The Excerpt Issue 1, An Excerpt of great things to come...
Date: 2009-07-13
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU research policy, communications policy, dissemination of information, scientific progress, scientific research

THE EXCERPT

Issue 3
16 November 2005

p. 4  Proﬁ le
  Wolfgang Heckl 

p. 2  The report

Science in the street

“Let me entertain you!”

Not the usual words we expect from a scientist, but if CER 2005 has proven anything, it 
is that people should be allowed to change their spots. Scientists can be entertaining, 
and  science  can  be  fun. Trained  journalists  can  communicate  science  with  gusto 
and not jeopardise scientiﬁ c integrity. EU policy-makers do understand the science 
and society schism. This, we can all take home from the event.

ers’  to  outreach  schemes  hosted 
by EU-funded projects.  

To  acknowledge  these  talented 
individuals  and  organisations, 
CER  2005  held  a  small  compe-
tition  for  the  best  communica-
tors at the conference. The three 
winners  (see  below)  were  an-
nounced  by  Mr  Mitsos  during 
his closing remarks.

Traditional  panel  sessions  at  the 
event  tackled  big  issues  like  sci-
ence  at  school,  the  future  of  sci-
ence  journalism,  and  the  perils 
of  communicating  tricky  science 
subjects. More intimate forum ses-
sions  addressed  everything  from 
‘Europe in space’ to practical tips 
for  press  ofﬁ cers.  Meanwhile,  in 
the ‘How to...?’ sessions, delegates 
learned,  among  other  things,  the 
pitfalls of science journalism and 
communications in a crisis.

Journalists divided their time be-
tween the general sessions, exhib-
ition  space  and  the  dedicated 
press brieﬁ ngs which showcased 
a  host  of  EU-funded  research 
projects  in  diverse  ﬁ elds;  from 
new 
therapeutic  approaches 
to  localised  tumours  (ESOPE) 
to  using  renewable  fuel  in  train 
transport (RENEW).

Can all this be topped next year? 
We will just have to wait and see. 

“We’ve put 
research on 
to the main 
political 
agenda and 
discourse”

And this year’s winners are

The CER 2005 would not be complete without a prize for the ‘best in show’. 
Three Communication Prizewinners were announced at the closing session 
of the event. The Best Forum award went to ‘Talking nano’, the Best Stand 
was  ITER’s  and  the  Best  Speaker  during  the  event  was  Lars-Peter  Linke. 
(See page 6.)

One  could  easily  measure  suc-
cess  on  numbers  alone  –  over 
2  500  through  the  conference 
turnstiles at Heysel, some 250 ex-
hibits covering 9 000 m2, over 50 
countries represented, etc. – but 
this would be too easy. The true 
measure  of  success  is  whether 
people  learned  anything.  Evi-
dence on the ground and in The 
Excerpt suggests they did. 

Hordes of journalists from daily 
newspapers,  TV  stations  and 
industry  journals  sat  cheek  by 
jowl  with  scientists,  research 
policy-makers,  and  the  grow-
ing  branch  of  specialist  science 
mediators.  But  has  putting  all 
the stakeholders under one roof 
achieved anything? Do we know 
a bit more about the importance 
of  European  research  and  the 
Framework Programmes? 

Achilleas  Mitsos,  Director-Gen-
eral  of  the  Commission’s  Re-
search  DG,  thinks  events  like 
CER  2005  put  research  on  the 
political  map.  “We’ve  put  re-
search  on  to  the  main  political 
agenda and discourse,” he stated 
during  his  closing  speech.  He 
said we should insist on making 
research a priority in the context 
of the knowledge triangle to cre-
ate, transmit and use knowledge, 
through research, education and 
training, and innovation.

He spoke passionately about what 
it  will  take  to  shape  a  European 
knowledge  fortress  and  achieve 
the EU’s Lisbon Strategy of foster-
ing  strong  economic  growth  and 
creating more and better jobs.

But  Mr  Mitsos  was  also  rather 
candid  about  where  Europe  is 
ﬂ abby  and  where  work  is  still 

needed,  especially  in  its  docu-
mented  shortage  of  researchers 
and low R&D intensity (spending 
on R&D as a percentage of GDP) 
compared to the USA and Japan.

‘Flab-busting’ schemes
Of  course,  the  EU’s  Framework 
Programmes are helping to work 
off the ﬂ abby areas by stimulat-
ing  more  co-operative  research 
and  networks.  The  numbers 
seem to back this up: for exam-
ple, spending €1 on research at 
European level has a €4-7 long-
term  yield.  EU-funded  research 
can help reduce commercial risk 
and boost innovation, especially 
among SMEs. What’s more, Euro-
pean  project  participants  are 
proliﬁ c  publishers  of  scientiﬁ c 
ﬁ ndings  and  tend  to  develop 
strong industry links with a view 
to rolling out their research.

Mr Mitsos explained what the EU 
plans for the Seventh Framework 
Programme  (see  page  5).  With 
the  proposed  increase  in  the  re-
search  budget  for  FP7,  it  aims 
to  put  the  Lisbon  Strategy  into 
overdrive,  boost  the  European 
Research Area, and raise Europe’s 
competitiveness and sustainable 
development credentials. 

He said FP7 will be simpler, with the 
emphasis on researchers, industry 
R&D, and on getting the European 
Research Council up and running 
in time for the FP7 launch.

Best of the best
The  Excerpt  has  covered  the  fo-
rums, brieﬁ ngs, presentations and 
a great many of the exhibits dur-
ing the two-day event. And it has 
unearthed some excellent orators, 
exhibitors  and  communicators; 
from veritable ‘scientist entertain-

p. 3  The report

p. 5  The story

p. 6  Prizes

p. 7  Media corner

I heard it on the radio

 FP7 to boost research

Descartes and CER awards

Coping with radio and TV

 
 
 
 
 
2  THE EXCERPT  

The report

Teaching science the hard 
way: on a bed of nails!

A physicist strips off his shirt and lies on a bed of nails, 
then  one  of  his  colleagues  loads  his  chest  up  with 
concrete blocks and hits them with a large hammer. 
The  physicist  emerges,  completely  unhurt,  picks  up 
his  microphone  and  continues  his  demonstration. 
This  is  not  some  crazy  ritual,  but  a  scientiﬁc 
demonstration of the concept of mass. It is also one of 
the techniques used to bring science to the public in 
the street, as demonstrated by the European Science 
Events Association or EUSCEA on the ﬁnal morning 
of the CER conference.

EUSCEA are specialists in bring-
ing  science  to  those  who  do 
not  normally  have  access  to  it 
through  science  events.  Their 
domain  covers  unusual  venues: 
the  supermarket  or  the  railway 
station. In these ‘non-traditional’ 
spaces, they use their ‘real scien-
tists’ to deliver micro-lectures to 
people who would not normally 
go  and  see  a  science  event  in  a 
museum  or  science  fair.  It  is  a 
successful formula.

During  this  informative  and  in-
teresting  session,  Carolyn  Gale, 
of  Stanford  University  in  the 
US,  explained  how  she  tries  to 
get  scientists  to  think  carefully 
about  presenting 
themselves 
to  the  public.  As  part  of  their 
training,  they  have  to  imagine 
they  are  stuck  in  an  elevator 
with  a  non-scientist  who  asks 
them what they do, giving them 
only 30 to 60 seconds to explain 
their  area  of  science.  Through 
this  simple  method,  scientists 
learn the importance of not over-

estimating the public’s ability to 
grasp  complex  science,  and  of 
jargon-free English. 

The art of science
The session also featured a pres-
entation  of  another  successful 
science  happening,  the  Genova 
from 
Science  Festival.  Fresh 
the most recent festival in 2005, 
Manuela Arata described how it 
continues to go from strength to 
strength, with increased partici-
pation by schools, scientists and 
the media. The most recent festi-
val presented 250 events in 77 lo-
cations and used over 250 speak-
ers.  There  were  also  more  than 
500  young  scientists  explaining 
science.  The  events  were  often 
multidisciplinary,  interweaving 
science and the performing arts.

Science Days, another event pre-
sented at the session by Joachim 
Lerch, was set up next to a popu-
lar  theme  park  in  Germany,  and 
managed  to  pull  in  a  crowd  of 
20 000  mostly  young  people 

Opening the big  
White Book

The  ‘Science  in  the  Streets’  session  at  CER  saw  the 
launch of EUSCEA’s new White Book on how to run 
science  events.  This  publication  could  become  the 
‘bible’ for organising, funding and evaluating Science 
Communication Events (SCE) across Europe.

“Science Communication Events 
in  Europe”  is  the  result  of  four 
years  of  hard  work.  In  spring 
2001,  a  group  of  like-minded 
people  who  organise  events 
such as science festivals and sci-
ence weeks met in Gothenburg, 
Sweden.  They  decided  that  it 
was  time  to  put  down  on  paper 
some  ideas,  guidelines  and  rec-
ommendations  on  how  to  or-
ganise SCEs.

With the help of EC funding, the 
work  began  and  the  resulting 

‘White  Book’  –  hot  off  the  press 
– assesses the state of the art for 
SCEs 
in  Europe,  summarises 
strategies  to  initiate  new  SCEs, 
and  recommends  ideas  to  im-
prove  existing  ones.  In  essence, 
the  book  collects  and  captures 
the  very  ‘best  practice’  and  in-
novative ideas that can enhance 
and enlarge the SCE community 
in Europe.

Pro communicators
The  book  is  mainly  focused  on 
the professional event organiser, 

(mainly  children)  during  three 
days to participate in experiments 
and get involved in science.

‘Science in the street’ or the use 
of science events to get the mes-
sage  out  of  the  laboratory  and 
into  the  public  imagination  is 
clearly  one  innovative  and  suc-
cessful  possibility.  At  the  end  of 
this entertaining session, Mikkel 
Bohm,  EUSCEA  President,  pre-
sented the White Book, “Science 
Communication  Events  in  Eur-
ope”,  the  result  of  a  three-year 
study,  funded  by  the  European 
Commission. 

Putting the science in society

Mikkel Bohm is a man who passionately 
believes in bringing science on to the street. As 
Director of Danish Science Communication, 
he has been responsible for organising the 
Danish Science Festival since 1997 and is 
currently the President of the European 
Science Events Association (EUSCEA – 
pronounced “you see”). It has some 
50 member organisations running science 
events in almost every country in Europe.

Bohm is a great believer in organisation. “It is 
very important to take your public seriously 
and to make sure your science event, whatever 
it is, is done as professionally as possible,” 
he insists. “This means both in terms of 
organisation and marketing. You need to 
know who you are trying to reach – who your 
audience is.” As examples, he explains that the 
“interested public” might be interested in an 
‘open doors’ event at a university, but if you 
really want to reach the “man or woman in the 
street” you need to take your science to them 
“in the shopping centre, or literally on the 
street, or into schools”.

Dialogue with science
Bohm sees a change in the strategy for the 
EUSCEA partners. “The movement is from 
‘public understanding of science’ – where 
science experts talk ‘at’ the public – to new 
concepts of engaging the public in real 
dialogue. The different events organised 
by EUSCEA members offer a variety of 

forums for engagement with the public,” 
Bohm continues. “This type of engagement 
is all about taking science to the public 
– effectively bringing science to the people.”  
He identiﬁes a fundamental difference 
between what EUSCEA does and what 
happens in Science Centres. “We go to the 
people and we bring them real, working 
scientists. Not all scientists are able to engage 
effectively with the public, but those who can 
really enjoy the experience and usually want 
to do more – once they try it they love it! The 
scientists really get something valuable out of 
the experience,” says Bohm. Overall, EUSCEA 
sees 85% of scientists coming back for more 
– and it seems to be infectious.

“We should really talk about ‘science 
in society’, not science and society,” he 
concludes. “Science is a very a big part of 
modern society – in fact we could say ‘no 
science – no society’.”

but  will  also  be  useful  to  other 
science communicators such as 
teachers,  journalists,  scientists 
and  the  general  public.  In  fact, 
it will help anyone who wants to 
improve  the  “public  awareness 
and  understanding  of  science, 
technology and the humanities”.

festivals  and  other 
“Science 
events  are  relatively  new  ways 
of  communicating  science  and 
have not been studied in an or-
ganised way,” says Mikkel Bohm, 
president  of  the  EUSCEA.  “The 
White  Book  represents  the  very 
best  examples  of  science  com-
munication  in  Europe  and  can 

serve  to  help  event  organisers 
both new and old.”

The book covers the whole gamut 
of  events  from  week-long  na-
tional  science  festivals  through 
events such as the Polish science 
picnic  to  science  cafés  and  mass 
experiments.  All  aspects  of  event 
organisation are included, such as 
venues,  presenters,  ﬁnance  and 
marketing, with copious examples 
to illustrate the best of the best. 

A  very  useful  cross-reference  
table  highlights  the  ‘pros  and 
cons’  of  various  events.  “Evalu-
ation  of  events  is  particularly 

important,”  says  Bohm.  “And 
evaluation needs to be integrated 
into the event planning right from 
the  start.” The  book  begins  with 
the  fundamental  question: ‘Why 
do  such  an  event?’.  Understand-
ing  the  purpose  of  a  proposed 
event sets a sound foundation for 
carrying it out.

All  attendees  at  the  ‘Science  in 
the  Streets’  session  received  a 
copy  of  the  White  Book,  and  it 
will  be  widely  distributed  via 
EUSCEA’s  50  member  organ-
isation  in  25  countries.  Contact 
EUSCEA  for  your  copy  now:  
www.euscea.org/ 

The report 

THE EXCERPT  3

It must be true because 
I heard it on the radio

Until  recently,  radio  was  an  underestimated  medium  for  publicising  science,  but  broadcasters  and 
scientists  have  woken  up  to  its  many  advantages.  Listeners  appreciate  its  immediacy  and  the  way  it  is 
developing formats which put it ahead of other media. 

The  panel  agreed  that  one  of 
radio’s  strengths  was  that  it  val-
ued  the  ‘voice’  of  the  scientist, 
and  brought  science  in  direct 
contact  with  the  listener.  “We 
feel that the scientist is the best 
person to describe his/her ﬁ nd-
ings,”  said  Elisabetta  Tola  from 
RAI-Radio 3 in Italy. Laura Durn-
ford  from  Netherlands  Radio’s 
The  Research  File  agreed:  “We 
encourage  scientists  to  explain 
their  research  as  they  can  bring 
it  alive.  Radio  is  about  telling 
stories,  and  a  scientist  can  con-
vey  the  enthusiasm  of  scientiﬁ c 
discoveries.  Scientiﬁ c  television 
programmes  can’t  provide  that 
direct  contact  between  the  sci-
entist and the audience.”

Chris Smith of The Naked Scien-
tist, BBC’s popular science series 
said that one of the highlights of 
his programme was the scientists 
answering  questions  live  from 
the  listeners. “Scientists  like  the 
opportunity  to  talk  directly  to 
the  public  and  we  believe  that 
it  shows  how  radio  isn’t  talking 
down  to  people,  as  they  decide 

what  should  be  discussed,”  he 
continued.  ”It  also  makes  for 
good radio.” 

How many peas in an Ipod?
Perhaps  because  of  the  need  to 
interest  the  public  in  science, 
 radio  journalists  have  to  inno-
vate. They have been experiment-
ing  with  new  ways  of  reaching 
the public and have been putting 
pod-casting,  the  method  of  dis-
tributing audio programmes over 
the internet, to good use. 

Jan-Olov Johansson, from Swed-
ish Radio, described how science 
programmes  were  the  station’s 
most  popular  pod-cast  down-
loads – The Naked Scientist pod-
cast  is  downloaded  by  50  000 
people each week. 

Learning about science, 
locally...
Pedro Lima, who presents a radio 
science  programme  in  Marseille 
(France),  described  how  people 
welcomed hearing scientiﬁ c expla-
nations  of  local  occurrences. “We 
ask people in the street about sci-

entiﬁ c  topics,  which  brings  these 
subjects  closer  to  the  audience. 
They  want  to  know  about  local 
topics such as ocean pollution, or 
why we have migratory birds.”

... in Europe
The  afternoon 
session  was 
 organised  by  Science  in  Radio 
Broadcasting  (SCIRAB).  Matteo 
Merzagora  described  the  think-
ing behind it: “Radio journalists 
in  Europe  rarely  have  contacts 
with  others  working  in  science, 
which  is  a  pity  as  we  could  ex-
change  ideas  and  also  push  for 
wider  visibility 
for  scientiﬁ c 
broadcasting.  We  are  trying  to 
build up a network of people.”

... and beyond
is  also  a  mushroom-
Radio 
ing  medium  in  the  developing 
world, and Laura Carpenter from 
RELAY  described  the  growth  in 
Africa, where interactive radio is 
very  popular.  RELAY  is  working 
to  create  pools  of  young  jour-
nalists who want to break down 
the barriers between researchers 
and the media. 

Jan-Olov Johansson (Swedish Radio): “Science is an essential part of society”.

According to numerous surveys, 
the radio is Europe’s most trust-
ed  medium,  and  more  people 
listen  to  the  radio  than  watch 
television – apparently, all Euro-
pean  households  have  three 
radio  sets  apiece.  At  the  same 
time,  contrary  to  general  belief, 

the public would welcome more 
programmes  about  science.  A 
packed  auditorium  at Tuesday’s 
session on science broadcasting 
heard  about  innovative  science 
programming 
in  the  Nether-
lands, 
the  United  Kingdom, 
Sweden, France and Italy.

Universities for the people

European  research  session’.  “It  is  not 
enough  for  people  to  go  to  museums; 
they need to go back to them again and 
again. Science museums need to be seen 
as a tool for social change.”

network  representing  some  330  centres 
and  museums  in  30  countries.  “Direct 
contact between scientists and the pub-
lic is the best way of promoting the sci-
entiﬁ c vocation.”

And, in a society where people are grow-
ing  increasingly  dependent  on  S&T,  but 
the gap between science and its users is 
growing, a change in cultural attitudes is 
urgently needed.

At the interface
Science  centres  stand  at  the  interface 
between  the  scientiﬁ c  community  and 
society  at  large,  and  this  is  what  makes 
their mission so crucial. “Science centres 
can  be  inspiring,  particularly  for  young 
people,”  explained  Walter  Staveloz,  the 
executive director of ECSITE, a European 

And an enormous amount of direct con-
tact  takes  place  at  these  institutes. “Sci-
ence  centres  are  cultural  institutions 
where  a  lot  of  visitors  from  all  walks  of 
life take part in all kinds of science-based 
activities,” noted Asger Høeg, director of 
Denmark’s Experimentarium.

These  include  interactive  scientiﬁ c  ex-
periments,  peer-to-peer  teaching  by 
pupils, outreach activities, teacher train-
ing courses, conferences and debates on 
hot  topics  and  controversial  issues,  and 
much more.

The science of ‘cool’ 
Science centres not only target the general 
public but they also address scientists. For 
instance, the National Museum of Emerg-
ing Science and Innovation (Miraikan) in 
Japan,  organises  special ‘live  talk’  events 
in which young and upcoming scientists 
get  a  chance  to  talk  about  their  work  to 
undergraduate students.

“We  try  to  promote  the  idea  of  ‘hot’  and 
‘cool’  young  researchers,”  observed  Mi-
raikan’s  Noyuri  Mima.  Naturally,  this  is 
done  scientiﬁ cally.  The  researchers  giving 
the talk are chosen through a careful vetting 
procedure and, based on a participant sur-
vey following the debate, they are provided 
with  feedback  to  help  them  improve  their 
communication skills “in order to bring the 
wonderful world of S&T to the public”.

Science centres and museums serve 
a  well-recognised  function  as  the 
face, or showcase, of all that is new 
and exciting in the world of science 
and  technology.  But  their  role  is 
evolving from that of scientiﬁ c shop 
front  to  fully  ﬂ edged  universities 
for the people.

Science exhibitions have been popular in 
Europe since the 19th century. However, 
science  centres  and  museums  began  to 
spread  in  earnest  in  the  1970s.  Today, 
there  are  hundreds  –  if  not  thousands 
–  of  them  across  Europe  attracting  mil-
lions of visitors each year.

These popular centres have evolved from 
simple  static  displays  and  now  provide 
numerous interactive and ‘hands-on’ in-
stallations, and carry something of inter-
est for visitors of all ages. But it is not all 
about ‘showing’  people,  but  also  engag-
ing them in the scientiﬁ c domain. Their 
primary purpose is to ‘edutain’ the pub-
lic about science.

“Science centres should be seen as uni-
versities  for  the  people,”  Jorge  Wagens-
berg, the director of Barcelona’s Cosmo-
Caixa  centre,  told  the  ‘Science  centres 
–  privileged  fora  for  communicating 

4  THE EXCERPT  

Proﬁ le

Taking the responsibility 
to communicate

How  can  we  communicate  the  waves  of  scientiﬁ c 
research surging across society daily? Should scientists 
be expected to explain their work directly to the public? 
And  in  an  age  of  ever-increasing  specialisation,  is 
their  complaint  of  being  misunderstood  any  more 
legitimate  than  that  of  other  career  professionals? 
Yes and no, says Wolfgang Heckl, who knows a thing 
or two about communicating science to the public.

From the 
lab to the 
museum

Born in 1958, Wolfgang 
Heckl studied physics at 
the Technical University of 
Munich, Germany where 
he was awarded a doctorate 
in biophysics. In 1993, he 
was appointed Professor 
of Experimental Physics 
at the Ludwig Maximilian 
University of Munich 
where he currently teaches 
nanophysics, a subject 
for which he expresses 
great passion. 
A dynamic speaker whose 
informal and friendly 
mannerisms immediately 
strike a chord with listeners, 
Heckl quickly gained a 
reputation in the early 
nineties for his clear and 
direct explanations, via 
television documentaries, 
of human DNA. His 
efforts to promote a better 
understanding of science to 
people of all ages led to his 
winning the EU’s Descartes 
Communication prize in 
December 2004.
As Director General of the 
Deutsches Museum in 
Munich, Heckl is in the ideal 
place to observe the general 
public’s understanding or 
mistrust of science and 
technology. “We hear a lot 
of talk in Europe about the 
public’s lack of enthusiasm 
for science. But I can assure 
you, I don’t see any evidence 
of this, at least not at my 
museum,” he reveals. 
“More than half of the visitors 
to the Deutsches Museum 
are under 20 years of age and 
their excitement for what 
they see is infectious. 
We reach out to school-
children and teachers 
and they respond in great 
numbers. More than 1 000 
school buses from Italy arrive 
at our front door every year. 
If that’s not an interest in 
science and technology, then 
I don’t know what is!” 

A recipient of the EU’s 2004 Des-
cartes  Communication  Prize, 
Heckl  is  a  natural  communica-
tor:  relaxed,  informal,  with  a 
ready  smile  and,  most  import-
ant, a passion for science. It is a 
passion he communicates clear-
ly when explaining complicated 
ideas,  such  as  the  structure  of 
human DNA or the inﬁ nitesimal 
innovations  of  nanotechnology 
research.

Because  so  much  of  science  is 
abstract  for  the  general  public, 
the  risk  of  misperception  and 
fear  is  high...  risks  that  must  be 
addressed early on and averted, 
says Heckl, who teaches experi-
mental physics at Munich’s Lud-
wig  Maximilian  University  and 
is  director  general  of  the  city’s 
Deutsches  Museum  of  science 
and technology.

Moving with the times
“Ours is the ﬁ rst generation where 
the  results  of  science  are  being 
felt  immediately.  At  no  point  in 
history have science and research 
moved as fast from the laboratory 
into society and the market place 
as today. That’s a fantastic devel-
opment  but  it  also  means  that 
people have no time to deal with 
it,  to  understand  what  is  hitting 
them,” he explains. 

The  ongoing,  and  hotly  con-
tested,  debate  over  genetically 
modiﬁ ed  organisms  (GMOs)  in 
Europe  is  a  good  example,  ac-
cording  to  Heckl.  As  is  nanote-
chnology,  one  of  his  favourite 
subjects,  although  he  does  not 
expect  this  debate  to  reach  the 
same fever pitch.

“Five years ago I would have ar-
gued for a very proactive stance 
on the science community’s part 
to avert public fears about nano-
technologies.  But  it’s  been  han-
dled in a way since then that has 
not stirred up concerns. Also, the 
beneﬁ ts of nanotechnology, par-
ticularly  in  the  ﬁ eld  of  human 
medicine,  are  visibly  improv-
ing  society  and  that  has  helped 
demonstrate  the  technology’s 
force  for  doing  good,”  he  says, 
adding  that “new,  groundbreak-
ing  technologies  are  potentially 
frightening for the public, espe-
cially  when  they  are  difﬁ cult  to 
understand”.

Wolfgang Heckl 
“It is unrealistic to think that most scientists can become 
effective communicators of the research they do.”

Yet  understand  them  the  public 
must − or at least make an effort 
to grasp the more important sci-
entiﬁ c developments of the day, 
he insists. 

do not share that view. And here 
I  am  thinking  of  the  theocra-
cies  of  our  world  where  terror-
ism, conﬂ ict and wars are such a 
problem.”

No excuse for ignorance 
“If  you  expect  to  be  part  of  a 
democratic society, you must be 
able  to  follow  the  most  import-
ant  decisions  of  the  day  which 
affect  your  life.  Politicians  are 
being  called  upon  to  deal  with 
more and more issues today that 
are pervaded by science.” 

The  feedback  between  an  in-
formed  citizenry  and  its  sci-
is  also 
entiﬁ c  establishment 
critical  to  the  underpinnings  of 
empirical enquiry. It is here that 
Heckl,  who  has  obviously  given 
the  subject  great  thought,  turns 
philosophical.

“There’s  a  very  good  reason, 
among  others,  why  we  in  the 
West  are  as  rich  as  we  are.  Sci-
ence  has  led  us  down  the  path 
of  prosperity,  but  it  is  a  science 
based on empirical enquiry free 
from  religious  or  state  interfer-
ence,”  he  observes.  “Our  secu-
lar  choice  −  the  separation  of 
science  from  state  and  religion 
−  is  the  West’s  great  strength.  I 
have no doubts that the spirit of 
enquiry  and  the  beneﬁ ts  it  pro-
duces  will  always  triumph  over 
other  regions  of  the  world  that 

Renaissance speakers?
That  view  is  easier  stated  than 
enacted, however, given that sci-
ence  today  now  raises  so  many 
ethical-cum-religious  issues  in 
areas such as stem cell research, 
creationism  vs.  Darwinism,  or 
even  the  technologies  that  are 
able  to  keep  a  brain-dead  body 
alive indeﬁ nitely. 

Heckl  has  no  sympathy  for  re-
searchers  who  fail  to  engage 
with  the  public  yet  complain  of 
being  overlooked  or  misunder-
stood.  “If  they’re  ignored,  that’s 
their  fault,”  he  says.  But  he  also 
acknowledges that not every sci-
entist  is  skilled  or  motivated  to 
communicate publicly. 

“It  is  unrealistic  to  think  that 
most  scientists  can  become  ef-
fective  communicators  of  the 
research  they  do,”  he  says.  “In-
deed, most are not. They are fo-
cused  on  their  work  and  many 
don’t explain it well to a lay audi-
ence.  But  that’s  okay,  as  long 
as  we  have  a  few  ‘renaissance 
scientists’  −  those  with  a  grasp 
of  the  intersection  between  sci-
ence  and  the  humanities,  be-
tween  technology  and  society 

at  large  −  who  can  explain  the 
concepts  and  put  them  into  a 
wider  perspective  for  the  pub-
lic.  I’m  thinking  of  several  Carl 
 Sagans!”  he  exclaims,  referring 
to  the  late  US  astronomer  who 
had  a  popular  global  following. 
“We  only  need  a  few  such  indi-
viduals around Europe. But they 
would do the job.”

Meanwhile, back 
at the museum...
In  the  meantime,  Heckl  is  fo-
cused on taking his museum in 
a  new  direction  and  on  prepar-
ing  for  the  next  EuroScience 
Open Forum (ESOF), scheduled 
to  take  place  in  Munich  in  July 
2006.  Building  on  its  ﬁ rst  suc-
cessful  gathering  in  Stockholm 
last  year,  ESOF  “is  a  platform 
for  public  debate  across  all 
 scientiﬁ c  discip lines  and  is  the 
sort  of  forum  I  ﬁ rmly  support,” 
 explains  Heckl,  who  will  chair 
the event.

His  other  priority  is  to  expand 
the  Munich  museum’s 
focus 
beyond  the  display  and  explan-
ation  of  technology. “My  dream 
is  to  turn  part  of  the  Deutsches 
Museum  into  an  experimental 
centre for advanced science and 
research,” he conﬁ des. 

Given  his  engaging  powers  of 
persuasion,  Heckl  will  probably 
see that dream realised. 

The story 

THE EXCERPT  5

FP7 to boost research

The Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) is set to run from 2007 to 2013. The proposed budget, still to be approved, represents a doubling 
of research funding per year as compared to FP6, from about €5 billion to around €10 billion.

For  the  Union,  research  remains  key  to  achieving  the 
stated goal of becoming the world’s most dynamic and 
competitive  knowledge-based  economy.  Science  and 
technology contribute to economic growth, job creation, 
environmental  protection  and  improving  social  condi-
tions, including ﬁ ghting poverty and improving human 
health and quality of life.

Four Speciﬁ c Programmes under FP7:
Co-operation (€44.4 billion)
Promoting  research  co-operation  both  within  the  EU 
and  beyond  its  borders. This  Programme  is  further  di-
vided into nine themes (see below).

Ideas (€11.9 billion)
An autonomous European Research Council will admin-
ister  funding  for  groundbreaking  research,  focusing  on 
promising concepts and ideas.

Capacities (€7.5 billion)
Promoting regional co-operation and innovative SMEs, 
and bolstering Europe’s research infrastructure.
‘Capacities’ will include a sub-programme ‘Science and 
Society’  focusing  on  science  education  and  broader 
communication  between  scientists,  policy-makers,  the 
media and the public.

People (€7.1 billion)
Marie Curie Actions promote skills and career develop-
ment, increasing mobility between universities and in-
dustry, and between European countries.

Two special programmes:
Joint Research Centre (JRC) (about €1.8 billion)
The JRC Directorate-General provides research support 
to EU policy-makers.

Euratom (€4.7 billion)
The EU’s nuclear research programme.

Research themes under 
the Co-operation Speciﬁ c Programme

1. Health (€8.3 billion)
Improving the health of Europeans while strengthening 
the Union’s health-related industries.

2. Biotechnology, food and agriculture (€2.5 billion)
Supporting  the  life  sciences,  protecting  and  exploiting 
Europe’s biological resources.

3. Information society (€12.7 billion)
Developing vital tools in many sectors.

4.  Nanotechnologies, materials and production 

(€4.8 billion)

Transforming  chemistry,  medicine,  material  sciences, 
information technologies, transport and energy.

5. Energy (nearly €2.9 billion)
Searching for sustainable energy sources and improving 
current fossil-fuel-based technologies.

6. Environment (nearly €2.5)
Understanding climate change and promoting sustain-
able resource management.

7. Transport (€5.9 billion)
Developing integrated ‘greener’ and ‘smarter’ pan-Euro-
pean transport systems, including Galileo, the EU’s sat-
ellite navigation system.

8. Socio-economic research (€800 million)
Focusing on socio-economic challenges such as growth 
and employment, social cohesion and sustainability.

9. Security and space (€4.0 billion)
Protecting citizens from terrorism and organised crime 
and  promoting  a  European  Space  Programme  and  the 
Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) 
initiative.

For more information on FP7 and how to participate:
EU research: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research
Seventh  Framework  Programme:  http://europa.eu.int/
comm/research/future/index_en.cfm
Information on research programmes
and projects: http://www.cordis.lu/
RTD info magazine: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/rtdinfo/
Information requests: research@cec.eu.int 

IST research – coming to a television near you

Television continues to be the medium which, more 
and  more,  is  delivering  science  to  an  increasing 
number  of  people  across  Europe.  YourIS.com,  the 
video portal for Information Society research offers 
free material for broadcasting, featuring emerging 
results 
Information  Society 
from  EU-funded 
Technologies (IST) projects.

YourIS.com: video portal for information society research.

The YourIS service is straightfor-
ward to use. Anyone can visit the 
multimedia website and select a 
project in the research area they 
are interested in, related directly 
to those areas funded under the 
IST programme. 

Visitors  to  the  portal  can  check 
preview  clips  about  the  project, 
using streaming technology and, 
if necessary, order the full video 
rushes (longer chunks of raw vid-
eo material) about seven to eight 
minutes  long  –  of  broadcasting 

–  YourIS  features  a  40-second 
ﬁ lm  about  this  project  which  is 
aiming  to  develop  a  biometric 
recognition  system  using  face 
and voice data. It is designed to 
protect  on-line  consumers  and 
internet bankers. More extensive 
video footage can be ordered on-
line, with other information, too.

The  beneﬁ ts  of  a  service  like 
YourIS  are  many.  On  one  level, 
it makes results from  potentially 
complex  research  projects  eas-
ily  accessible  through  one  of 
the  most  pervasive  and  active 
channels  of  communication 
 Non-
in  Eur ope  –  television. 

 specialists  can  visit  the  site  and 
see,  through  streaming  videos, 
tasters  of  the  kind  of  research 
work that is going on in Europe. 
On  another  level,  it  can  stimu-
late,  through  the  same  chan-
nels,  knowledge  sharing  within 
the scientiﬁ c community. To put 
it  simply,  YourIS  offers  a  com-
plete package of information for 
any  production  house  or  video 
journalist trying to get a science 
message across.

the 
the  beginning  of 
Since 
project, YourIS video pieces have 
been broadcast nearly 100 times 
in 16 European countries. 

The web is another way to promote results of IST research project.

quality. This can be used to edit 
into  their  own  documentary  or 
video  product.  All  the  informa-
tion is rights-free and completely 
free of charge.

Teasers, rushes and 
much more
And, that’s not all. An accompa-
nying package of on-line articles, 
story  sheets,  and  lists  of  video 
shots,  suggested  commentaries, 
web  links,  and  custom-made 
news  can  also  be  found  on  the 
portal.  There  is  even  a  list  of 
transcribed sound bites from the 
ﬁ lmed material. YourIS provides 
everything  a  production  com-
pany,  journalist  or  editor  might 
need  to  make  a  TV  programme 
or promotional documentary. 

So  what  kinds  of  IST  project  re-
sults can you ﬁ nd on this portal? 
Speciﬁ cally,  projects  where  dig-
ital  technology  is  being  used  to 
improve  peoples’  lives.  One  ex-
ample is the SoDa project, under 
the  ‘health’  category.  Users  can 
view a ‘teaser’ (a preview clip of 
about  30  seconds)  or  order  the 
rushes about SoDa, a new server 
which helps oncologists track the 
levels  of  solar  radiation  in  any 
area throughout a patient’s’ life-
time. Another example is BANCA 

 
6  THE EXCERPT  

Prizes

Descartes’ lessons on 
science communication

How  to  make  green  slime,  the  crazy  tale  of  BSE, 
mathematics you can touch, university for children, a 
Mars lander named after a dog ... these are just a few 
of the subjects nominated for the annual Descartes 
Prize for Science Communication.

Conveying  the  thrill  of  research, 
the  excitement  of  discovery  and 
the charisma of outstanding per-
sonalities,  they  spark  interest  in 
research  and  research  careers, 
especially among youngsters. 

nises  teams  of  EU   researchers 
achieving excellent scientiﬁ c and 
technological 
through 
transnational  research.  The  win-

results 

ners  of  both  Prizes  will  be  hon-
oured  at  a  special  award  cere-
mony  at  the  Royal  Society  in 
London, on 1-2 December 2005. 

The  Descartes  Science  Commu-
nication Prize was launched two 
years ago to reward outstanding 
achievements  in  the  public  un-
derstanding of science.

“Showcasing remarkable success 
stories across Europe, [it] fosters 
interest in science, demonstrates 
the  beneﬁ ts  of  research  for  so-
ciety,  challenges  scientists  and 
science  communication  profes-
sionals to communicate more ef-
fectively,  and  encourages  young 
people  to  engage  in  scientiﬁ c 
careers,”  notes  a  Commission 
statement.

The  23  projects  nominated  for 
the  2005  Descartes  Science 
Communication  Prize  span  a 
var iety  of  areas  which  include  
books,  documentaries,  interac-
tive  events,  multimedia  prod-
ucts,  and  newspaper  columns. 
The common factor is their abil-
ity to communicate complex is-
sues to a wide public. 

The  competition 
is  open  to 
winners  of  similar  national  sci-
ence  communication  prizes. 
Prize-giving  bodies  submit  their 
nominees  for  Descartes  under 
several  categories:  professional 
scientists  engaged  in  public  sci-
ence  communication;  popular-
ising  science  through  the  writ-
ten  word;  popularising  science 
through  audio-visual  and  elec-
tronic  media;  innovative  activ-
ities  in  science  communication; 
and  editorial  policy  promoting 
science. 

A  panel  of  leading  scientists, 
 media and science communica-
tion professionals whittled down 
this  year’s  23  nominees  from  65 
top-class  submissions  –  up  30% 
on  last  year.  The  ﬁ ve  laureates 
will receive  50 000 each and the 
ﬁ ve ﬁ nalists  5 000 each.

the 
The  Prize  complements 
 Descartes  Prize 
for  Research, 
launched  in  2000,  which  recog-

The 23 nominees:
• ‘A Short History of Everything’ by Bill Bryson 
• Dr Robert Arlinghaus 
•  ‘Ediak – Educational Interactive Animations for Kids’ by Alain 

Hubert 

• ‘Flicoma – First Flight’ by Steve Nicholls and Alfred Vendl 
• ‘Fokus Schwei’ by Roland Blaser 
• ‘Folle Histoire (Archimède)’ by Raphaël Girardot 
• ‘L’aluminium: un si Léger Métal’ by Yvan Grinberg
• ‘Le Sacriﬁ ce’ by Emanuela Andreoli and Wladimir Tchertkoff 
• ‘Les Origines du Sida’ by Catherine Peix and Peter Chappell
• ‘Masterclasses’ by Professor Michael Kobel 
• Mr Jorge Candan
• ‘Overleven’ by Jos Van Hemelrijck
• Professor Frances Balkwill 
• Professor Albrecht Beutelspacher 
• Professor Thorsteinn Vilhjamsson
•  ‘Really Rotten Experiments’ by Nick Arnold and illustrator Tony 

De Saulles 

• ‘Sac-Outreach’ by Professor Colin Pillinger
• ‘Science in Motion’ by Dr Carl Johan Sundberg  
• ‘Stardust’ by Dr Anja C Andersen 
• Swiss Academy of Sciences Prix Media 2003 George Szpiro 
• ‘Tübinger Kinder-Uni’ by Michael Seifert 
• ‘The Science Forum Finland’ and Jan Rydman
• ‘Voyage dans le Monde des Quanta’ by Etienne Klein

Today,  scientiﬁ c  excellence  is 
critical for Europe to succeed in 
the  competitive  environment  of 
international  research  and  sci-
entiﬁ c  development.  But  is  this 
such a new concept? 

French  philosopher,  mathem-
atician  and  scientist  René  Des-
cartes  understood  the  power  of 
scientiﬁ c  communication  over 
350  years  ago.  The  Descartes 
Prize honours not just his name 
but  also  what  he  stood  for.  His 
willingness  to  share  his  ideas 
with  peers  across  Europe  is  a 
poignant metaphor for what the 
EU  is  trying  to  achieve  with  the 
Descartes Prizes.

Let your hair down, 
scientifically

People  of  the  opinion 
that  science  is  dull  and 
dry  have  obviously  never 
attended any of the hun-
dreds  of  science  festivals 
held  across  Europe  every 
year.  They  include  the 
EU’s  very  own  European 
Science  Week,  where 
scientiﬁ c  knowledge 
is 
brought  to  life  in  a  fun 
and engaging fashion.

the 

Reﬂ ecting 
impor-
tance  of  science  in  every 
aspect  of  contemporary 
life, 
regional  authori-
ties,  Member  States  and 
the  European  Union  organise  numerous  science  festivals  eve-
ry  year.  At  these  events,  European  science  sheds  its  lab  coat, 
lets  down  its  scientiﬁ c  hair  and  invites  European  citizens  to 
celebrate knowledge.

Through  thought-provoking  activities,  their  mission  is  to  cast 
science in a new light. They bring out the fun in science and seek 
not only to ‘edutain’ (educate and entertain), but also to inspire.

Organised by the Slovenian Science Foundation, Forum Session 
9  explored  a  number  of  crucial  issues  related  to  these  popular 
events, including how to choose interesting results to showcase, 
how to simplify complicated science, and how to train scientists 
to become better communicators.

Participants pick 
their prizewinners

So,  you  attended  CER  2005, 
picked up your conference bag, 
and  collected  brochures  and 
a  handful  of  business  cards  to 
take  home  with  you.  A  great 
many of you also took part in the 
Best Communicators Awards by 
submitting  your  nominations 
under the three categories: Best 
Forum,  Best  Speaker  and  Best 
Stand.  For  this,  the  organisers 
are very grateful. 

‘Leading  by  example’  is  the 
main 
idea  behind  the  CER 
awards,  according  to  a  Euro-
pean  Commission  ofﬁ cial  in-
volved  in  the  prize-giving. “We 
wanted  to  create  an  open  and 
fair system for electing the win-
ners, so we didn’t lay down any 
criteria,  per  se,  for  how  people 
should choose from the lists on 
the ballot form. In the end, the 
most  original  and  stimulating 
speakers,  forums  and  exhibits 
were  elected  democratically  by 
the delegates at the event,” she 
added. 

Participants  ﬁ lled  in  the  voting 
slips and deposited them in the 
ballot  box.  CER  2005  organisers 
then, literally, did a count-off at 
the  end  of  the  ﬁ nal  sessions  to 
come up with the three winners 
in time for the Research DG’s Dir-
ector-General  Achilleas  Mitsos’ 
closing speech (see page 1).

The  three  CER  Communication 
Prizewinners  have  clearly  dem-
onstrated their understanding of 
these basic tenets: that the audi-
ence comes ﬁ rst, and being able 
to  gauge  and  use  feedback  to 
improve communication is vital 
to becoming truly great ‘science’ 
communicators, in particular. 

‘Talking nano’ answered the ques-
tion  ‘What  makes  nanotechnol-
ogy  so  special?”;  ITER  is  the  ex-
perimental  step  between  today’s 
plasma  physics  research  and 
tomorrow’s  electricity  producing 
fusion power plants. Dr Lars-Peter 
Linke of Cognos AG, unites private 
education groups in Germany.  

Best Forum: Talking nano

Best stand: ITER

Best speaker: Lars-Peter Linke

Media corner 

THE EXCERPT  7

Competition  
to be heard  
is growing

Project  managers  are  increasingly  being  called 
upon  to  be  experts  not  just  in  their  scientiﬁc  ﬁelds, 
but also in communication. In a 90-minute session 
focusing on building the skills needed to tackle radio 
and TV  interviews,  Dr  Lars-Peter  Linke  introduced 
his audience to some of the key steps to follow if you 
want to ensure that you get your message across.

To  help  focus  on  the  essential, 
Linke  proposed  a  ﬁve-step  plan 
which,  he  claimed,  can  be  ap-
plied effectively to any situation:
Describe your position – who are 
you  and  what  qualiﬁes  you  to 
talk about the issue.
State the argument in brief – “Re-
search/experience  has  shown 
that ...”
Give an example to illustrate the 
argument – “This means, for ex-
ample, that ...”
Draw  a  conclusion  –  “There-
fore,...”
Call  to  action  –  “We  must  then 
focus  more  money/time/atten-
tion on ...”.

“The  key,”  Linke  claimed,  “is 
not that you get to talk but that 
people  listen.  The  world  is  a 
noisy  place  and  messages  need 
to be concise and focused if they 
are to be heard.” He also stressed 
the  need  to  keep  the  target  au-
dience  in  mind  –  remembering 
that  this  is  not  the  journalist, 
who  is  just  an  intermediary,  or 
one of colleagues ...

Practice makes perfect
Like  all  skills,  good  communi-
cation  takes  practice  and  Linke 
gave  participants  an  oppor-
tunity  for  hands-on  practical 
experience  by  throwing  the  ball 
into their court, giving them ten 
minutes  to  prepare  a  30-sec-
ond  ‘statement’  on  a  question 
of their choice. “The question is 
not important, it’s the technique 
that counts,” he stressed. 

Being  a  good  communicator  is 
becoming  increasingly  import-
ant  in  almost  all  areas  of  work. 
Scientiﬁc  project  managers 
need to develop their communi-
cation  skills  for  several  reasons 
–  whether  it  be  obtaining  fund-
ing, mobilising public support or 
fulﬁlling contractual obligations 
for the dissemination of results. 
The high attendance at this early 
session demonstrated that many 
are motivated to do so. 

In at the deep end
Different  media  require  differ-
ent  skills  to  get  the  message 
across.  In  the  ‘Media  skills  for 
project managers’ session, pub-
lic  relations  professional,  Linke, 
addressed  the  particular  chal-
lenges  of  radio  and  TV  inter-
views,  introducing  his  audience 
to  a  technique  he  compared  to 
bungee  jumping  –  delivering  a 
compelling  key  message  in  just 
30 seconds! 

For TV and radio interviews, the 
ﬁrst question is the one that cap-
tures  the  audience’s  attention 
and sets the scene. It is the one 
where  the  interviewee  is  given 
the  most  time  and  provides  the 
best opportunity to get key mes-
sages across. So it is necessary to 
prepare it well. It has been esti-
mated  by  media  professionals, 
however, that an interviewee has 
approximately  just  30-50  sec-
onds (estimated at +/-75 words) 
to  make  his  or  her  point.  This 
means that you must be concise 
–  so,  what  do  you  leave  in  and 
what do you leave out?

Linke  also  recommended  that 
participants  practice  the  tech-
nique  regularly  in  all  kinds  of 
is 
situations.  “If  your  plane 
late  ﬂying  home  tonight,  for 
example,  use  the  opportunity 
to  develop  a  30-second  state-
ment  on  why  tired  conference-
goers  should  use  reliable  air-
lines.”  Joking  apart,  he  pointed 
out  that  being  able  to  present 
a  concise  ‘story’  is  a  valuable 
skill. He reminded his audience, 
however, that talking faster was 
not  the  solution.  For  the  mes-
sage to be heard, it must ﬁrst be 
understood! 

Pressroom at the CER conference.

Getting a good press 

Several  brieﬁngs  were  organised  each  day  to  enhance  the  communication  of  major  European 
Commission  projects  in  a  variety  of  sectors.  Below  are  just  three  examples  of  research  projects   
presented to the press on Tuesday.

Outlook set fair for ITER

in 

the  negotiations 
Recent  developments 
and  building  of  ITER  –  the  international  fu-
sion  power  experiment  to  be  constructed  at 
Cadarache  in  France  –  were  outlined  during  a 
CER press conference. The international collab-
oration agreement is almost complete between 
the six partners – the European Union, United 
States,  China,  Japan,  Russia  and  South  Ko-
rea.  And,  according  to  ITER  spokesperson  Bill 
Spears, “international collaboration appears to 
be snowballing” with new interest coming from 
countries such as India and Australia.

Licensing  and  regulatory  issues  for  the  ITER 
site  are  already  in  hand.  The  nominee  Direct-
or-General  for  the  project  is  Mr  Kname  Ikeda, 
a  senior  Japanese  ambassador  with  extensive 
technical experience.
The  construction  of  ITER  could  commence  in 
late 2006. It will cost around €5 billion to build, 
and another €5 billion to operate over 20 years, 
but will demonstrate that fusion (the energy that 
powers  the  Sun)  is  a  viable  terrestrial  energy 
source. It has the potential to provide a sustain-
able and virtually unlimited power supply.

A GEANT of a weather forecasting system

The threat from climate change has been recog-
nised as one of the most important issues facing 
the  world  today. Whatever  the  cause  of  global 
warming,  the  outcome  is  increasingly  felt  via 
extreme  weather  events  worldwide. Therefore, 
accurate  weather  forecasting,  which  depends 
on  the  analysis  of  increasingly  large  amounts 
of data, is assuming a greater importance. This 
raw data might be gathered in a country’s own 
national  weather  centre,  but  sharing  detailed 
information  with  and  from  neighbouring  na-
tions (and around the world) is crucial for effect-
ive hazard management and to provide a truly 
global weather-tracking and prediction service.
To respond to the growing need for a Global In-
teractive Forecasting System (GIFS), a group of 
national weather centres, led by the Deutscher 

Wetterdienst,  are  working  together  to  share 
data  over  Europe’s  high-speed  data  network 
– GEANT2. This network enables collaborating 
researchers across Europe and beyond to share 
both  data  and  computing  power.  The  project 
makes  use  of  GRID  computing,  with  GEANT2 
as the essential, underlying structure powering 
the research. It has connections to other global 
networks,  such  as  Red  Clara  (Latin  America) 
and TEIN2 (Asia), which will enable the vision 
of a global weather service to be realised in the 
next few years.
Other  applications  for  GEANT2  include  various 
science  projects  that  must  handle  vast  amounts 
of  data,  such  as  particle  physics  experiments  at 
CERN and the interconnection of widely dispersed 
radio telescopes to huge ‘virtual telescopes’.

The mysteries of methane

This  gas,  which  is  being  produced  continually 
in  unimaginably  vast  quantities  underneath 
ocean  ﬂoors,  offers  huge  commercial  poten-
tial  –  methane  is  natural  gas.  But  these  same 
reserves  are  also  a  source  of  global  warming, 
particularly the methane that escapes from the 
ocean ﬂoor and bubbles up to the surface. 
Fortunately for our Earth, most methane is either 
conﬁned or broken down by natural causes. But 
there  is  growing  evidence  that  global  warming 
may be disrupting that balance, leading to a self-
reinforcing cycle whereby methane released into 
the  atmosphere  leads  to  more  warming  which 
causes  sloped  ocean  ﬂoors  to  shift  and  release 
more underlying methane into the air.
Several  EU  research  projects  are  investigating 
the  complex  interplay  of  ocean  salts,  sea  tem-
peratures and seabed-lying marine bacteria in 
maintaining  the  ‘barrier’  that  prevents  desta-
bilising  volumes  of  methane  from  reaching 

our  atmosphere.  One  of  the  most  intriguing  is 
HERMES,  an  Integrated  Project  involving  45 
European  partners  and  funded  from  the  EU’s 
Sixth Framework Programme. 
HERMES  is  focused  on  the  Black  Sea  and  its 
anaerobic,  or  oxygen-free,  character.  This  in-
land  sea  is  riddled  with  numerous  seepages 
of  methane  gas  bubbles  from  the  ocean  ﬂoor, 
as  well  as  giant  mud  volcanoes  and  carbonate 
‘chimneys’  –  “with  a  thick  ﬂesh  of  organisms 
that oxidise methane and prevent it from rising 
to the surface”, explained Bo Barker Jorgensen, 
whose  organisation,  the  Max  Planck  Institute 
for Marine Microbiology, is among the project’s 
participants.
“We’ve  discovered  that  the  enzyme  produced 
by the organisms to attack the methane resem-
bles  methane  itself. This  goes  straight  back  to 
the very beginnings of chemical processes that 
sparked the creation of life,” he said. 

8  THE EXCERPT  

In brief

Your genetic footprint... 
around your neck 
During Science Week in 
Oslo in 2004, members of 
the public were invited to 
provide samples of their 
DNA from cheek cells. 
These were taken and 
made into ‘necklaces’ – a 
totally unique piece of 
jewellery for the wearer 
and a neat introduction to 
the world of genetics.

The DNA necklace 
experiment was used by 
the Norwegian Research 
Council to try and demys-
tify genetics, which is a 
science topic that often 
scares the public, largely 
through ignorance. Elisa-
beth Andersen of FUGE 
(Functional Genomics), 
a Norwegian Research 
Council initiative, sees 
such events as having a 
real beneﬁ t in commu-
nicating science to the 
public. “Everyone can 
get involved and science 
issues are explained in a 
way which makes them 
less threatening. They 
are also fun; people were 
queuing in the street to 
get their necklace and our 
scientists took the op-
portunity to go and talk to 
them directly.” That is the 
other half of the equation: 
these events are great 
opportunities for scien-
tists to get out among the 
public and become used 
to talking more effectively 
about what they do.

Blowing in the wind
Wind is one of Europe’s 
growing energy sources 
and the European Wind 
Energy Association was 
at CER to explain how it 
works. Wind gener ation 
has been increasing 20% 
each year for the last 
seven years. Denmark 
now generates 21% of 
its electricity from wind, 
and Germany and France 

Boost for the Baltic 
BALTER, a project from 
Poland, is working to 
improve the sustainabil-
ity of the Baltic Sea. The 
University of Gdansk’s Hel 
Marine Station is studying 
the area so as to preserve 
the natural environment 
of the Gulf of Gdansk, the 
Puck Bay and the area’s 
coastal zone.    
Thanks to its support from 
FP5, the project was able 
to set up the only station 
of its kind on the south-
ern Baltic coast, which 
is being developed as an 
internationally recognised 
research and education 
centre, on a par with other 
EU scientiﬁ c institutions. 
The centre is also support-
ing the formation of a new 
generation of scientists 
working in the region.

As well as being educa-
tional, the centre has 
established a number of 
research groups, one of 
which is working to safe-
guard endangered species 
of Baltic marine mammals 
and to put conservation 
measures in place. It aims 
to protect small cetaceans 
(i.e. whales, dolphins and 
porpoises) in the Baltic 
and North Seas, focusing 
in particular on the Baltic 
Harbour Porpoise which is 
an endangered species.

The CER 2005 conference was organised by the 
Information and Communication Unit at the European 
Commission’s Research Directorate-General.

about 6.8%. Overall, wind 
is now responsible for 
2% of Europe’s electricity, 
while EWEA believes that 
potentially it could gener-
ate up to 30%. 

This renewable energy 
has beneﬁ ted directly 
from the liberalisation 
of Europe’s electricity 
market, as all private wind 
generation is now fed 
straight into the electricity 
grid. EWEA explained that 
this has spawned many 
different initiatives – the 
agriculture sector in the 
Netherlands, Germany 
and Denmark is relatively 
advanced in wind gener-
ation, while the citizens of 
Copenhagen (Denmark) 
have shares in an offshore 
wind generator.

Wind generation has 
other plus points, too – it 
has already created 72 000 
jobs and EWEA projects 
that this could reach 
almost 200 000 by 2020. 
And by cutting down on 
the production of green-
house gases, it is also 
helping the EU towards 
meeting its Kyoto targets.

Growing awareness
What if plants could talk, 
shouting when they are 
thirsty or sick? The FP5 
Network of Excellence 
project, PLANTS, is not 
able to actually perform 
that miracle but it comes 
pretty close by picking up 
the signals plants emit 
when distressed or in need 
of attention, such as food, 
light or water. 
PLANTS’ four participating 
institutes in Greece, Ireland 
and the UK have concocted 
a sophisticated system 
of software-and-sensor-
technologies to monitor all 
the things that undermine 
healthy plant growth in 
hothouses, from fungus 
and insect attacks to exces-
sive heat or lack of humid-
ity. The system consists 
of miniaturised weather-
proof sensors embedded 
in the soil next to the plant, 
overhead infra-red cameras 
and wireless technology to 
communicate data collect-
ed to a central computer. 
This constantly analyses 
and responds to the stimuli 
by releasing water, chang-
ing the hothouse tempera-
ture, and so on.

A gender view of science
What is the difference 
between male and female 
scientists, and is cur-
rent science research too 
male-oriented? The Euro-
pean Platform of Women 
Scientists (EPWS) believes 
that science is a male-
dominated profession 
with too few women in 
the top echelons. Because 
of this, most scientiﬁ c 
research lacks a gender 
perspective. The EPWS 
is coordinating networks 
of women scientists from 
across Europe to bring 
about changes.

One of EPWS’ ﬁ rst prior-
ities is to encourage more 
women to stay in science. 
As Isabel Beuter, from 
the Centre of Excellence, 
Women and Science in 
Germany explained: “We 
found that women scien-
tists drop out after their 
PhDs. So, in Germany we 
worked with L’Oreal to 
give women the training 
and encouragement to 
apply for professorships 
in science. We had very 
good feedback and 
hope to expand this 
internationally.”

The lack of women in 
science may also explain 
why scientiﬁ c research 
tends to be male-ori-
ented. “More women 
than men were dying of 
heart attacks, but because 
their symptoms and the 
causes were different they 
weren’t being diagnosed,” 
said Beuter. “It was only 
when women started 
to do research that they 
discovered the reasons for 
women’s heart problems. 
This is a good example of 
why research priorities 
must change.”

Have your say
Within the coming 
days, you will receive a 
questionnaire by e-mail 
concerning your level of 
satisfaction with the CER 
conference. We would 
appreciate it if you would 
ﬁ ll it in as this is the best 
way to help the confer-
ence organisers improve 
their work in future. 
Should you want to send 
any other comments 
about the conference, 
your feedback is welcome 
at research @cec.eu.int

THE EXCERPT is the journal of 
the Communicating European 
Research 2005
International Conference. It is 
published by the Information 
and Communication Unit of 
the European Commission’s 
Research DG. 
Editor in Chief: 
Michel Claessens
Tel: +32 (0) 475 73 49 98
E-mail: 
Michel.Claessens@cec.eu.int

Neither the European Commission, nor 
any person acting on its behalf, may be 
held responsible for the use to which 
information contained in this publication 
may be put, or for any errors, which, 
despite careful preparation and checking, 
may appear.
© European Commission 2005 – non-
commercial reproduction authorised, 
subject to acknowledgement of source.

Published by the 
Directorate-General
for Research

European Commission

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