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Between Quarks and Hypernovae a Matter of Life… Special Issue: EIROforum - February 2007 ISSN 1023-9006 Between quarks and hypernovae A matter of life… CERN • EFDA • ILL • ESRF • EMBL • ESA • ESO 2 RTD info Special Issue: EIROforum February 2007 Terrae incognitae Editorial At the same time, the articles put the spotlight Science shrouds our knowledge like a black on matter, life and evolution. hole, at the same time paradoxically highlighting the extent of our ignorance. This is a paradox we should But the patchwork they illuminate also reveals bear in mind, especially at a time when many In this special edition of RTD info, we present the extent of the gaps in our knowledge, the terrae deplore the scientific ignorance of the general details of some of the latest research currently being incognitae. For example, many of the fundamental public. After all, wise men are, essentially, ignorant! carried out by the seven major European organisations characteristics of the universe are still unknown, As the saying goes, “The more you know, the more that make up EIROforum, demonstrating the brilliance while a mysterious dark energy, about which we you realise how little you know.” Without a doubt, and excellence of the science whose frontiers are know almost nothing, appears to permeate our society would benefit from cultivating this kind of constantly being pushed back by this Old Continent space-time continuum, exerting a profound effect ignorance even more, and encouraging worldwide of ours. on the universe. exploration of these terrae incognitae. RTD info – Special Issue: EIROforum ILL 4 “The EIROforum has become a 10 The promise of the large collider 17 Neutrons in the service of science major player in European science” The most powerful particle accelerator ever The Laue-Langevin Institute in Grenoble (FR) Interview with Bill Stirling, Director General built, the LHC, will be inaugurated at CERN represents one of the largest sources of of ESRF and Chairman of EIROforum. in 2007. It should allow scientists to discover neutrons in the world, enabling scientists to the secrets of matter right from its origins. penetrate the structure of matter. 5 Bringing science out of the lab EFDA 18 2 A close-up of EIROforum's two-pronged initiative Is energy really equal to mc ? for teachers: the magazine, Science in School, 12 All eyes are on ITER ILL’s GAMS 4 gamma-ray spectrometer has and the festival, Science on Stage. Will humanity be able to rely on a new source provided verification of Einstein’s fundamental of energy which is unlimited, clean and theorem with a precision of 0.00004%. CERN controllable? The answer could be provided by 6 Matter: the fundamental particles the ITER reactor, which becomes operational 20 The mystery of Martian in 2016. More than 6 500 scientists from every magnetism continent, Nobel Prize winners and young 13 Researchers have been able to demonstrate researchers rub shoulders in Geneva at the A calculated gamble that the magnetic anomalies revealed by the largest particle physics centre in the world. We meet David Ward, a specialist in plasma Mars Global Surveyor probe can be explained physics involved in the preparation of ITER. by the presence of pyrrhotite. 7 And then there were particles 14 Elementary particles hark back to an era when The ambitious adventure of fusion 21 From neutrons to neurons the universe was still smaller than a pin head… The challenge of fusion? To reproduce the sun Biologists are resorting more and more to Rolf Landua explains. here on earth – a process demanding neutron beams in order to decipher living temperatures in the region of 150 million material. Example: neural cell adhesion 8 Help from the strings degrees. molecules (NCAM). Alongside the ‘standard’ model of particle 16 ESRF physics, we examine the new vision brought JET, the pioneering test bed about by mathematical string theory. for ITER 22 The era of new light Without JET, ITER would never see the light Around the synchrotron at ESRF, some forty of day. And it is at JET where the validity beamlines enable microscopic specimens, and feasibility of numerous scientific invaluable to researchers from many different and technological options considered for disciplines, to be observed. the reactor at Cadarache are being assessed. Notice A magazine providing information on European research, 102 000 copies of this issue have been printed. Neither the European Commission, nor any person acting RTD info is published in English, French, German and Spanish All issues of RTD info can be consulted on-line at on its behalf, may be held responsible for the use to which by the Information and Communication Unit of the European the Research DG’s website: information contained in this publication may be put, or for Commission’s Research DG. http://ec.europa.eu/research/rtdinfo/index_en.html any errors which, despite careful preparation and checking, Editor in chief: Michel Claessens may appear. Tel.: +32 2 295 9971 © European Communities, 2007 Non-commercial reproduction authorised, subject to Fax: +32 2 295 8220 acknowledgement of source. E-mail: [email protected] EnCover: couverture: Cluster of Mousson galaxies aushot Niger by ESO's © Thierry VLT in LebelChile. © ESO RTD info Special Issue: EIROforum February 2007 3 23 Seeing the invisible 30 Who was Urbilateria? 38 Our neighbours – The techniques used on the beamlines make it A little marine worm, Platynereis, is a lot closer Mars and Venus possible to monitor chemical and biological to Homo Sapiens than insects… We know this If for Mars it's the question of water that Urbilateria (600 million reactions within extremely short timeframes. thanks to studies of fascinates us, for Venus it is the ‘infernal’ years old). conditions which govern its surface. 24 Life through the eye of the synchrotron 32 In the beginning, there was shape ES0 Interview with Eric Karsenti, head of the Cell Biologists are using the synchrotron more and 39 The fascination of the cosmos Biology and Biophysics unit. more in order to understand life. The seven ESO is the largest inter-governmental beamlines of the ESRF dedicated to protein ESA organisation in the field of astronomy and crystallography represent about a quarter of its astrophysics in Europe. Its telescopes are scientific activity. 33 European space without frontiers located in Chile. The European Space Agency (ESA) is 26 Deciphering the origins of life a remarkable example of international 40 The black hole saga Numerous researchers from various cooperation bringing together different EU Enigmatic black holes are revealing more and disciplines are using ‘hard’ X-rays, Member States, Switzerland and Canada. more secrets about the nature of the evolution for example in palaeontology. of galaxies. 34 The revolutions of offshore EMBL science 42 The message of the 27 At the cutting edge of European Interview with David Southwood, gamma-ray bursts life sciences Director of Science at ESA. Many gamma-ray bursts originate from Independence, interdisciplinarity, welcoming distances of over 12.5 billion light years away. young researchers, doctoral programmes and 36 The sentinels of the Earth System These represent the traces of the most violent “science-society” relationships are on the Since 2004, the goal of ESA’s Living Planet energy release in the universe after the programme of EMBL's five laboratories. programme has been to develop the global Big Bang. capability to understand the way the earth 28 The tree of life in the genomic era works, predict changes and limit any harmful 44 The search for exoplanets In 2006, six researchers led by Peer Bork effects. A new field of research is open to astronomers: published a new summary of the “tree of life” exoplanets, more than 200 of which have been in Science. The work is based on knowledge identified in recent years. of the genome, shedding new light on our origins. Request for free subscription to RTD info You can subscribe free of charge to the magazine at Address: . Ü http://ec.europa.eu/research/mail-forms/rtd-adr_en.cfm . You can also complete this coupon in block capitals and return it Postcode: . Town: . to the following address: RTD info Country: . ML DG1201 (*) If you would like to receive several copies of one language Post Box 2201 version, please make your request, giving your full name L-1022 Luxembourg and a brief justification: - at the following address: Name: . http://ec.europa.eu/research/mail-forms/rtd-adr_en.cfm Organisation: . - by fax (+32-2-295 82 20). If you would like to receive a copy of any recent issues of RTD Language version(s) desired*: info, please send a brief message by e-mail or fax. French English German Spanish 4 RTD info Special Issue: EIROforum February 2007 INTERVIEW “EIROforum has become a major player in European science” He has been the Director General of the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) since 2001, covering essentially the period during which the EIROforum collaboration has matured. Today, Bill Stirling talks about his experience as chairman of this group, its past and its directions for the future. Bill Stirling (left) with the European Commissioner for Science and Research, Janez Potocˇnik What is the value of EIROforum today? EIROforum is a very positive collaboration where seven institutes share their experience of science at the highest level. One of our aims is to develop the scientific capabilities of Europe in the complicated environment of national science, science funded by the European Union, intergovernmental What effect will the ERC have on the EIRO institutes? science like ours, and world science. The European Research Council, if it is properly supported, will repre- We try to create sufficiently long-term strategies to be in a position to sent a fundamental shift in science funding in Europe.
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