Press Releases

Browse through the various press releases from the EIROforum institutions.

ESRF, 15 May 2013
ESRF lays grey gold paving in new experimental halls
State-of-the-art technology is commonplace at the ESRF and this rule does not just apply to instrumentation. Today, one of the seemingly most basic and fundamental ingredients of construction, and certainly the most used man-made product in the world, namely concrete, has been elevated to a new status: that of “grey gold”.

ESO, 15 May 2013
Orion's Hidden Fiery Ribbon
This dramatic new image of cosmic clouds in the constellation of Orion reveals what seems to be a fiery ribbon in the sky. This orange glow represents faint light coming from grains of cold interstellar dust, at wavelengths too long for human eyes to see.

ESA, 14 May 2013
ESA opens its doors in UK
David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, and Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, today unveiled the Agency’s first UK facility: ECSAT, the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, located at the Harwell Oxford campus.

CERN, 14 May 2013
Physicists at CERN measure a fundamental property of the rarest element on Earth
An international team of physicists at the radioactive-beam facility ISOLDE at CERN have for the first time measured the ionization potential of the rare radioactive element astatine.

EMBL, 14 May 2013
But what does it do?
Although we know the tool’s general purpose, it can sometimes be difficult to tell if a specific pair of precision tweezers belongs to a surgeon or a master jeweller. It is now easier to solve similar conundrums about a type of protein that allows cells to react to their environment.

CERN, 13 May 2013
CERN inaugurates a scientific tourist trail, the Passport to the Big Bang
On 2 June 2013, CERN, in collaboration with its local partners, will be inaugurating a scientific tourist trail through the Pays de Gex and the Canton of Geneva known as the Passport to the Big Bang. A major programme of activities has been organised for the general public.

CERN, 8 May 2013
First observations of short-lived pear-shaped atomic nuclei
An international team at the ISOLDE radioactive-beam facility at CERN has shown that some atomic nuclei can assume asymmetric, "pear" shapes. The observations contradict some existing nuclear theories and will require others to be amended. The results are published in the journal Nature on 8 May 2013.

ESA, 7 May 2013
ESA’s Vega launcher scores new success with Proba-V
The second flight of ESA’s newest launch vehicle has been completed from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Two Earth observation satellites, ESA’s Proba-V and Vietnam’s VNREDSat‑1A, were released into different orbits, demonstrating the rocket’s versatility.

ESO, 2 May 2013
An Anarchic Region of Star Formation
The Danish 1.54-metre telescope located at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile has captured a striking image of NGC 6559, an object that showcases the anarchy that reigns when stars form inside an interstellar cloud.