Brussels, 03/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - In Rome, on 20 November, Commissioner Philippe Busquin will award the 2003 Descartes Prize to the winner chosen from among eight groups of researchers selected during a first round undertaken from a pool including no less than 230 groups of scientists from 21 countries. The award ceremony will be preceded by a seminar-debate on mobility and trans-national scientific careers, chaired by the President of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Professor Giovanni Corso.
The eight finalists are: (1) Agentcities: this project, coordinated by Doctors Ulises Cortes and Steve Willmott from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona (Spain), targeted that development of a new generation of intelligent computer services using a network of 100 organisations in 11 countries. It allowed for the creation a platform that reproduces human responses and is capable of accomplishing certain tasks on behalf of users; (2) MOB: coordinated by Professor Alan Morris for Canfield University in Bedford (United Kingdom). This project allowed for the development of a new computer design engine that will be used in the development of wing-body models for the construction of a new generation of planes; (3) MOLS-IN-MOTION: Professor David Leigh from the University of Edinburgh (United Kingdom) coordinated this project that allowed for significant progress in the field of nanotechnology by describing submolecular movements that respond to stimuli such as light or electrical impulses. The use of these molecular engines could provide numerous applications, including for the targeted distribution of medicines through membranes; (4) THAMS: Doctor Gerassimos Papadopoulos from the Institute for Geodynamics in Athens (Greece) coordinated the work aiming to establish a catalogue of all the tidal waves that occurred in Europe since the 17th Century. This project also allowed for the creation of a system for measuring the intensity of these phenomenons, comparable to the Richter scale for earthquakes; (5) PLEDD: Professor Richard Friend from Cambridge University (United Kingdom) worked with teams from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden on polymer light-emitting diodes for displays (PLEDD). In the future, PLEDD could replace liquid crystals leading to a gain in terms of costs and the flexibility of materials. Thus, we could envisage television or computer screens that can be rolled. (6) NUTATION: this project bears the name of its work: the nutation periods during which the earth's access moves roughly 600 meters, while continuing its course around the sun. Coordinated by Professor Véronique Dehant from the Belgian Royal Observatory, it allowed for the considerable improvement (by 2 to 2-3cm) of measurement of the nutation amplitudes. This result is of great importance for satellite missions and would allow for improvements in satellite positioning; (7) Animalpharm: coordinated by Professor Adriana Maggi from the University of Milan, this project allowed for improvements in the understanding of oestrogen whose shortage has been known to lead to problems such as the loss of memory, osteoporosis and cardiovascular problems in menopausal women. This new information should allow for improvements in hormone replacement therapies; (8) Eurosecrétase: the works coordinated by professors Bart de Strooper from Leuven Catholic University (Leuven) and Paul Saftig from the Christian Albrechts University in Kiel (Germany) confirmed the role of secretases in the production of amyloidal peptides. The accumulation of the latter substance (resistant to proteases) in form of senile plaques in certain parts of the brain may slow or block the transmission of certain information. It often occurs in Alzheimers. The description of the role and the possible inhibition of secretases should allow for the improvement of Alzheimer treatments, but also of various forms of amylases that may be genetic or linked to chronic infections, inflammatory or cancerous.