Brussels 31/03/2005 (Agence Europe) - European Cooperation in the Field of Scientific Research (COST), which brings together 34 European states, has decided at a meeting of its Committee of Senior Officials (CSO) held on 15 and 16 March in Brussels under the chairmanship of Francesco Fedi to launch 17 new research actions. These actions are aimed, inter alia, at: the improvement of motorcycle helmets; comparative study of the Roman, Mughal and Ottoman empires; improving the utility and interpretation of pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and toxicological data obtained during pharmaceutical product development or, subsequently, through observations in humans; obstructive sleep apnea as a possible cause of increased cardiovascular risk; improving knowledge of the electric neuronal oscillations associated with memory and attention; improving understanding of the structure and biosynthesis of wood macromolecules for the development of new wood-based products.
The committee also decided to institute a two-stage continuous open call for proposals. The goal of this new system is to introduce greater flexibility for the presentation and assessment of proposals on a given theme. COST calls will appear at regular intervals in scientific publications and other appropriate media in order to increase COST's visibility in the scientific community. The committee decided to create an ad hoc working group to draw up, by 15 September 2005 at the latest, a proposal to the CSO to restructure the COST domains. It approved more than 20 requests to take part in ongoing COST actions from research institutes in non-member countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Japan, New Zealand, Russia and the United States.
The CSO's next meeting is planned for 14 and 15 June in Bucharest, Romania.