NewsByte

Projects funded by the European Research Council continue to yield new knowledge, with 81.4% of projects claimed to have led to major scientific advances or to scientific breakthroughs, according to the latest assessment.

Gender stereotypes in choice of subject continue to prevail among university students and academic staff, according to the U-Multirank’s latest gender monitor.

German and French industries are the biggest spenders when it comes to research and development in the information and communications technologies (ICT) sector, making up half of all EU spending, according to the Commission’s latest Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI).

More and more academic papers and books are produced through international collaboration, according to a new report by the consultancy Oxford Economics on productivity in scientific research.

Business enterprise expenditure on pharmaceutical R&D and government budgets for health-related R&D, 2018 (or nearest year)

While no official data are yet available, a preliminary OECD analysis shows the COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments to invest tens of billions across the entire discovery and development chain, including late‑stage clinical trials for drugs and vaccines, moving beyond their traditional role in supporting early-stage research.

Number of net zero energy patents by country and region for the top 10 by portfolio size, 2001–2020. Portfolio size is in logarithmic scale and starts at 100. Data from LexisNexis PatentSight

Annual patent publications in net zero energy technologies have been growing exponentially since 2008, according to a new report by Elsevier.

The number of international collaborations in DFG projects (y-axis) plotted against national expenditure on research and development, adjusted for purchasing power (x-axis). 

When it comes to research ties, distance matters. That is the conclusion of an analysis by the German Research Foundation (DFG), looking at which countries collaborated more or less than expected with Germany.

At least 17 countries around the world have come up with frameworks for boosting hydrogen production to achieve carbon neutrality, but the plans are not enough to meet even half of the global needs by 2050, according to the International Energy Agency’s new report.

Over 87% of Europeans believe solar and wind energy innovations will have a positive effect on their lives in the next two decades, according to a new Eurobarometer survey.

Europeans also have high hopes for vaccines, with 86% of respondents saying they will have a positive impact in the next 20 years. Other innovations viewed as promising include nanotechnology and cognitive enhancement.

Scientists now routinely rely on dedicated infrastructures (ranging from databases and computers to telescopes and monitoring systems) to support them in their work.

In 2020, member states allocated a total €100.8 billion for R&D, equivalent to 0.8% of the EU’s gross domestic product, according to data published by Eurostat today.

The National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation in the US, and the EU’s framework research programme are the largest funders of research projects in artificial intelligence (AI), according to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Solar power accounted for 10% of electricity produced in the EU this summer, a new peak, according to the energy think-tank Ember.

Commercial revenues from satellite launches went up by 50% over the past decade, while an influx of private capital spurred a threefold increase in space technology patents between 2007 and 2017.

The report, Data and Insights on International Science, Technology, and Innovation—Comparative Research Report of 20 Global Cities (2016–2020), produced by Elsevier in collaboration with the Administrative Center of Shanghai R&D Public Service Platforms - analyses academic and industry research activity in 20 major cities.

Major findings include:

Member states in central and eastern Europe are set to spend “a substantial amount’ of EU recovery money on research, with Slovenia dedicating almost a quarter of its budget to science, according to a report by the climate change think tank, E3G.

EU countries report significant growth in electricity production from wind turbines over the past two decades, but the share of the renewable source in the overall energy production remains low.

One in five corresponding authors of scientific papers are working more than 55 hours a week, while a third make less than $30,000 a year, says a new report by OECD looking at policy options to improve job security of academic researchers.

Global spending on COVID-19 vaccines is projected to be $157 billion over the next five years, according to a new report by healthcare data specialist IQVIA.