CORDIScovery is a monthly podcast featuring a panel discussion between guests at the forefront of their scientific fields. From threats to biodiversity to the future of space exploration, if you want to hear how the EU’s cutting-edge research is taking on the key issues challenging us today, then be sure to download and listen to what Europe’s leading scientists have to say. CORDIScovery is produced by CORDIS, whose mission is to share the results of the very best of EU-funded research.
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We see cultural artefacts, hear music composed centuries ago and, if we are lucky, get to handle pieces that were created by long-forgotten makers. But what about bringing to life the smell of a historic scene, or an object no longer made? This episode looks at the novel ways researchers are analysing the artefacts left to us by our ancestors, and …
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A new age of personalised treatment for prostate cancer
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30:05
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Computational power, AI, genomics: the treatment and diagnosis of prostate cancer is advancing rapidly. This episode finds out how. A leap forward in the diagnosis and treatment would be very welcome: prostate cancer is the second most frequent malignancy in men. In 2020 alone, around one and a half million new cases and almost half a million death…
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21st century solutions for the construction sector
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33:44
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Printed buildings, energy from atmospheric humidity, earthquake resilience – some of the novel ideas taking age-old construction techniques and making them fit for the future. The way we build has not evolved much over millennia, but the context is radically different. So how can we build the homes we need in the least damaging way possible? To tal…
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Democracy is a collective achievement and 2024 has been called its biggest year. Europeans go to the polls in June, to vote for their representatives at the European Parliament, and 8 of the 10 most populous countries in the world are also holding elections. But the process will facechallenges, perceived and unperceived. Our three guests explore so…
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About 500 000 babies are born early in Europe every year, for some the condition is fatal. Complications relating to being born prematurely are the leading causes of death in the under-fives. Improving feeding, mitigating the impact on the brain and rethinking prevention – our three projects are doing what they can to push back these numbers. Audre…
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Did the ability to feed babies porridge help to fuel the population explosion seen in the Neolithic period? Did people take to the seas far earlier than previously thought to chase whales and seals? What is the difference between a flourishing desert frontier fort and one that dwindles into dust? We take a look at three times when food was a cataly…
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Pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss are all threatening our sustainable use of marine resources – at the same time we need seafood. It’s a conundrum! Could lights help by deterring the wrong fish from getting into nets? Can AI help zap the virulent sea lice that plague fish farmers? And how do zebra fish bridge the gap between aquacultu…
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What do a mathematician, a palaeontologist and a researcher considering the rehabilitation of multiple sclerosis patients have in common? All three are women who have carved themselves successful careers as scientific researchers. In a change to our usual format, this episode of CORDIScovery invites three female researchers from completely unrelate…
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Climate change is here: so what are we doing to meet the challenges in Europe? Ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 28, we will be hearing from four cutting-edge researchers who are working to get us ready to deal with the coming changes in our environment. Using the internet of things (IoT) to track mosquitoes that carry dise…
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If you use a car, a phone or want to see more renewable energy sources in our electricity supply then listen on – this episode is for you. We need storage devices that can balance out the intermittent power produced by renewable energy sources and our demand. We have to identify viable, novel materials to make a new generation of batteries in order…
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The wonderful world of the gut microbiome
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The diverse realm of microorganisms that plays a vital role in our digestion, interacts with our brain chemistry, and even influences our immune systems, is generating a lot of scientific interest. The question is, what else does it do, and how? This episode explores the impact of the chemical signals sent out to our organs by our microbiome, in re…
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Pandemics: learning from the past – anticipating the future
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We hit the ground running in the COVID pandemic: EU support for scientific research helped projects develop responses rapidly and effectively. Which may be just as well. Avian influenza is having a devastating impact on bird populations and has been passed onto mammal populations. Getting funding to where it can be most effectively used, understand…
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Energy, world grain supplies, consumer goods – so much more: ships transport a remarkable 90 per cent of the world’s commodities. As the UN’s Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Without ships and the women and men who work on them, economies would stall, and people would starve.” Founded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) back i…
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The United Nations report, published in March 2023, is very clear, it says: “ (…) keeping warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels requires deep, rapid and sustained greenhouse gas emissions reductions in all sectors.” In this episode we look at how biofuels can help us meet these imperatives. Using biomass as a source of energy is particularly…
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From satellites observing Earth, to roots and the microbes that surround them: Today we are looking at soil and how our food security depends on its health. Our ‘crop’ of guests, all of whom have been funded by the Horizon 2020 programme, are here to help us understand how waste, fertiliser, soil protection and remote monitoring all interconnect: A…
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22 March is United Nations World Water Day, so this episode of CORDIScovery is on water: its quality and security of supply. We will travel from the high Himalayas, and delve into the secret lives of freshwater snails to explore water cycles and the latest techniques for monitoring pollution. Walter Immerzeel, professor of Mountain Hydrology at Utr…
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New technologies, existing technologies applied to new challenges, understanding the role of cross-cultural influences in eyewitnesses’ examinations; all ways in which EU projects are helping to make evidence more accessible. This episode of CORDIScovery investigates. Rape is a global scourge. Millions of unsolved rape cases fail in the absence of …
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Citizen science - engagement and empowerment
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Enthusiasts, people with hobbies, with spare time or concerned about their environment – you and me: all of us are potential collectors of data and information that can add a dimension to research projects. How can participation empower volunteers? And what’s the benefit for scientists? Listen on to find out! Xavier Basagaña is associate research p…
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Magic tricks for crows: how animals experience the world
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Perform a magic trick for a member of the crow family and it will show how startled it is by the unexpected. Crows are known for being the Einsteins of the avian world, but what about the animals that feed us, clothe us, entertain us – what is the nature of their intelligence? Will our growing realisation that animals may be experiencing the world …
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Wearables have become ‘must have’ fashion – how can we make assistive technology as desirable? The most sophisticated device is useless if it is uncomfortable or unattractive. This episode, we are looking at the interface between design and engineering, and how the next generation of smart textiles could make assistive tech invisible. Today’s episo…
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Recycling targets across the EU have been increased, the aim is now 55 % by weight from 2025, and 65 % for packaging waste. The target climbs every 5 years after that. Can we reach that goal? Repurposing, repairing, recycling – our three guests are doing their bit to get there. Tim Gent is the managing director of Recresco, the British glass recycl…
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100 000 starlings move in unison against an autumn sky – not one collides; fireflies light up a wood in Borneo flashing in perfect synchronicity; bacteria communicate around a plant’s roots once the population reaches a certain number while, up in the air, the wings of an eastern amberwing dragonfly have 3 000 sensory neurons, including flow sensor…
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Tuberculosis (TB) is preventable and curable, and yet 9 900 000 people fell ill with the disease in 2020 and 1.5 million died. This episode is looking at what the EU is doing to curb the spread and improve our understanding of the nature of the illness. This episode of CORDIScovery hears from three researchers who have all been at the forefront of …
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Bees – from evolution to artificial intelligence
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Does a bee’s gut influence its sociability? Can a plant deter pests and attract pollinators at the same time? And with bee populations under threat, can artificial intelligence keep colonies safe? The EU estimates pollinators such as honeybees contribute at least EUR 22 billion each year to the European agricultural industry. They are so important …
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Drones in industry: technical challenges, practical benefits
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What do turbine blades high above the ocean and the bowels of a cargo ship have in common? The inspection vital to keeping both safe and functioning can often be hazardous, the sites frequently inaccessible, and the operation always complex. So how can drones help? Technicians rappelling down vast blades on the open seas, checking the parts bit by …
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From the domestic to the international, how can we anticipate, mitigate, and come to terms with violence? This episode of CORDIScovery looks at how victims of domestic violence can be better served. We ask what role violence plays in distracting communities from preparing for climate change. And we explore how the perception of historic violence pl…
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Let’s talk volcanoes! Are we close to being able to monitor and predict volcanic activity in real time? In this episode of CORDIScovery we take a look at what crystals in magma can tell us, hear what it takes to make lava flow in a lab, and find out about the well-named ‘extremophile’ bacteria that thrive in some of the world’s most challenging env…
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Finding missing children with real-time input and geofencing, helping a visually impaired person navigate a challenge that crops up in their daily lives, fake news: sorting the wheat from the chaff – this episode we are looking at the bright side of our use of technology. Christian Erfurt launched his first healthcare start-up while still in high s…
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The medical arms race: overcoming microbial resistance
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The antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, organisms are developing, and our bid to counter that with new ways of controlling them, is like an arms race – one we stand a better chance of winning if we use the antimicrobials that are still effective, more carefully. This special episode of CORDIScovery, timed to coincide with the WHO’s annual World Antim…
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Cloth, glass and stone: Innovation and cultural connections in the middle ages
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The past is shadowy but the objects that mattered to the societies that came before us illuminate those who produced and used them. So, in this episode we are considering cloth, glass and stone, and what they reveal about innovation and cultural connections in the Middle Ages. Nadine Schibille’s GlassRoutes project looked at the geopolitical, socio…
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Philosophy of science: the energy and excitement of curiosity
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From rabbits plucked out of hats to dark matter, how do we comprehend the inexplicable or the unobservable? What do particle physicists and a magician’s audience have in common? Do we enjoy being baffled? If so, why? What pushes us to seek to understand? Is objectivity so vital in scientific observation and is subjectivity really its negation – or …
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Another small step: A new age of Solar System exploration
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36:21
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What can distant planets and their satellite moons tell us about the origins of life on Earth? Is there enough water on the moon to support longer, manned missions? Are there lunar sources of oxygen that could make the moon a gateway to our Solar system? And beyond the moon: can we look to Titan to better understand our own origins? And how can we …
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Ready Player... You? Welcome to the Virtual Reality revolution
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Virtual reality – just another bone of contention between screen-addicted adolescents and their frazzled parents? Or can the inherent characteristics of VR, communicating at a distance but in a space that feels intimate, be harnessed to really revolutionise the way we interact? Can avatars, digital representations of ourselves, foster empathy or ar…
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In many areas the pandemic has reduced our impact on the natural environment, but what happens when we emerge from the restrictions and fire up our economies again? Will we also be firing up our production of pollution? From oil spills that threaten our seas, to the stinks that ruin our day, pollution touches us at all levels. How can citizen scien…
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Innovations in European healthcare in the wake of COVID-19
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Healthcare professionals working flat out for a year, living through experiences nothing could really prepare them for; health systems stressed to breaking point; a population facing fear, insecurity and grief without the human contact to make these bearable – the pandemic will cast a long shadow. Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation’s Euro…
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Shopping: can robot assistants woo shoppers back to the post-pandemic high street? A cashless society – the term resonates more than ever as people grow more reliant on contactless payments and online transactions. But is that a green light for fraudsters and, if so, could a biometric credit card be around the corner? However we go about paying for…
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The pros and contrails of flight – The aviation sector is indispensable, but how can we reduce its environmental impact? This episode talks to three researchers whose work on making flying cleaner, more efficient and less invasive for those living under flightpaths, may offer some answers. Dr Andrew Rolt, of Cranfield University is working to make …
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Welcome to the very first episode of CORDIScovery, where we’re taking an in-depth look at the drive to maintain healthy ecosystems and biodiversity preservation, introducing you to three EU-funded scientists who are making valuable contributions to this cause. In our first episode, Abigail introduces you to three EU-funded scientists working to pro…
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