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MEMO/05/252
Brussels, 12 July 2005
Descartes Research Prize 2005: the
shortlist
This background note provides details of the 14 projects that have been
selected for the shortlist of this year’s Descartes Prize (see
IP/05/914).
- CANCERGENES
Identification of cancer predisposition
genes and pathways of tumorigenesis
The CANCERGENES project made advances in
mapping and cloning of cancer genes, including uncovering a new gene that could
show if a person is likely to develop colorectal cancer. The researchers also
mapped and identified the gene for another cancer syndrome, leiomyomatosis and
renal cell cancer. This work provided links between deficient energy production
and tumorigenesis. In addition, the study identified a new mechanism of disease
severity based on somatic mutation spectra. Findings of this project have
specific importance for cancer families and widespread general importance for
understanding how cancer develops.
- Field of research: Life Sciences
- Project coordinator: Prof. Ian Tomlinson - London Research Institute,
Cancer Research UK (CR-UK)
- Partners: Prof. Lauri Antti Aaltonen, Helsingin yliopisto (UH.MCB),
Finland
- EURO-PID
European Initiative on Primary
Immunodeficiencies
Focused on primary immunodeficiencies that
represent a large group of rare genetically determined diseases, the EURO-PID
project deals with underlying genetic disorders of the immune system. The
research group characterised over 20 molecular defects during the last five
years. Their findings are a source of key results about T, B, and NK lymphocytes
development and function, about regulation of homeostatis and interaction
between innate and adaptive immunity. The researchers, representing a European
task force in this field, believe that the findings of the project will continue
to be translated to the benefit of patients in diagnostic tools and in new
therapeutic developments.
- Field of research: Life sciences
- Project coordinator : Prof. Alain Fischer - Institut National de
la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)
- Partners :
Prof. Jean-Laurent Casanova, University
of René Descartes-INSERM Unit 550, France
Prof. C.I. Edvard Smith, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Sweden
Prof. Lennart Hammarström, Karolinska Institutet (KI), Sweden
Prof. Luigi Daniele Notarangelo, Universita degli Studi di Brescia (UNIBRE),
Italy
Prof. Adrian Trasher, University College London (UCL), UK
Dr. Anna Villa, CNR Instituto di Tecnologie Biomediche (CNR-ITB), Italy
- CECA
Climate and Environmental Change in the
Arctic
The CECA project involves a number of
multi-disciplinary research projects that have been carried out over the past
decade on climate and environmental change in the Arctic. CECA has addressed
environmental problems of pan-European relevance and significance. Scientific
objectives of the research teams are centred upon a systematic and integrated
analysis of diverse observational and model-generated data sets. The scientific
breakthroughs and innovations resulting from CECA project have advanced the
state-of-the art knowledge and understanding of the Artic climate-system and its
influence on Europe.
- Field of research : Earth sciences
- Project coordinator : Prof. Ola M. Johannessen - Nansen
Environmental and Remote (Norway)
- Partners :
Prof. Lennart Bengtsson, Max planck
Institut for Meteorology, Germany
Dr. Leonid Bobylev, Scientific Foundation "Nansen International Environmental
and Remote Sensing Centre", Russia
- ESS
European Social Survey - innovations in
comparative measurement
- Description:
The ESS, European Social Survey series project is a major collaborative
project focused on charting and explaining long-run changes in the social,
political and moral climate within and between the European Member States. Other
aims of the project included transforming and spreading standards of rigorous in
comparative social measurement in Europe and developing social indicators of
national advancement that supplement existing indicators. Researchers believe
that the impact of the ESS on European governance is likely to be profound. With
ESS, Europe has for the first time an authoritative source of data about its
changing social values which informs academic and political debate and enables
the EU to measure changes in values of its citizens.
- Field of research : socio-economic sciences
- Project coordinator : Prof. Roger Jowell - City University,
Northampton Square (UK)
- Partners :
Prof. Peter Mohler, Zentrum fuer
Umfraged, Methoden un Analysen (ZUMA), Germany
Ms. Ineke Stoop, Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau (SCP), The Netherlands
Prof. Willem Saris, Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA), The Netherlands
Prof. Jaak Billiet, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (KUL), Belgium
Mr. Bjorn Henrichsen, Norwegian Social Science Data Services (NSD),
Norway
Dr. Henk Stronkhorst, European Science Foundation (ESF), France
- EXEL
Extending Electromagnetism through Novel
Artificial Materials
The research team created and developed a
novel class of artificial metamaterials, called Left-Handed Materials (LHMs) or
Negative Index Materials (NIMs), which have fascinating properties including
negative index or refraction, inverse, Doppler and Cerenkov effects, vacuum
impedance matching possibility and imaging not constrained by the diffraction
limit. They also have the ability to reverse a basic feature of light. The
researchers were able to demonstrate the reality of LHMs and their consistency
with the basic laws of physics. This realisation has opened up the possibility
of unprecedented applications and devices including sub-diffraction limited
imaging, entirely new sub-wave length devices, miniature antennas and waveguides
and artificial magnetic materials for MRI applications.
When one creates a new material that scatters electromagnetic radiation in a
unique manner, some useful purpose can be found. We can envision, for example,
uses in the cellular communications industry, where novel filters, antennas, and
other electromagnetic devices are of great importance. Even slight improvements
to these devices can make a significant financial impact.
- Field of research : physics
- Project coordinator: Prof. Costas Soukoulis - Foundation for Research
and Technology (FORTH) – Greece
- Partners:
Prof. Ekmel Ozbay, Bilkent University,
Turkey
Prof. John Brian Pendry, Imperial College of Science, Technology and
Medicine, South Kensington Campus, UK
Prof. Martin Wegener, University of Karlsruhe (TH), DFG-Center for Functional
Nanostructures (Karlsruhe-CFN), Germany
Prof. David R. Smith, Duke University, United States
- GRAB
Computer graphics access for blind people through
a haptic virtual environment
The goal of the GRAB project was to enable
visually impaired persons to have access to the three-dimensional graphic
computer world through the senses of touch and hearing by means of a new Haptic
& Audio Virtual Environment. Researchers developed a system by which users
can explore and interact with 3D virtual objects using their fingers. Tests of
the system by blind people to evaluate the usefulness and potential of these
developments confirm the validity of the system.
- Field of research: information sciences
- Project coordinator : Ms. Teresa Gutierrez - Fundacion Labein,
Parque Tecnologico de Bizkaia (Derio – Spain)
- Partners :
Dr. Carlo Alberto Avizzano, Scuola
Superiore di Studi Universitari e di Perfezionamento S. Anna, Italy
Mr. Jose Luis Fernandez, CIDAT-ONCE, Spain
Mr. Steven Tyler, Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), UK
Ms. Blaithin Gallagher, National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI),
Ireland
Ms. Fiona Slevin, Haptica Ltd, Trinity Enterprise Centre, Ireland
- HESS
The HESS experiment: revolutionizing the
understanding of the extreme universe
The HESS collaboration was formed to
produce an instrument which would be the world leader in the domain of
high-energy gamma-ray astrophysics. The design was based on proven technology
and technical and experimental approaches develop by the research teams, which
were combined together to provide an instrument that enabled them to explore the
most extreme objects in the universe. The results of the project have allowed
the collaboration to revolutionise the understanding of our universe as viewed
in gamma rays, producing the first-ever gamma ray images of astronomical objects
and the first scan of a large region around the centre of our galaxy.
- Field of research : physics
- Project coordinator : Prof. Stavros Katsanevas - Centre National
de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) – Paris, France
- Partners :
Dr. Michael Punch, Institut National de
Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, France
Prof. Werner Hofmann, Max-Planck-Institute für Kemphysik, Germany
Dr. Paula Chadwick, University of Durham, UK
Prof. Thomas Lohse, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
Dr. Philippe Goret, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Centre de Saclay,
France
Prof. Goetz Heinzelmann, University of Hamburg, Germany
Prof. Stefan Wagner, Universität Heidelberg, Germany
Dr. Hélène Sol, Institut National des Sciences de l'Univers
Prof. Reinhard Schlickeiser, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany
Prof. Luke O'Connor Drury, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, Ireland
Prof. Ladislav Rob, Institute of Particule and Nuclear Physics (IPNP),
Charles University, Czech Republic
Prof. Ocker Comelis de Jager, North-West University, South Africa
- IDEE
Identités, démocratie et
équilibres de l'Europe
The aim of the IDEE project was to study the
links between national identity, European identity and the democratization
process in Europe and to find if there was not in the shadow of democracy a sort
of new European equilibrium coming in the framework of European integration. The
impact of this research should be important for experts, journalists, civil
servants and politicians interested in European issues.
- Field of research: Socio-Economic Sciences
- Project coordinator : Prof. Robert Frank - Unité Mixte de
Recherche "identités, Relations Internationales et Civilisations de
l'Europe" - CNRS (UMR IRICE) Paris - France
- Partners: Prof. Hartmut Kaelble, Humboldt University,
Berlin
- PATHFINDER
Portraying the Effects of Nuclear Receptors
in Health and Disease
The objective of the Pathfinder consortium
was to understand the role of nuclear receptors (NRs) in both healthy and
disease development. Since NRs are often targets for chemical contaminants
present in dietary products, Pathfinder’s results provide critical
information that can help protect the general population from the negative
affects of these contaminants. The results can also provide information that
proves that European food items are safe to consumers, thus offering a
competitive advantage to the European food industry. Furthermore, the results of
the project are involved both in the characterization and development of new
pharmaceutical compounds that can be of great value for the European economy. A
major factor behind the success of the project was the complementarity and
synergy between the different groups of the consortium.
- Field of research: life sciences
- Project coordinator : Prof. Jan-Ake Gustafsson - Karolinska
Institutet (KI-Biosci), Sweden
- Partners :
Prof. Vincent Laudet, Ecole Normale
Supérieure de Lyon (ENSL), France
Prof. Barbara Demeneix, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS),
France
Ass. Prof. Hilde Nebb, University of Oslo (UiO), Norway
Dr. Sari Mäkelä, University of Turku (U.Turku), Finland
Prof. Edison Liu, Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS), Singapore
- PITCID
Phospholnositide 3-kinase as Target for
Treatment of Chronic Inflammatory Disease
The PITCID research team developed a novel
approach for the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. The project has
generated a vast amount of biological data and small molecule inhibitors, which
were successfully tested in models of rheumatoid arthritis and Lupus, a disease
that causes the body to attack its own tissues. In addition, the efforts of the
research team validated new drug targets in inflammation, allergy and
cardiovascular and autoimmune disease.
- Field of research: life sciences
- Project coordinator: Prof. Matthias P. Wymann - University of Basel
(UniBas) – Switzerland
- Partners:
Prof. Reinhard Wetzker, Klinikum der
Universität Jena (KUJ), Germany
Prof. Emilio Hirsch, Dipartimento di Genetica, Biologia e Biochimica
(DIPGEN), Italy
Prof. Bart Vanhaesebroeck, Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research (LICR),
United Kingdom
Dr. Christian Rommel, Serono Pharmaceutical Research Institute, Serono
International S.A., Switzerland
Prof. Ana C. Carrera, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas (CSIC),
Spain
- PULSE
Pulsar Science in Europe: The Impact of European
Pulsar Science on Modern Physics
Pulsars are rapidly rotating neutron stars
whose observation offers the unique opportunity to study some of the most
extreme physical conditions in the universe. Highlights of the research
teams’ work include precision tests of theories of gravity and the
discovery of nearly 800 pulsars, doubling the number that had been discovered in
the whole world 30 years prior to the start of this collaboration. The height of
the researchers’ activities is undoubtedly the discovery of the first
double pulsar.
- Field of research: Physics
- Project coordinator : Prof. Andrew Lyne - University of
Manchester, Jodrell Bank Observatory (JBO) - United Kingdom
- Partners:
Prof. Nicolo D'amico, INAF Osservatorio
Astronomico di Cagliari, Italy
Dr. Axel Jessner, Max planck Institut fur Radioastronomie, Germany
Dr. Ben Stappers, ASTRON, The Netherlands
Prof. Ioannis Seiradakis, University of Thessaloniki, Greece
TANNIN ADHESIVES
Natural Tannin Based Adhesives For Wood Composite Products Of Low Or No
Formaldehyde Emission
The Tannin Adhesives project resulted
in a series of discoveries in the reaction of the natural tannins extracted from
the waste bark of trees with a variety of cross-linking agents. A series of
industrial plant trials has confirmed the industrial applicability of these
tannins as wood panel adhesives. There are many applications for this type of
adhesive in the European market since they are non-toxic and work more quickly
than comparable adhesives. In addition, they are environmentally friendly, used
waste natural material to produce value added industrial products that can be
used in a vast wood panels industry that consumes more than 3 million tones of
synthetic adhesives per year.
- Field of research : ENGINEERING
- Project coordinator : Prof. Antonio Pizzi - Ecole Nationale
Supérieure des Technologies des Industries du Bois, Université de
Nancy 1 (ENSTIB) - France
- Partners :
Dr. Frederic Pichelin, Hochschule
für Architektur, Bau und Holz (HSB), Switzerland
Dr. Gianpaolo Benevento, Silvachimica S.r.l, Italy
Dr. Masafumi Nakatani, Sekisui Chemical Co, Japan
- TURING
Chemical morphogenesis: Turing patterns and
beyond
Diffusion, a process that usually
wipes out any heterogeneity in the concentration of chemicals, can paradoxically
lead to well organised concentration patterns, once it is associated to the
right chemical reactions. Such a mechanism might be responsible for some aspects
of shape and pattern development in biological systems. This reaction-diffusion
patterning mechanism in chemistry and biology was initially proposed, in 1952,
by the British mathematician Alan Turing. However, evidence that such patterns
can develop in real systems was only provided nearly 40 years later, when the
joint research of the Bordeaux/Brussels team produced these long awaited
unambiguous experimental demonstrations of Turing patterns. The research results
of the team are the first clear experimental demonstration that Turing's
conjecture is not just a theoretical mirage and could really be at work in
natural systems.
- Field of research : physics
- Project coordinator : Dr. Patrick De Kepper - Centre de
Recherche Paul Pascal / CNRS (CRPP) – Pessac, France
- Partner : Dr. Pierre Borckmans, Université Libre de
Bruxelles, Belgium
- HIDEMAR
Self-assembled nanoparticles and nanopatterned
array for high-density magnetorecording
The Project was aimed at designing and
producing high density (200 Gbits/in2) nano-patterned magneto-recording media,
using nano-lithographic techniques and environmentally friendly chemical self
assembling of nano-particles. The final goal was the production of a Lab-demo
hard disk with the desired density, the evaluation of its performances and
industrial exploitation of the results. By grouping skills from 6 European
countries, the Consortium brought together in a multi-disciplinary approach,
partners specialised in different aspects of recording media fabrication
advanced nanolithography and new nanopatterning techniques and experts of the
whole hard disk drive system, among others. The exploitation of the final
products of the project is expected to give impulse to markets in the
information storage field, in particular to the disk drive industry.
- Field of research: engineering
- Project coordinator : Dr. Dino Fiorani - Consiglio Nazionale
delle Ricerche (CNR) – Roma, Italy
- Partners:
Dr. Dimitrios Niarchos, National Center of
Scientific Research "Demokritos" (NCSR "D"), Greece
Dr. Elizabeth Tronc, Université Pierre et Marie Curie (UPMC), France
Dr. Fernando Briones, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS),
France
Dr. Giancarlo Faini, Laboratoire de Photonique et de Nanostructures,
France
Prof. Josef Fidler, Vienna University of Technology / Solid State Physics
(TUW), Austria
Mr. Hartmut Rohrmann, Unaxis Balzers AG, Liechtenstein
Dr. Giorgio Betti, STMicroelectronics SRL (STM), Italy
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