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Dr Janina Seubert believes the path to healthier human diets is through the nose.
Seubert, a cognitive neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, is researching the role of smell in shaping public preferences towards foods. She’s curious whether scents could help people embrace protein sources such as insects as alternatives to meat and dairy.
Breaking habits
Alternative proteins also include microalgae and the cells of microorganisms like bacteria and yeast – a group known as “single-cell proteins”. Featuring more of these protein sources in human diets can not only improve nutrition but also ease environmental pressure caused by the worldwide breeding of livestock.
The challenge for researchers like Seubert is to unlock the secrets to people’s willingness to abandon familiar foods…
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On 3rd October 2023 in Barcelona, The Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Science Diplomacy, co-organised by the Union for the Mediterranean in partnership with the European Commission, took place with the aim of highlighting state-of-art of science diplomacy in the Mediterranean, its obstacles and opportunities, and discussing future steps. More than 80 people from 22 countries attended, including scientists, diplomats, and research and innovation officials who had been welcomed the evening prior to Antoni Gaudí’s La Pedrera to learn about La Pedrera Foundation’s Science Academy.
Participants exchanged ideas on highly relevant topics such as research infrastructures, mobility and training, and science advice for foreign policy. Attendees drafted a text summarising their views on the role of science diplomacy in the Mediterranean and both UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel and Maria Cristina Russo, the Director for…
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The European Commission intends to set up informal working groups composed of individuals from both, the science and diplomacy communities, to develop potential elements of a future European framework for science diplomacy. The main aim of the working groups is to bring together the relevant stakeholders in an innovative format, to develop jointly recommendations in a co-creation process. For more information about science diplomacy and the envisaged European framework, please consult the Explanatory Note, which is offered on the right-hand side of this survey.
Members of the working groups are expected to speak in their personal capacity. Participation in the working groups is not remunerated. By submitting your expression of interest, you confirm that your employer agrees to your candidacy.
For more information about the call, including the selection process and the way of working of the…
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SmartGaze is a project that has received funding through the MCST FUSION Smart Cities programme. The primary objective of the project is to exploit the natural gaze interaction abilities of human beings with devices in their environment. The ultimate aim is to empower individuals with mobility impairments, enabling them to control various devices, such as air conditioners or television sets, by means of eye gaze tracking technology.
During our team’s participation in this year’s Science in the City (SITC) event, we elucidated the diverse modalities of eye gaze tracking. The vision-based approach, commonly referred to as videooculography (VOG), involves the real-time processing of a sequence of images capturing the subject’s eyes, to determine the user’s point of gaze. Alternatively, electrodes can be strategically positioned around the user’s eyes to record the electrical activity generated during eye…
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Following our successful Beach Clean-up on 5 August 2023 jointly organised by Zibel and AquaBioTech Group, we are organising an Art Contest dedicated to children (between 14 and 18 years old), living in Malta only.
It is our absolute pleasure to invite you to the SMARTPOL Prize Ceremony to be held on 20 October 2023, related to the ART CONTEST COMPETITION.
Kindly find attached a preliminary agenda for the event.
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The Ministry for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise launched the first policy document, detailing the National Policy for the Deployment of Offshore Renewable Energy for public consultation.
The Offshore Renewable Energy Policy seeks to enable the offshore potential of the Mediterranean in the country’s best interest. Technology-neutral, the policy supports the implementation of offshore renewable projects, mainly wind and solar, in areas lying beyond the territorial waters and within Malta’s potential Exclusive Economic Zone.
“The Government’s energy vision is to offer affordable and clean energy, improve the infrastructure, strengthen innovation, and continue delivering measures in favour of climate action. The launch of this policy paper for public consultation is an important milestone in this green transition,” Minister for the Environment, Energy and Enterprise Miriam…
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PRIMA's commitment to gender equality and inclusivity remains unwavering. PRIMA recently conducted a comprehensive survey to evaluate the integration of the gender dimension in their projects. They are excited to share the survey’s key insights and a series of success stories, best practices and recommendations for even greater strides in gender equality.
Survey Snapshot
The survey results provide an overview of the gender dimension integration in PRIMA projects, based on a survey carried out with Project coordinators. A total of 85 project coordinators responded to the survey, representing 42% of the 202 PRIMA projects funded between 2018 and 2022.
Progress and Gaps
While many PRIMA projects have made advancements in addressing gender issues, the survey also highlighted areas…
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The DustPV project, led by Prof. Ing. Joseph Micallef, aims to determine the optimal timing for cleaning solar panels using innovative sensor technology and weather data analysis. By addressing the challenges of dust accumulation on photovoltaic panels, the project seeks to enhance solar panel performance and contribute to Malta’s renewable energy goals.
Clean solar panels are crucial for maximising their efficiency. The question is, when should they be cleaned? Taking a car to the carwash when it is visibly dirty is one thing, but determining the appropriate time for cleaning solar panels is much more complex. The research being done by the DustPV project seeks to unravel this challenge and improve the overall performance of solar panels.
With the increasing global emphasis on transitioning to renewable…
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The European Union has launched the European Prize for Humanitarian Innovation (InnovAid) to reward the humanitarian organisations, social enterprises, and companies that are developing technology to better assist vulnerable people affected by natural hazards and man-made crises such as conflicts.
Humanitarian emergencies are increasing year on year in number, complexity, and severity. Given the scale of today’s crises and hazards, funding to cover humanitarian needs cannot keep up. The humanitarian system is being challenged to do more, for more people, and at greater cost. To meet these rising needs, innovative technological solutions – cost-effective, simple to (re)use, scalable in different contexts - which improve the efficiency and effectiveness of aid, are crucial.
The European Prize for Humanitarian Innovation recognises innovations and the organisations that develop them.…
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The European Environment Agency (EEA) invites you to capture the unsustainable consumption and production patterns that threaten our well-being as well as the promising sustainable alternatives that are being explored.
Every year, the EEA organises a photo competition to raise awareness on an environmental theme and invites Europeans to share their takes on it. This year’s photo competition “ZeroWaste PIX” is a call to reflect on the state of modern human civilization. Every photograph will raise awareness and inspire change, whether it is an image of factories spewing toxins, overflowing landfills, or a community garden bringing people together around a shared sense of purpose.
The competition will remain open between 3 July 2023 and 3 October 2023.
Visit the below link to view the terms and conditions.
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The CETPartnership has published the Draft Call Text of the upcoming call, which showcases the topics that the upcoming call will be focusing on. MCST highly encourages interested researchers to have a look at the CETP website to download the call text, and be informed of the upcoming events. Register on the partner-search platform to connect and network with other interested researchers from different countries!
The partnership is holding various thematic events as part of the call launch, which you can access through the following link. The CETPartnership also offers the…
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A Maltese student has won an award for a theoretical space mission that aims to identify the possibility of life on planets outside Earth’s solar system.
Taking part in an annual summer school organised by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency in Austria, University of Malta research support officer Maria Aquilina formulated a plan to discover which planets can host life.
“It’s like detective work. You are searching for a needle in a cosmic haystack,” Aquilina said as she and a team had to create a unique mission proposal in under two weeks.
In July, Aquilina attended an 11-day summer school that saw 60…
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JANE is a Joint Action aiming at shaping seven new Networks of Expertise in the cancer field in the following domains: personalized primary prevention; survivorship; palliative care; omic technologies; hi-tech medical resources; one or more complex & poor-prognosis cancer(s); young adults with cancer.
The Joint Action has two goals:
1) to prepare everything necessary to launch the new Networks of Expertise;
2) to critically evaluate existing models of current and future EU networking with a view to optimizing the functioning of the new Networks of Expertise.
The project’s management goal is to pave the way towards the creation of 7 Networks of Expertise (NoEs) over a 2-year period, with the final deliverable for each being a call for expressions of interest. It is envisaged to have 5 Transversal Task Forces…
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The TRA VISIONS 2024 YOUNG RESEARCHER COMPETITION is aimed at university and technical institute students pursuing bachelor, master and PhD degrees. This competition represents an opportunity for young researchers to showcase their work on an international stage at the 2024 Transport Research Arena (TRA 2024) event in Dublin, Ireland.
The competition is open to young researchers registered in a College, University or Research Institute from across the European Union, EU Candidate Countries, Potential EU Candidate Countries and European Economic Area (Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia,…
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The picturesque Mediterranean island of Malta has emerged as a hub of innovation in the field of medical technology, drawing global attention to its remarkable advancements. A pivotal event in this journey is the Malta Med-Tech World Summit, a prestigious gathering that showcases groundbreaking developments in healthcare and fosters collaboration among experts from around the world.
“Step into the future of healthcare innovation at the Malta Med-Tech World Summit 2023. As a surgeon who has witnessed the transformative power of medical devices and technology firsthand, I invite you to join us in unraveling the potential they hold. Our journey has broken barriers, making the seemingly impossible a reality. The ageing population demands enhanced care and companionship, where technology fills the void in human resources. The Malta Medicines Authority ensures robust, clinically safe devices, propelling us towards European…
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On 30th August 2023, the Commission published the Terms and Conditions (T&C) for its pilot auction dedicated to European renewable hydrogen production. It is an important step towards scaling up production of renewable hydrogen in the EU.
The auction, funded by the Innovation Fund under the umbrella of the EU Hydrogen Bank, is intended to open on 23…
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The Energy and Water Agency (EWA) is issuing the fourth call of its grant scheme for research and innovation projects in energy and water, which has already invested €1.6 million in 13 projects since it was launched in 2020.
The fourth call for applications for this scheme will open on 11th September and close on 4th December.
During the presentation of grants to projects benefitting from the previous call, Minister for the Environment, Energy, and Enterprise Miriam Dalli noted that research projects in water and energy are critical for Malta’s sustainability ambitions.
“As a country, we need to continue investing in local research and innovation, especially those initiatives focusing on rapidly advancing sectors, such as renewable energy. Projects such as the ones that EWA is supporting through this scheme can provide us…
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On 7th September 2023, the European Commission and the UK Government have concluded negotiations and reached an agreement in principle on the association of the UK to Horizon Europe and Copernicus under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
This is a landmark moment for scientific and space collaboration between the EU and the UK following agreement of the Windsor Framework earlier this year.
Association to Horizon Europe will further strengthen and deepen links between the scientific communities in the UK and the EU, foster innovation and enable researchers to work together on global challenges from climate to health. The UK Government and the European Commission look forward to enabling collaboration between their researchers in which the UK and the EU share a mutual interest, such as in new and emerging technologies. To this end, the EU will assess UK participants' access to…
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Coastal regions and islands across the globe often face challenges in securing freshwater resources. In many coastal regions worldwide, there is a new and promising source of water called offshore freshened groundwater (OFG). This is fresh water stored in reservoirs that are below the ocean floor. A new study at the University of Malta has shed light on the existence of a potentially significant OFG system in the East China Sea, near the Shengsi Islands. The research, conducted by Prof. Aaron Micallef and Dr. Ariel T. Thomas from the Department of Geosciences, is the first numerical study of its kind in the East China Sea. The findings have been published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Frontiers in Earth Science. This endeavour has been funded through the bilateral SINO-Malta Fund 2020 (…
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Servizzi Ewropej f’Malta (SEM) and the Malta Photographic Society launched a photographic competition with the theme ‘EU funds for a better quality of life’.
The competition was launched at a press conference by the Parliamentary Secretary for European Funds, Dr Chris Bonett, the CEO of SEM, Denise Fiorentino and the President of the Malta Photographic Society, Stephen Buhagiar.
The objective of the competition is to bring to life in a visual and attractive manner, the various economic and social contributions of EU funds through the several projects implemented in Malta and Gozo and which have brought a positive difference in all areas of life.
The competition is open to anyone above the age of 16. Participants are requested to submit photos with the following themes:
- Improving Malta’s Tourism Product…
