on an equal footing can be a complicated task, in particular when it comes to information systems.

Ένα ηλεκτρονικό δέρμα (e-skin), το οποίο είναι εξαιρετικά λεπτό και εύκαμπτο, ενώ έχει τη δυνατότητα να φωτίζεται κάθε φορά που δέχεται άγγιγμα, σχεδίασαν επιστήμονες του University of California-Berkeley.

Όπως επισημαίνεται στη σχετική μελέτη, που δημοσιεύθηκε στο Nature Materials, αυξημένη πίεση έχει ως αποτέλεσμα ακόμα πιο έντονο φωτισμό. Το εν λόγω δέρμα είναι πιο λεπτό από ένα φύλλο χαρτιού και αποτελείται από στρώματα πλαστικού και ευαίσθητου στην άσκηση πίεσης ελαστικού.