Nuala Moran

The financial crisis continued to take a bite of R&D investment by Europe’s largest companies in 2009, with investment falling by 2.6 per cent.

It's a 10% cut in real terms, but UK science wins the argument over its contribution to economic growth.

The EU policy of putting excellence before cohesion - funding the best researchers rather than helping the laggards to catch up - has paid off in two important breakthroughs, writes Nuala Moran.

The French innovation agency’s approach to risk-sharing is enabling start-ups to attract private capital and make strides in commercialising new technologies.

Rich men and public venture funds are behind one of German biotech’s largest rounds of the decade.

A new league table that emphasises teaching quality and knowledge transfer marks down Europe’s universities.

UK researchers are told they must “achieve more with less”, as the government confirms there will be big cuts to science in October’s government spending review.

Limiting the number of languages used by a unified patent court is not an affront to Europe’s cultural diversity, but a pragmatic move to increase its competitiveness.

The proposal for a unified patent court is incompatible with EU Treaties, says Europe’s Advocate General, a serious setback for the creation of the European Patent.

As it takes an axe to quangos from education to health, the UK government is laying plans for a new single body to supervise clinical trials.