Archive by date | May 2012

Europe targets superbugs with public–private effort

Europe targets superbugs with public–private effort

The growing threat from antibiotic resistance met the era of the public-private partnership on 24 May as the European Union’s  Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) launched a new seven-year effort to bring academic and industry researchers together to work on the problem.  Read more

It’s not sugar that makes heirloom tomatoes taste sweeter

It’s not sugar that makes heirloom tomatoes taste sweeter

Researchers have answered a question that has bothered gastronomists for years – which is the tastiest tomato? At the same time, they discovered a heady mixture of volatile organic compounds that gives tomatoes a sweeter flavour than their sugar content would suggest.  Read more

NASA aims for human rendezvous at Mars in 2033

It would be the most precious cargo since the Apollo astronauts returned Moon rocks to Earth. In 2033, humans would arrive in Mars orbit in order to pick up and return to Earth a canister containing the hopes and dreams of Mars scientists: a small collection of Mars rocks that would have been previously collected and put into orbit.  Read more

French biotech sector struggling

Fallout from the economic crisis continues to cast a pall over the French life science sector. The number of new firms created in 2011 plunged 47%, from 46 in 2010 to 24 last year, while the number of closures soared by 400%, from five in 2008 to 25 in 2011.  Read more