Articles
The following are the articles abstracts prepared by RELATE project participants. Not all of them have been published already !
If you are an editor and your are interested in any of the articles below, please contact the author.
You can find their emails adresses via this page
Green tea to face spring time
Although its low popularity, green tea contains bioactive components which can be really healthful, specially its antioxidant effect. Green tea production potential is very high in Turkey, even though black tea is still the most consumed. The aim of a group in the Food Institute of Tübitak (Gebze) is to determine these bioactive compounds, also known as catechins, so as to increase its presence in the Turkish green tea, and therefore, popularise this healthy beverage across Turkey
Author: Xavier Sorinas
Article’s date: 26/04/2010
Language: Spanish
Ultracold gases research: why do we need?
Every taxpayer has a right to wonder about how allocated money enriched their quality of life. Fundamental science is a specific issue: no one can predict final result before actual doing it. But in spite of this “vision impossible” researchers do their work and invent useful things. Let us come closer to physicists, who research a particular subject of ultracold gases …
Author: Anna Korolyuk
Article’s date: 26/04/2010
Language: English
The fusion between culture and science
In this article you will find out about the importance of the fusion between culture and science can conserve and preserve cultural heritage. Through this report we can see how the laser works for the Department of Art of LENS and you will be closer to the idiosyncrasies of this center. LENS, European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy in Florence, covers a broad spectrum of specialties, such as atomic physics, photochemistry, biochemistry, biophysics and has its own doctoral course in atomic and molecular spectroscopy, and a Post Doctoral Fellowship Program. In addition, you can also see that many scientists in Florence or Valencia (Spain) are responsible for studying the molecular hundreds of works of art to carry out restoration and keep “contemporaneous.” The lack of investment in research is the handicap, but the passion and dedication that cast this large group of professionals in their projects far outweigh any obstacle. The goal: the conservation and preservation of our cultural heritage.
Author: Vicente Balbastre Tio
Article’s date: 16/04/2010
Language: Spainsh
Turkey to open Europe’s first excellence center on hybrid vehicles
In Gebze, a small town some 50 km from Istanbul, there is nothing really worth visiting for tourists. There will be, however, a particularly interesting place to go for car manifacturers: the first excellence center in Europe to fully test and develop hybrid vehicles.
In this article, I analysed the strengths and weaknesses of the idea of this center and, more in general, the contribution that such vehicles can make towards a sustainable transports and the state of the art of Turkey with regard to investments in research and automotive industry.
Author: Maurizio Molinari
Article’s date: 14/04/2010
Language: Italian
A Bug’s Eye View of the World?
Imagine a world where flying robots automatically navigate their way around your house, blind people wear clothes that help them to avoid obstacles, and your furniture lights up and even moves as you enter a room. It might sound like something from a sci-fi movie, but researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), are trying to achieve just that by developing a new type of vision technology. Working with partner institutions in France and Germany, the Laboratory of Intelligent Systems at EPFL is working to develop an artificial compound eye. Dr. Ramon Pericet-Camara believes the new project ‘has the potential to change a lot of things in the way the world works’ with applications in all sorts of products.
Author: Nathan Gray
Article’s date: 13/04/2010
Language: English
Will there ever be Robots amongst us?
Envision a future: a robot in every household helping to prepare our food, look after our children, and fulfill our every need. Whether this is your fantasy or nightmare, the field of robotics has long captured the writers and filmakers imagination. But what role do the experts see robots having in our future? At a Swiss research institute, there is no limit to the imagination as intelligent furniture and robotic glasses are on the agenda.
Author: Jasmine Fox-Skelly
Article’s date: 11/04/2010
Language: English
Science and Journalism: Professions at Odds?
Current events, such as the Singh case, highlight some of the difficulties for the science writer. Tubitak research centre, Turkey, provides a backdrop upon which the relationship between the scientist and journalist is commented upon. Scientists at the research centre were interviewed, identifying and looking at the source of problems that can arise during science reporting. The differences in approach of the scientist and the journalist are highlighted, providing argument for the need for a middle-ground, which may come in the form of a dedicated science writer.
Author: Greg Dash
Article’s date: 11/04/2010
Language: English
Robotics, Evolution and the Dance of Honeybees – Where is the common denominator?
This article provides the description of the ongoing research related to the evolution of communication at the EPFL Lausanne, based on interviews with the involved researchers. The projects covered in the article involve three main aspects: the evolution of communication and cooperation in single groups; the changing of communication patterns in two competing population, and the elaboration of an evolutionary algorhythm based on the dance of honeybees. The article examines the theoretical background of these projects and shows how evolutionary robotics can be used to model these hypotheses, including a summery of the main findings of these experiments. Finally, the article gives an overview about the future implementation of the research results in the everyday life, as well as of the possible usage of these models in the explanation of basic patterns of human communication.
Author: Anna Deme
Article’s date: 11/04/2010
Language: Hungarian
Eye of the TyGRE
Some of the earliest forms of recycling were practised in Southwest Turkey during the Byzantine era, where blue and yellow glass was melted to create green. Today, glass has been traded in for tyres at the Tubitak Marmara Research Centre in Gebze, 63 km southeast of Istanbul. The centre, one of two institutes run by the national research council Tubitak, is a collaborator on the High added value materials from waste tyre gasification residues, or TyGRE, project. Launched last September, TyGRE is a European Union-funded project studying the gasification of waste tyres to produce silicon carbide, a highly useful material in industrial applications.
Author: Tiffany Stecker
Article’s date: 10/04/2010
Language: English
Research labs- for the better future
James Roberts, Phd student of Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) constructed his first plane, controlled by radio connection, when he was nine years old. At the moment he is constructing an eye-bot, which could be used rescuing people after various nature’s disasters. As EPFL professor Francesco Mondada said, scientists must have fun in addition to hard work. This article discloses specifics of serious inventions and bio-robots, based on insects locomotion, but at the same time allows readers to feel the everyday life of scientists and understand why they spare no effort to improve existing robots and to create new ones.
Author: Gintare Miceviciute
Article’s date: 09/04/2010
Language: Lithuanian
Download here the full article published on “Lietuvos rytas” on the 13 April Research labs- for the better future
Robots are helping patients on rehabilitation
When we think about robots what usually comes to our minds are those humanoids that we use to see in movies. Actually, unlike the coletive imaginary, most of researches in robotics are not focus on creating this kind of criatures. What many of them are trying to do is to develop or improve robotic tecnologies in a way they could have applications in many different areas, including medicine. The use of robotics in rehabilitation therapies is something that has shown exciting results. In the begging of march, Brasil received the first Lokomat. The robotic sistem is already being used at Associação de Assistência a Criança Deficiente, in São Paulo, to treat patients with neurological injuries. However, robotic researches are still trying to improve this kind of tecnology. The challenge now is to develop models that permit more interaction between pacient and robot. Witch means that the patient would not be doing the exercises in a passive way. The use of virtual games is also an strategy to make therapy a little more atractive.
Author: Cecilia Valenza
Article’s date: 08/04/2010
Language: Portuguese
Recently published on: Gazeta do Povo on line
Communication Intelligence Model of Humanoid and Sociable Robots
This paper focuses on the role of emotion and expressive behavior in regulating social interaction between humans and expressive anthropomorphic robots, either in communicative or teaching scenarios. Presenting of the scientific basis underlying the humanoid robot ’s emotion models and expressive behavior, and then show how these scientific viewpoints have been adapted to the current implementation. The research is to develop Communication Intelligence Modules for creating friendly human-robot interaction in public places through the use of high efficient sensing technology.When using communication in multi-robot systems it’s often not desirable to choose an abstract form of communication that separates the messages from the physical environment in which they have meaning. If the messages are separated from the environment localization information has to be encoded into the messages in order for the receiver to be able to situate the content of the messages. Here is pointed out that if instead used a situated form of communication that exploits the physical properties of the signal transferring the message localization information is not needed. This idea is demonstrated by showing how an extremely simple control system that uses short range communication robots together in a group. It’s also discussed how this idea can be extended to make it possible to simplify path planning in multi-robot systems.
Author: Serda Semerci
Article’s date: 05/04/2010
Language: Turkish
Swarmanoids to the Rescue: New Eyes, Ears and Hands for Disaster Zones
On 11 September 2001, only hours after the attack on the World Trade Centre, a group of researchers from various universities arrived at the scene armed with several rescue robots. Among the debris, they aimed to search for victims in places that no human or rescue dog could reach; but when they entered the collapsed buildings, the robots fell short of expectations…. Robotics research groups at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland aim to develop innovative solutions to the diverse problems encountered on the days following 9/11. Now, almost nine years after the attack, the prototypes are built, some of the projects are coming to an end and it is time to consider whether these new types of robots may one day really provide new eyes, ears and hands for disaster zones.
Author: Jana Witt
Article’s date: 05/04/2010
Language: English
The Lights are on because Nano’s Home
Sometimes it is not possible to see in order to believe. Scientists researching nanotechnology – science and engineering on the scale of single atoms – rely on powerful microscopes to take images of their work. The nanoscale is around 1 billion times smaller than 1 metre so the materials being worked with are around 50,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair. But could these minuscule particles help combat the massive and pressing issue of global warming?
Author: Charlotte King
Article’s date: 05/04/2010
Language: English
Europe studying BOND. A project to create the “artificial nose”
Our nose is the witness of the world around us and the only responsible for the odors detection. For this reason an European research team is strongly working on a project, the BOND, that aims to develop an “artificial nose” with the same characteristics of the animal one. The researchers aim to find the best olfactory receptors for some specific odorants and put these into an “artificial nose”, to create a perfect device with the best characteristics of the natural one. This is will be useful in the detection of some odorants, especially in the field of food safety and medical applications.
Author: Elena Roda
Article’s date: 04/04/2010
Language: Italian
Recently published on La Scienza in Rete
The light bulb is history
The humble light bulb is damaging the Earth. In the majority of homes today hang traditional incandescent bulbs. These bulbs are grossly inefficient. Most of the electricity supplied to them is converted into unwanted heat with only 10 percent used to make the desired product – visible light. With most of this electricity being made by burning fossil fuels, millions of tones of harmful carbon dioxide are released each year to light our homes. Researchers at Bilkent University, Turkey, are working to revolutionize the way we get our light. Using nanocrystals, they show that light can be made in a much more energy efficient and environmentally friendly way.
Author: Smitha Mundasad
Article’s date: 03/04/2010
Language: English
Smart Nose Knows All
Don’t underrate your olfactory system. That’s your sense of smell. As part of an EU project, scientists from INRA are using mammalian smell receptors to create an intelligent detector, called BOND. This device will aid the agricultural industry by ‘smelling’ the best breeding times, the food industry by sensing contamination and could help security by detecting explosives and illegal drugs. Most innovatively, these intelligent noses can act as non-intrusive diagnosis tools. By ‘smelling’ urine or other bodily fluids, the bioelectronic nose will be able to detect a range of pathologies, including many cancers. Unlike previous e-noses based on physical and chemical changes, this basis on receptor-binding allows greater sensitivity, specificity, reliability and gives instant results. Can you smell the future?
Author: Lucy Holmes
Article’s date: 02/04/2010
Language: English
For love or money: recruiting the scientists of tomorrow
Amidst damning reports last week of science teachers shelving experiments, there is praise for British teaching from our continental neighbours. But are exciting science lessons enough to retain Britain’s engineering prowess?
A pat on the back to our army of hard working, long-suffering British school teachers. Despite the recent poll showing that 96 per cent of teachers asked said they cut back on experiments, news comes from across the water that Europe looks up to our science teaching.
The EU have recently awarded funding for a new programme called REStARTS, which aims to make the teaching of physics (and in particular aeronautics) more exciting and relevant in schools in Belgium, Germany, Italy and Romania. Because of the UK’s respected didactic methods in teaching science, our contribution to this new initiative is the educational analysis of the programme before it is rolled out more widely across Europe. The analysis is to be completed by the University of Leicester.
“In the UK, you do experiments,” explains REStARTS Coordinator Patricia Corieri, “but here in Europe, we learn from black and white books, it’s just boring.”
Author: Hannah Lucy King
Article’s date: 31/03/2010
Language: English
Our disappearing hazelnut trees
This year is the year of biodiversity. The FAO and the EU both handling this matter as an important one for the present and for the future generations. The SAFENUT project (coordinated by Dr. Loretta Bacchetta and Dr. Barbara Di Giovanni in ENEA, Rome) focuses on the wildley used and endangered varieties of plants like hazelnut and almond. When somebody say to you, that hazelnut and almond are endangered species, you probably look surprised. But actually it is true, because for instance when we say hazelnut we actually talking about 190 genetic variations, with different nutrition and vitamin content. On the other hand the food industry concentrates on the 2-3 more easily cultivatable variations. In the last 100 years as a result of industrial revolution and human presence in nature, new cultivation methods, 73% of this genetic resources are already disappeared, most of them can’t be recreated. This process called genetic erosion. SAFENUT project fights against genetic erosion. On a long term effect of genetic erosion can be distinction of varieties and species and the loss of agro-biodiversity and much more poor landscapes. The 3 level research’s main steps are plant characterization, preservation and utilization. On the characterization level biogenetic researchers analyses the samples from all over the world and with the help of SSR molecular markers they mapping the different genetic variations in this two species. As a result they find new variations or find that two variations are practically the same. On the next step they take and preserve the samples in one organized gene bank, and they publish the genetic details in a well structured online databank. Preservation can also be made ex situ and in situ. In situ means to protect the plants on the original places where they can be still found. Ex situ can mean the gene banks and special fields for endangered variations. Utilization refers both to the actual use of the rare but useful variations and refers to re-finding old practical cultivation methods and finding new ones. And as a result wider possibilities on the markets. But still some extra work has to be done: expand consumer\’s averseness about these local varieties and re-discover them in everyday life.
Author: Szilvia Drescher
Article’s date: 26/03/2010
Language: Hungarian
Küresel Isınmanın Resmi: İklim Modelleme
The article is about, climate modeling studies. It is aimed to show the areas being studied in climate studies and express climate modeling as one of them. After explaining the process of data observations; greenhouse gases, sea surface temperature and land surface measurements, the modeling process was explained. And as an example the Circe Project was described. As a result, it aimed to make the public science literate about climate changes because the importance of climate changes is increasing day by day and it is becoming an important problem both politically and economically. So, if the future of the universe is in question then it’ s important for public to become science literate and realize if the decisions made by policy makers are right or not; at the same time, it’ s important for public to become more sensible about the environment and climate changes because it is not only scientist’ s or policy makers problem, it is also the human’ s own problem.
Author: Ayse Bihter Celik
Article’s date: 24/03/2010
Language: Turkish
The recipe for remediation
Old mining sites full of heavy metal-left overs can be found all over Europe. Highly toxic they\’re a threat to the environment, animals and possibly even humans. To help find a remedy for disaster researchers from six different EU-countries now join forces. Led, zinc, cadmium, chromium and copper are all highly toxic substances which can be found in old mining sites. The metals known to us in daily life as heavy metals are characterized by being very active and can easily form chemical compounds with other elements. This makes them both unpredictable and extremely hazardous. In a process called bioremediation which best can be described as giving nature a helping hand as it uses the natural ability of microorganisms, or microbes, to absorb and obtain heavy metals scientists are trying to figure out the bacterial cocktail best suited to clean up mining waste land. Within the EU project Umbrella 15 research teams work on six different test sites in Italy, Poland, Germany, Romania, Sweden and England. The management of a multi-partner consortium will provide them with a tool-box for bioremediation as well as guarantee future applicability across Europe.
Author: Katarina Höije
Article’s date: 22/03/2010
Language: English
My 5-day Journey into Scientism
As the title says – My 5-day Journey into Scientism – my article summarizes my most breath taking, important and interesting experiences, and the edifications of the visiting. I also wrote about the relation between science and journalism, and the necessary changes from my point point of view. In brief, the goal of my article is to accent the importance of scientism and call the attention how exciting and beautiful scientism is.
Author: Annamaria Balogh
Article’s date: 21/03/2010
Language: English
The bacteria’s super power
In 1968 the Ingurtosu mine, situated in the southwestern part of Sardinia (Italy), finished its activity. Then soil and air were highly contaminated, and plants can not grow anymore. In order to resolve that situation, a group of seven researchers working at the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and The Environment (ENEA) are studying the way of changing that situation through ‘bioremediation’. Their approach aims to find the best bacteria to fight pollution. They are working in a project called ‘Umbrella’, funded by the European Union.
Author: Ana Torres Menárguez
Article’s date: 19/03/2010
Language: English
Sparbirne, ade! (Goodbye low-energy bulb!)
The unloved low-energy bulbs could be replaced by the next generation of lighting system within a few years already: OLED – organic light-emitting diodes are flexible, cheap, efficient and they offer new lighting techniques which are hardly imaginable today. Shining wallpaper, windows or even T-Shirts – the possibilities seem to be unlimited. The European Union mainly sees a lot of potential for energy saving in the new technology and thats why it invests lots of money in research. At the Institute for Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Barcelona OLED research is carried out for seven years now. In January the Institute started an European research network called „nanophotonics for energy efficiency“. Researchers at ICFO work on making OLED more efficient and especially absolutely transparent. And they are pretty sure: „Organic LED will be the lighting system of the future.“
Author: Jonathan Focke
Article’s date: 18/03/2010
Language: German
Research in Europe – the European way
What is happening with science in Europe? This article looks at the current development of the framework program and the move towards the European Research Area. Starting with a brief history of the framework program, the article looks at what the framework program has achieved, criticism of the current framework before finally looking towards the future of European science.
Author: Henry Lau
Article’s date: 10/03/2010
Language: English
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Lymphatics
In November 2009 Swedish media informed that solarium businesses are closing down because of statistics provided by the Swedish Institute and WHO about the increased amount of people suffering from deadly skin cancer type-melanoma. In this context, the article is examining the work done by EPFL towards skin cancer vaccination, which Melody Swartz, the head of the lab, believes is about five years away. The article is looking at the labs novice approach to lymphatic’s as a route for cancer to develop and likewise treat. They are using their previous patent- the nanoparticle platform to find ways to deliver treatment more effectively. The researchers talk about the problems they encounter and the arguments they will be following in their current study.
Author: Paulina Pielichata
Article’s date: 02/02/2010
Language: English
Vaccines in the endless war against cancer
With no warning, your body’s cells divide uncontrollably and rapidly. They show no mercy to your age, ethnicity, gender or income. More and more cells are formed – some of which may transform into a lump of tissue or a tumour – cells that the body doesn’t need. But yet the immune system doesn’t attack or kill. Well of course it doesn’t; for all it knows they are your own cells. However, little does the immune system know that these abnormally dividing cells are bad and need to be destroyed, as this is the start of the disease known as cancer.
Cancer is continuously the leading cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In 2004 alone, cancer accounted for about 7.4 million deaths. Experts believe that cancer-related deaths globally will further rise each year. In fact, the WHO estimates that cancer will cause 12 million deaths in 2030. In most developed countries, cancer is the second largest cause of death after heart diseases. Specifically in the UK, every two minutes someone is diagnosed with cancer. Every four minutes another person dies of cancer. So what is being done to defeat this dreadful disease? How can we make our immune system find and attack these tumours?
The answer lies within a ‘cancer vaccine’. Dr Melody Swartz, along with Professor Jeff Hubbell and Dr. Sai Reddy, have made some startling discoveries about vaccination, which could potentially help manage and treat cancer.
Author: Julia-Anna Photopoulos
Article’s date: 27/01/2010
Language: English
Smaller, lighter but still powerful
Wind turbines in the North Sea, solar panels in Spain and hydroelectric power in Brazil. Worldwide it is being invested in renewable energy. But what to do with the energy when it is created, but is not immediately required for consumption? The simplest and best known form of energy storage is the battery. The Italian Alessandro Volta invented 1800 the first battery. In his home country intensive research in this area is still being carried out. We visited the national research center near the Italian capital.
Author: Efthymia Mourgela
Article’s date: 19/12/2009
Language: German
How to communicate science
What could a project like RELATE provide to a second year university student studying communication and media studies and lacking advanced scientific background? Well, I took the opportunity and started to observe the researchers and the other young journalists around me, constantly dealing with comunication difficulties. During a week in Lausanne I absorbed information from scientists and participants like me. I was curious about their diverse opinions about the reasons why it is complicated to communicate science. At the end I was able to look at the whole concept in a different way and, finally, found my own aspect to write about.
Author: Zsofia Lenart
Article’s date: 07/12/2009
Language: English
How many thousand of years do a species of hazelnut live
The inheritance of human is not only the giant and the magnificent structures left behind; not the continuously innovated or developing technology or not the literature past full of striking and infinite beauties of art. One of the greatest inheritances of humanity is agriculture which also distinguishes human from other beings. Among billions of people you can find millions who agree on the taste of apple or orange. Undoubtedly this number is always greater than the number of those who agree on the taste of Italian macaroni or Turkish baklava. ENFA; acting with the consideration that these universal tastes need to be protected, has foused on the researches on the genetic structure of hazelnut and almond in SAFENUT project, within its own body. Many different researchers from many countries are contributing to the researches In SAFENUT Laboratories it is possible to meet many researchers from South Korea to those from Syria.
Author: Abdulsamet Gunek
Article’s date: 04/12/2009
Language: Turkish
Recently published on: Sunday’s Zaman – Newstin
Nanosensors against ecoevil
Thanks to nanobiosensors we will be able to monitor and diagnose poisons, bacteria and pollutions in water, air, soil and food. Nanobiosensors could be installed for example in air systems for detecting potential bioterrorist attacks or next to entrances to the buildings to find out whether anybody who has flu is entering. Chips in nanoscale will react on endangers thanks to the sensors with biological substances – for example enzymes or antibodies. Analytic part of the sensor would detect the reaction of biological substance on dangerous one and signalize the change starting the alarm. Nowadays biosensors with broad possibilities occupy the whole laboratories. Mobile biosensors are monodiagnostic – for example they check only the level of sugar in the blood of diabetics. – Now it takes a few days to receive results of detections, but it’s a matter of a year to check the efficiency of this method – said Neval Yılmaz, researcher of nanobiosensors form NANOTAM on Bilkent University in Ankara. Nanobiosensors would also help to monitor the presence of explosives, drugs and diagnose the illnesses in the very fist moment of their presence in an organism/body.
Author: Jan Dabkowski
Article’s date: 04/12/2009
Language: Polish
Turkish nanoscience
In my article I explain how in the field of nanotechnology, Turkey has not only joined the best investigations in Europe, but also given some important contribution. First I explain the concept and importance of this field, taking words from Ekmel Özbay, director of the center. I also introduce an investigation from Nasa in this field, just to show the level we’re talking about when we speak of turkish research. Then I introduce some examples, from tennis balls, to textil tissues, that lead us to some concrete investigations being done in NANOTAM center. First one is about Biosensors, conducted by Nivel, and second one y about cloaking, conducted by Atilla. Small interviews and explanations of their researchs are included in my article, along with applications. For the first one, I explain the experiment for plasmonic nano sensors able to detect the E-coli bacteria using proteins. For the second, I speak about the experiment on cloacking an objecto from polarized microwaves carried out in NANOTAM for the first time in the world.
Author: Miguel Álvarez Peralta
Article’s date: 04/12/2009
Language: Spanish
Klimawandel auf der Olivenplantage (Climate change in the olive grove)
Times are over when global warming was only politic’s and science’s business. Today it does indeed mean business – for Italy’s energy industry and agriculture, for instance. Italy is one of Europe’s countries that will be hit hardest by climate change. Managers and farmers prepare: With the predicted drought, does it make sense to still build hydropower stations? How frugal will future crops have to be? Climate researchers can give some answers – but they’re not always listened to.
Author: Sophie Stigler
Article’s date: 03/12/2009
Language: German
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A new era of light – the sun as the future source of all technology
Sun rays are shining over the impressive Coliseum in Rome. They penetrate its arches, creating a spontaneous game of lights and shadows. Sun rays were always a source of awe and a muse for art, but they are also the basis of our human existence. It’s about time we will take our relationship with the sun to a higher level, to the level, in which the human race is so good at – technological advantage. Nothing is new about producing technological energy from the sun; the innovation is that soon it will happen in every home and in every technological device we carry. It won’t be pretentious to declare that oil and charcoal will soon enter – with honor, of course – to the pages of history. After a week visit in a photo-voltaic lab, that produces solar cells, I can say with assurance that the “Black Gold” is not that shiny anymore. The sun is much more.
Author: Netta Ahituv
Article’s date: 03/12/2009
Language: Israeli
Download here the article published on Achbar Ha-ir Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind_Netta Ahituv
World’s next Topmodel
They design the whole world on their computers. At least that is their goal. Climate modellers are the new stars of science. However, the only thing they know for sure is that they don’t know much.
This article follows climate researchers from Rome’s ENEA lab and Vienna’s ZAMG through their work, struggles and the doubts they have about their own thrustworthiness. Their whole discipline is under critique since recently highly sensible data was hijacked from one of the leading British laboratories. Hereby, I try to explain the many uncertaincies and political controversies that climate modelling has to deal with. Among the more recent and debated ideas: Seasonal forecasts for the World Food Programme to avoid crop failure and famine in Africa.
Author: Christoph Zotter
Article’s date: 29/11/2009
Language: German
Perfection through asymmetry: chirality research in metamaterials
Metamaterials are materials that do not exist naturally, but that can be created in laboratories by units shaped as desired. Metamaterials containing non-symmetric (chiral) units are the base for creating a perfect lens with unlimited resolution, due to the particular way these materials interact with light waves. The unusual properties of metamaterials open novel possibilities for controlling electromagnetic waves, and challenge basic conceptions on how physics understands the universe. Perfection can be achieved utilizing non-symmetric shapes. The freedom of creating seems unlimited.
Author: Monica Mejia-Chang
Article’s date: 20/11/2009
Language: English
Harry Potter storms in a woodworker’s atelier, or how things become invisible
‘I didn’t like the first “Harry Potter” movie at all, however, the third part – ‘Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban’ made a huge effect on me. But I’m more of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ guy. But who else could be called a real master of magic if not Ozgur Cakmak? It is he who is trying to make things become invisible daily – and without any wand, just with intelligent calculation of nanotechnology.
I knock on the door of a 28 year old scientist at the agreed time. Silence. I glance through the window of his office – empty. A derisive thought crosses my mind: ‘Has he finally succeeded to achieve whatever he is trying to at his lab? Maybe now he’s invincible?’ After a good half and hour of waiting, unfortunately, the truth disappoints me – it will take some time before humans become invisible – Ozgur apologizes for being late.
Author: Viktorija Rinkevičiūtė
Article’s date: 19/11/2009
Language: Lithuanian
Published on the lithuanian news website DELFI: 21/02/2010 Medicinos tyrimų ateitis
Published in the business magazine VERSLO KLASE: Haris Poter Dailides Dirbtuvese
Being invisible: an old dream that could become possible through nanotechnologies
Abstract: Talking about invisibility seems to be closer to talking about magic or at least fiction than a scientific matter, but at Bilkent University, in Ankara, a group of researchers, leaded by Professor Ekmel Ozbay, is studying how to make it possible, using nanotechnologies. Our guide, Atilla Ozgur Cakmak, a 29-years-old PhD student at the Turkish university, has led us in the ‘magical world of cloaking with metamaterials’.
Author: Clara Attene
Article’s date: 17/11/2009
Language: Italian
