EU-funded researchers from Germany, Italy, Israel and the UK have achieved a breakthrough development in robotic neurosurgery. The ROBOCAST project, has developed a new type of robot that gives two important advantages to surgeons:

Receptionists and administrative staff in UK general practices make important 'hidden' contributions to repeat prescribing, concludes a study published in the British Medical Journal.

Dementia has been recently identified as a health priority both in Europe and in the USA. Efficient solutions for early diagnosis and treatments are highly needed. The PredictAD project has developed several approaches for making the diagnosis more efficient and objective.

Smartphones may be the new hot tool in cognitive psychology research, according to a paper in the online journal PLoS ONE. Cognitive psychology, which explores how people perceive, think, remember, and more, often relies on testing volunteers that come to a research facility to participate in behavioral experiments.

The proposed Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, which will be introduced post-2013, will build upon the successes of the current Framework Programme for Research (FP7), the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).

Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn announced nearly €7 billion to kick-start innovation through research. The European Commission's biggest ever such funding package, under the EU's Seventh Framework Programme for Research (FP7), is expected to create around 174 000 jobs in the short-term and nearly 450 000 jobs and nearly €80 billion in GDP growth over 15 years(1).

The European Commission calls on EU Member States to develop and pursue a common vision on how to coordinate research at EU level in the field of ageing. This was the message of a Recommendation just adopted by the Commission entitled "More years, better lives - the potential and challenges of demographic change".