The children of prisoners are one of the largest vulnerable groups of children in Europe. They carry the stigma of their parents’ deeds. And some of them are exposed to social exclusion.

It is estimated that 800,000 children throughout the European Union have an imprisoned parent. The real number is not known, because in no country do prisons systematically record data about the children of offenders.

Paul Lukowicz is head of the embedded intelligence research group at the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence in Kaiserslautern.

Multiple disasters can have a cumulative impact leading to great human and financial loss. The awareness of all possible risks is of fundamental importance.

The German village of Cappel is home to one of the greatest historical music instruments. The ornate baroque organ here is the work of Arp Schnitger, the grand master of German organ construction who built it in around 1680 for Hamburg.

How can policymakers change the way people think? This is what the InContext project, funded by the EU, hopes to answer. Leading European research institutions in the fields of transition, behaviour and sustainable development are trying to create a manual for change.

CyberCar, who's going to drive? It travels at around 30 km/h. No driver. No fuel. You might call it a ‘CyberCar’ - an automated vehicle, guided by three computers installed in the chassis.

A new range of garments will soon be out. Gucci? Prada? - Not this time. The emphasis here is not fashion but prevention of chronic disease.

In Germany, the unequal position of men and women in the workplace is mainly due to obstacles of a cultural nature, such as the widespread negative perception of a working mother.

In 1997 Karlsruhe, in the South West of Germany, made the headlines when the first museum for interactive multimedia art was opened. The museum is part of the Centre for Art and Media (ZKM), which also comprises five research institutions.

It is the ultimate viewing tool for designers and engineers: virtual reality. Models can be examined and tested thoroughly in three dimensions, before they are built in the workshops.

With its engagement in an energy community and its environmental commitment, Lars von Trier’s production company Zentropa is just the tip of the iceberg.

Federica Gasbarro was a 22-year-old biology student in Rome when she felt compelled to become an environmental activist.

Sabrina is an Italian graphic designer, an editorial project manager and a graphologist. She is one of the European “slash workers” : self-employed professionals who put a slash between their multiple jobs in different sectors .

The new generation of technologies is radically changing the face of what science has already achieved. Their seeds are being planted in European laboratories, where passionate young researchers have been playing their part in shaping a new world.

Optical microscopy is entering a new world. Future microscopes will be chipsised and have super-resolution capabilities. This means they will be available in everyday life, not just in specialist laboratories.

Over the last 50 years photons, the particles that make up light, have replaced electrons to transfer data in communication networks.

One of the crucial steps to weaken and eradicate mafia and terrorism is blocking their means of enlisting new forces . The challenge is to change the social conditions that allow their networks to expand and regenerate themselves despite investigations and arrests.

Today’s computer processors are pretty fast. Under optimal conditions, a desktop can come close to teraflop speeds, which is a million million operations per second .

Biomimicry , also called bionics, uses structures found in nature to solve everyday problems. A well-known example is the Velcro strip , which a Swiss engineer, Georges de Mestral copied from the burdocks that stuck to his dog and clothes on a walk through the fields.