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Monday 7^th November 2005

Leading EU Research teams win nomination for 2005 Descartes Prize with outstanding scientific breakthroughs

by EC

Are there new ways to combat cancers and other life-threatening illnesses? How does the Arctic climate system affect Europe? What advances can we expect in genetic research? Does a double pulsar actually exist? The 14 pioneering research projects competing for the 2005 Descartes Research Prize bring answers to these questions and many more. Among the 14 nominees, five finalists and five winners will share the €1,150,000 prize, and will be announced at a ceremony in London on 2 December.

This year’s nominees have brought outstanding contributions to scientific developments. The nominated projects examine a wide array of issues such as genetics, climate change, novel material technologies, nuclear receptors, pulsars, as well as social and political change. Selected from among 85 outstanding submissions – three times more than last year – the nominees represent research teams from 22 countries (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, The Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States). Moreover, submissions made in the area of socio-economic sciences are unusually high this year.

Nominated Projects in 2005

Basic Sciences

• PULSE discovered the first double pulsar and catalogued nearly 800 new pulsars, doubling the number that had been previously observed worldwide.
• TURING delivered the first clear experimental demonstration that Turing patterns (chemically driven patterning mechanisms) could, in fact, be at work in natural systems.
• EXEL developed a novel class of artificial metamaterials, called Left-Handed Materials or Negative Index Materials, which have the ability to overturn many familiar properties of light.
• HESS produced the first-ever gamma ray images of astronomical objects and the first scan of a large region around the centre of our galaxy.

Life Sciences

• PITCID developed a novel approach for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases and validated new drug targets in inflammation, allergy, and cardiovascular and autoimmune disease.
• CANCERGENES made advances in the mapping and cloning of cancer genes and also uncovered a new gene that could indicate if a person is likely to develop colorectal cancer.
• PATHFINDER achieved a number of breakthroughs in understanding the role of nuclear receptors and the affect of chemicals on cellular processes.
• EURO-PID examined underlying genetic disorders of the immune system and made progress in identifying effective gene therapy solutions for primary immuno-deficiencies.

Socio-economic Sciences

• ESS studied long-run changes in the social, political and moral climate within and between the European Member States while validating a standard of methodology for cross-national surveys.
• IDEE examined the links between national identity, European identity and the democratisation process in Europe.

Engineering

• TANNIN ADHESIVES confirmed the industrial applicability of natural tannins extracted from the waste bark of trees as wood panel adhesives.
• HIDEMAR designed and produced a high density (200 Gbits/in²) lab-demo hard disk utilizing nanolithographic techniques and environment-friendly chemical self assembly of nano-particles.

Earth Sciences

• CECA conducted a number of multi-disciplinary research activities which advanced the state-of-the art knowledge and understanding of the Arctic climate-system and its influence on Europe.

Information Sciences

• GRAB developed a system by which visually impaired persons can access the three-dimensional graphic computer world and explore and interact with 3D virtual objects using their fingers.

The Descartes Prize

The Descartes Research Prize, currently in its sixth year, rewards outstanding scientific and technological results through collaborative research. It is the most important Prize awarded by the EU to teams of researchers in the field of transnational scientific research. It is open to teams in all fields of scientific endeavour, ranging from medicine, engineering and physics to social and economic sciences. The Descartes Research Prize is complemented by the Descartes Prize for Science Communication, now in its second year, which rewards outstanding science communicators in television, radio, publishing, public events and other ways of communicating science to the public.

Winners and Finalists

The 14 nominated projects have been screened by the Descartes Grand Jury, which is comprised of leading figures from academia, industry and public organisations. The Jury is chaired by Prof. Ms. Ene Ergma, Vice President of the Estonian Academy of Sciences and Chairperson of the Estonian Parliament. Five finalists and five winners will be awarded the 2005 Descartes Research Prize. The winners will share €1,000,000 and, a novelty this year, the five finalists will receive €30,000 each. Winners and finalists of both prizes will be honoured at the Descartes Prize award ceremony hosted by the Royal Society in London on 1–2 December.

Further information

ec.europa.eu/research/descartes