Usually associated with humid and sordid slums, mould is a frequent finding in wealthy homes too. Even the fanciest buildings may harbour hot spots where fungi and other microorganisms subtly proliferate , triggering problems that range from unpleasant smells to severe sickness.

Buildings account for 36% of CO 2 emissions in Europe, and energy consumption in this sector has increased in recent decades.

For innovation managers and startup advisors it is clear: scientists and researchers are not business people . "Much is dependent on the personality of the founder. A pure scientist will not be able to proceed.

Part of the solution to counter the devastating effects of floods on human communities could be long-term climate forecasting, backed by assessments on the vulnerability of towns and cities As centres of innovation and growth, European cities are home to around 75% of the continent’s population and use about 80% of the energy it produces.

It's a brand new sector: the first steps date back to 2012. Today energy crowdfunding is a way of financing solar panel or wind turbine projects.

From pollution levels and the number of traffic accidents to safer public spaces and more efficient heating in buildings:  to what extent can the smartness of a city be quantified?  And  is it possible to measure the quality of life  for an urban area through numerical parameters? It’s all about collecting data that is reliable and making sense of the numbers afterwards.

In 2005 the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki was nearly flooded because of the raising of the sea level. After that event, the municipality has been building special pedestrian ways, which are about 1.

The European grid already faces transmission challenges, as the alternative current (AC) infrastructure has almost reached its transport capacity.

In 2005, Europe was exposed to a potential risk of a nuclear disaster caused by the flooding of the Loviisa nuclear power plant in Finland . Sea levels rose by 1.73 meter above normal levels, due to a storm.

In Central or Northern Europe, extreme snowfall, snow storms or freezing rain during winter can damage forests and infrastructures, such as power lines . This may, in turn, disrupt power supply and cause considerable economic loss.

Flash floods in Central Europe in 2002 damaged hundreds of roads, caused electricity failures, contaminated clean water and cost an estimated €150 billion in damage .

There are two main types of bread , wholemeal, or brown, and white. But most people in Europe prefer white bread. That is a problem because white bread contains very little fibres.

Runny nose, watery eyes and cough; these are the symptoms associated with respiratory allergies. About 20% to 30% of Europeans suffer from some type of respiratory allergy , according to the European Federation of Allergy and Airway Diseases Patients Associations .

New advances related to new uses of imaging technologies could help scientists uncover the brain’s mysteries.

Brain researchers have recently associated a technique called magnetoencephalography, or MEG, with magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, technology.

The combination of two brain scanning technologies, which were considered incompatible until recently, could revolutionize brain research and diagnostics.

Other regions in Europe are motivated by success stories like this one, and are now supported by a team of experts from ECOPOL to implement their new policies.

The incidence of auto-immune diseases like type 1 diabetes and allergies has risen dramatically in developed countries over the past fifty years .

The so-called hygiene hypothesis claims young children need to get in contact with a number of relatively benign pathogens to develop a robust immune system .

Are allergies and so-called autoimmune diseases, like type 1 diabetes, likely to be caused by a lack of exposure to relatively benign pathogens in early childhood? This theory is referred to as the hygiene hypothesis.