Dan is-sit juża l-cookies biex joffrilek esperjenza aħjar. Skopri aktar dwar, kif nużaw il-cookies u kif tista' tibdel is-settings tiegħek. Il-Kummissjoni Ewropea Stqarrija għall-istampa Varsavja, it-23 ta' Settembru 2014 L-aqwa xjenzjati Ewropej ingħażlu f'Varsavja Fl-aħħar, iż-żmien ta' stennija ntemm. Il-ġimgħa li għaddiet, il-librerija tal-Università ta' Varsavja kienet mimlija xjenzjati żgħar li jippromettu. 110 riċerkaturi ta' bejn l-14 u l-20 sena ppreżentaw il-proġetti tagħhom waqt kompetizzjoni missielta sew bil-għan li jimpressjonaw ġurija internazzjonali. Huma kienu qed jieħdu sehem fis-26 Konkors annwali tal-Unjoni Ewropea għax-Xjenzjati ż-Żgħar li ntemm illum biċ-ċerimonja tal-għoti tal-premjijiet. Minbarra d-dritt li jitqiesu fost l-aqwa xjenzjati żgħar fl-Ewropa, ir-rebbieħa rebħu bejniethom is-somma totali ta' EUR 62 500, kif ukoll premjijiet mixtieqa oħra bħal vjaġġi marbutin mal-qasam tax-xjenza (ara n-NOTA/14/536). It-tliet premjijiet tal-ewwel post, ta' EUR 7 000 kull wieħed, ingħataw lil João Pedro Estácio Gaspar Gonçalves de Araújo mill-Portugall għall-proġett imsejjaħ “A natural characterization of semilattices of rectangular bands and groups of exponent two”, lil Mariana De Pinho Garcia u Matilde Gonçalves Moreira da Silva mill-Portugall għall-proġett imsejjaħ “Smart Snails” u lil Luboš Vozdecký mir-Repubblika Ċeka għall-proġett imsejjaħ "Rolling Friction". Din is-sena, il-premjijiet tat-tieni post ingħataw lil proġetti mill-Irlanda, il-Bulgarija u s-Slovenja għal proġetti oriġinali fl-oqsma tal-Matematika u l-Kimika. It-tliet premjijiet tat-tielet post ingħataw lil proġetti mill-Litwanja, ir-Renju Unit u l-Ġermanja. Il-konkors kien jinkludi wkoll Premju għall-Kooperazzjoni Internazzjonali, li ngħata lill-aħjar proġett minn pajjiżi barranin mistiedna, jiġifieri l-Istati Uniti tal-Amerika, il-Kanada, iċ-Ċina, in-New Zealand, il-Korea t'Isfel u l-Iżvizzera. Il-premju, li jenfasizza l-benefiċċji tal-kooperazzjoni xjentifika internazzjonali fil-qasam tar-riċerka, intrebaħ minn Eric Giles Schertenleib mill-Iżvizzera għall-proġett imsejjaħ “Jet and Film – On the interaction between a laminar jet and a soap film”. Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, il-Kummissarju Ewropew għar-Riċerka, l-Innovazzjoni u x-Xjenza, qalet: “Dejjem nimmeravilja ruħi bil-kwalità tal-proġetti li jitressqu għal din il-kompetizzjoni, u nixtieq nifraħ lill-parteċipanti kollha għal dan. Ir-riċerka u l-innovazzjoni jiġu mid-diversità tal-ideat, għalhekk għandha nħallu liż-żgħażagħ il-libertà li jiżviluppaw l-ideat tagħhom u joħolqu affarijiet ġodda. Irridu naħdmu iktar ukoll sabiex ikun hemm iktar nisa li jipparteċipaw fl-oqsma tax-xjenza u t-teknoloġija. Dawn huma sfidi reali għas-sistemi tal-edukazzjoni tagħna.” Il-konkors f'Varsavja laqqa' flimkien 77 proġett minn 36 pajjiż, inkluż mill-Istati Membri tal-UE u minn pajjiżi assoċjati oħra u mill-bqija tad-dinja. Il-kandidaturi kollha kienu diġà rebħu l-ewwel premju fil-konkorsi nazzjonali rispettivi ta' pajjiżhom fil-qasam speċifiku tax-xjenza tagħhom. Il-proġetti kienu jkopru temi minn firxa wiesgħa ta' oqsma xjentifiċi: il-bijoloġija, il-fiżika, il-kimika, l-informatika, ix-xjenzi soċjali, l-ambjent, il-matematika, il-materjal, l-inġinerija u l-mediċina. Din is-sena l-ġurija ppresedieha d-Dott. Henrik Aronsson mill-Università ta' Göteborg u kienet tinkludi 18-il xjenzjat internazzjonali mill-oqsma xjentifiċi differenti. Kuntest Il-Konkors tal-Unjoni Ewropea għax-Xjenzjati ż-Żgħar twaqqaf mill-Kummissjoni Ewropea fl-1989 sabiex iħeġġeġ il-kooperazzjoni u l-iskambju bejn ix-xjenzjati ż-żgħar u sabiex jagħtihom l-opportunità jiġu ggwidati minn xi wħud mir-riċerkaturi l-aktar prominenti tal-Ewropa. L-ewwel kompetizzjoni saret fi Brussell, u minn dakinhar 'l hawn saret f'24 belt differenti fl-Ewropa. Il-konkors ifittex li jappoġġa l-isforzi tal-pajjiżi parteċipanti biex jattiraw liż-żgħażagħ lejn l-istudju tax-xjenza, it-teknoloġija, l-inġinerija u l-matematika, u lejn karrieri fix-xjenza u r-riċerka. Minn sena għall-oħra baqa' jiżdied l-għadd ta' xjenzjati żgħar li jipparteċipaw fil-konkors. Fil-fatt, dan l-għadd tela' minn 59 xjenzjat żgħir fl-ewwel edizzjoni fl-1980 għal 110 din is-sena, b'għadd rekord ta' 173 konkorrent fl-edizzjoni tal-2009 li kienet saret f'Pariġi. Ir-rebbieħa tas-snin li għaddew komplew biex qabdu karrieri prestiġjużi fil-qasam tar-riċerka, pereżempju fl-Aġenzija Spazjali Ewropea u fl-Organizzazzjoni Ewropea għar-Riċerka Nukleari (CERN). Wieħed mir-rebbieħa tal-Midalja internazzjonali għal skoperti eċċellenti fil-qasam tal-matematika ta' din is-sena, msejħa l-Midalja “Fields”, il-Professur Martin Hairer, kien rebaħ premju f'dan il-konkors fl-1991. Il-parteċipazzjoni tan-nisa f'dan il-konkors tirrifletti l-kwistjoni usa' tan-nuqqas ta' rappreżentanza tan-nisa fl-oqsma tax-xjenza, it-teknoloġija, l-inġinerija u l-matematika. Din is-sena, 37 % mill-parteċipanti, jiġifieri 41 parteċipant, kienu nisa, meta mqabbla ma' 69 li kienu rġiel. Fl-1997, il-parteċipazzjoni tan-nisa fil-Konkors tal-Unjoni Ewropea għax-Xjenzjati ż-Żgħar qabżet it-30 % għall-ewwel darba, u minn dakinhar 'l hawn ġeneralment baqgħet tvarja bejn it-30 % u l-35 %, b'perċentwali massimu ta' 41 % fl-2005. F'dawn l-aħħar 26 sena, il-premjijiet intrebħu minn 183 żagħżugħa u 614 żagħżugħ. Id-dettalji kollha tal-konkors ta' din is-sena jinsabu fl-indirizz tal-internet li ġej: http://media.eucys2014.pl. It-tliet timijiet li rebħu l-premjijiet tal-ewwel post ingħataw EUR 7 000 l-wieħed, waqt li t-timijiet li ġew fit-tieni u fit-tielet post ingħataw EUR 5 000 u EUR 3 500 l-wieħed rispettivament. Premijiet oħrajn li ntrebħu jinkludu żjarat lill-Forum Xjentifiku Internazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ f'Londra u lis-Seminar Xjentifiku Internazzjonali taż-Żgħażagħ fi Stokkolma, premijiet minn sponsors korporattivi, fosthom żjarat lill-Fiera Internazzjonali tax-Xjenza u l-Inġinerija tal-kumpanija Intel fl-Amerka, kif ukoll premjijiet miċ-Ċentru Konġunt għar-Riċerka, li huwa s-servizz xjentifiku intern tal-Kummissjoni Ewropea, mill-organizzazzjoni pan-Ewropea tar-riċerka Eiroforum u mill-Uffiċċju Ewropew tal-Privattivi. Tista' ssib aktar tagħrif dwar il-konkors u r-rebbieħa fl-indirizz tal-internet li ġej: http://ec.europa.eu/research/youngscientists/index_en.cfm Persuni ta' kuntatt: Michael Jennings (+32 2 296 33 88) Twitter: @ECSpokesScience Monika Wcislo (+32 2 295 56 04) ANNEX 1 Prize-winners 26th European Union Contest for Young Scientists CORE PRIZES Three first prizes (€7 000 per project) Country: Portugal Contestant: João Pedro Estácio Gaspar Gonçalves de Araújo (16) Field: Mathematics Project title: A natural characterization of semilattices of rectangular bands and groups of exponent two Abstract: In a recent paper, R. A. R. Monzo characterized semilattices of rectangular bands and groups of exponent 2. However, his characterization does not point directly to the properties of rectangular bands and groups of exponent 2 (namely, idempotency and commutativity). My work consisted in proving a natural characterization of this type of semillatice. Country: Portugal Contestants: Mariana De Pinho Garcia (16) and Matilde Gonçalves Moreira da Silva (16) Field: Biology Project title: Smart Snails Abstract: The development of a chronic mollusc toxicity test is currently a work item on the agenda of the OECD. We report the improvement and standardization of a toxicity bioassay using eggs of the great pond water snail Lymnaea stagnalis L., which have a biological indicator of water pollutants. We optimized both isolation and synchronization methods to reduce variability, and identified sensitive developmental stages and parameters to assess the putative toxicological effects (i.e. heartbeat, period of development, hatching success, mortality and movement). Our work is an invaluable advancement to develop a reliable, fast and inexpensive environmental embryo toxicity test for molluscan species. Country: Czech Republic Contestant: Luboš Vozdecký (19) Field: Physics Project title: Rolling Friction Abstract: There are many theories in books or on the Internet, each of which describes rolling friction in a different way. The basic idea that is used in almost all theories is that the deformations of underlay cause a force which we observe as rolling friction. Some theories claim that there is a bulge formed in front of the rolling body and this bulge is supposed to cause rolling friction. Although there are no experiments that would either confirm or disprove the theory, this theory seems to be generally accepted. The aim of this work is to design and do an experiment that would capture the deformations of an underlay under a rolling body and that would afterwards either confirm or disprove the theories described above. Another aim of this work is to introduce a theory that would describe the origin of rolling friction and that would correspond to the performed experiments. Three second prizes (€5 000 per project) Country: Ireland Contestant: Paul Clarke (17) Field: Mathematics Project title: Contributions to cyclic graph theory Abstract: Graph theory is an area of pure mathematics which studies properties of linkages and networks. It has applications in several areas including computing, molecular structure, neuroscience, search engines, engineering etc. This project makes a profound contribution to the study of graphs. It identifies key concepts and provides the methodology to apply them to some long-standing major problems in the subject with great success. Country: Bulgaria Contestant: Petar Milkov Gaydarov (17) Field: Mathematics Project title: Hamming Distance of Polynomials over GF(2) Abstract: In the project we examine an issue linked to the conjecture of Gilbert Lee, Frank Ruskey and Aaron Williams concerning irreducible polynomials over GF(2). This issue is interesting because it examines random sets of polynomials close to the set of irreducible polynomials. Their conjecture states that the Hamming distance of every polynomial over GF(2) and its closest irreducible is at most c: The purpose of the present research is to find the mathematical expectation for a given polynomial to have a certain small Hamming distance from this uniformly chosen at random set. This may help us check which properties of the set of irreducible polynomials may lead to the proof of the conjecture. Country: Slovenia Contestant: Aleš Zupančič (18) Field: Chemistry Project title: Self-cleaning fabrics based on nanocovers Abstract: The aim of our research was to develop a nanocoated fabric with a variety of nanoparticles which would have the highest level of the self-cleaning effect and would be environment- and people-friendly. For studying we used lyocell fibres, which were processed in different ethanol suspensions of nanoparticles. We investigated the photocatalysis of TiO2, ZnO, and Fe2O3 nanoparticles. By measuring the absorption spectrum, we determined the optimal ratio between the individual nanoparticles for the highest absorption in visible range. We carried out a test of the self-cleaning effect. We examined how many of the nanoparticles had been released into the environment during the shaking of the fabric in water, and whether the nanoparticles that had been released during the reaction in water were toxic for various aquatic organisms: crustacean Daphnia magna, marine bacteria Vibrio fischeri, and tropical fish Danio rerio. The results show that the tested method can be used for preparing effective coatings that are highly homogeneous and cover the fibre completely. Three third prizes (€3 500 per project) Country: Lithuania Contestant: Matas Navickas (17) Field: Biology Project title: Flowering Apple Tree “Malus baccata x Malus prunifolia” in vitro Abstract: The main idea of my research is to develop a miniature flowering apple tree ”Malus baccata x Malus prunifolia“ by growing it in a test tube. This sort of apple tree grows up to 7 m in height, blossoms red flowers, and grows apples of about 1 cm in size. In my test tubes, though, it is only 5 cm in height; moreover, after flowering it could be transferred and grown in pots. Lots of experiments on selecting plant hormones, testing medium for growing and propagating the tree, and flowering initiation were performed. Genetic analysis in order to find a flowering initiation gene was carried out as well. The developed flowering technology enables people to grow this mini-tree easily and widely, and could also be useful for scientists working on shortening the juvenile period of plants – the time until the first flowering. Country: United Kingdom Contestants: Ameeta Kumar (18) and Aneeta Kumar (18) Field: Medicine Project title: pHLIP? Beacon of hope Abstract: Over 14 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide. It is also the cause of over 8 million deaths globally every year. With early diagnosis and initiation of treatment, the mortality and morbidity rate could be reduced. We investigated the effectiveness of novel pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP) in imaging cancers, by utilising the low extracellular pH environment found around cancer cells. This was studied by growing 3D spheroids as models for tumours and incubating them with pHLIP. The spheroids were then imaged using confocal microscopy. We believe pHLIP imaging could be developed into a powerful tool in the fight against cancer. Country: Germany Contestants: Anselm Bernhard Peter Dewald (19), Philipp Mandler (18) and Robin Braun (18) Field: Engineering Project title: Hexapod - Construction and Programming of a six-legged exploration robot Abstract: Exploration robots can explore collapsed buildings and send real-time images from inside – an important tool for emergency services in disaster areas. Specifically for this purpose, Philipp Mandler, Anselm Dewald and Robin Braun developed and programmed a six-legged walking robot that can be controlled via smartphone. "Hexapod" is more agile and more compact than comparable systems. The mobility talent masters even steps on a staircase and narrow access points. And if Hexapod should lose one of its legs during a deployment, it will continue to move safely even on unknown terrain. The international cooperation prize (€5 000 per project) Country: Switzerland Contestant: Eric Giles Schertenleib (20) Field: Physics Project title: Jet and Film – On the interaction between a laminar jet and a soap film Abstract: This project explains the physics behind the interaction of a thin liquid jet with a soap film. Three different shapes were observed: absorption, refraction and a critical regime. The work was compared to a previous study and shortcomings were identified. The project is both theoritical and experimental. HONORARY AWARDS Stockholm International Youth Science Seminar 2014 Selected winners attend the 2014 Nobel Prize ceremonies, meet the Nobel Laureates and take part in a series of other scientific/cultural activities during the week. Country: Switzerland Contestant: Eric Giles Schertenleib (20) Field: Physics Project title: Jet and Film – On the interaction between a laminar jet and a soap film Country: Czech Republic Contestant: Luboš Vozdecký (19) Field: Physics Project title: Rolling Friction Country: Bulgaria Contestant: Petar Milkov Gaydarov (17) Field: Mathematics Project title: Hamming Distance of Polynomials over GF(2) London International Youth Science Forum 2015 Selected winners meet young scientists from around the world and take part in the annual two-week intensive summer science festival during July-August 2015. Country: Portugal Contestant: João Pedro Estácio Gaspar Gonçalves de Araújo (16) Field: Mathematics Project title: A natural characterization of semilattices of rectangular bands and groups of exponent two Country: Portugal Contestants: Mariana De Pinho Garcia (16) and Matilde Gonçalves Moreira da Silva (16) Field: Biology Project title: Smart Snails SPECIAL DONATED PRIZES There are 30 special donated prizes: JRC (Joint Research Centre): The European Commission's internal science service a five-day visit of a technical and cultural nature to the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany a one-week stay at each of the eight members of EIROforum CERN - The European Laboratory for Particle Physics EUROFusion - JET EMBL - The European Molecular Biology Laboratory ESO - The European Southern Observatory ESA - The European Space Agency ESRF - The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility ILL - The Institute Laue-Langevin XFEL - the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility Intel ISEF 2013 Prizes EuCheMS Wolfram JRC - Joint Research Centre 3 prizes: one week stays at the JRC's Institutes in Ispra, Italy Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Germany Adrian Huck Daniel Heid Rafael Dieter Quadbeck 19 19 17 Biology Thiothrix sp. – Investigation of sulfur oxidizing bacteria for the sensor-controlled desulfurization of biogas Estonia Tatjana Punger 19 Medicine Characterization of Virus-Like Particles Pseudotyped with Influenza Virus Antigens Poland Monika Barbara Leończyk 18 Biology The huge importance of small insects - research about bumblebees EPO - The European Patent Office 3 prizes: five-day visits of a technical and cultural nature to the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Turkey Güner Ali Yenal 16 Biology Alternative Chemotherapeutic Agents: Artemisia dracunculus and Hibiscus sabdariffa's Antitumor Effects on Breast Cancer Italy Federico Buttò Maddalena Bucchi Maria Veronica Di Lenardo 20 19 19 Environment Herbicides and secondary metabolites: a new protocol for their identification and disposal Lithuania Monika Orlovaite Violeta Kalasinskaite 18 18 Environment Natural Implements to Control Bee Mite Infestation EIROFORUM PRIZES CERN - The European Laboratory for Particle Physics One week stay in Geneva, Switzerland Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Ireland Paul Clarke 17 Mathematics Contributions to cyclic graph theory EUROFusion - JET One week stay at Culham, United Kingdom Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Bulgaria Grigori Dobri Matein 18 Physics Analyzing the Sound Produced by Heated Water Solutions with Different Concentrations EMBL - The European Molecular Biology Laboratory One week in Heidelberg, Germany Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Slovakia Lukáš Jánošík 18 Biology Effect of deletion of Mhb1 protein gene on cellular response and replicative aging in yeast Yarrowia lipolytica ESO - The European Southern Observatory Visit to ESO site in Chile Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Spain Sergio Hernandez Cuenca 19 Physics Astronomical Model. Development and programming of new algorithms of Positional Astronomy ESA - The European Space Agency Participate at a major European space science conference under the sponsorship of the European Space Agency, including coverage of their travel and accommodation costs. Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Norway Sander Sebastian Henschien Coates 19 Physics Investigating "pumping", a technique applied in skateboarding quarter pipes ESRF - The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility One week stay in Grenoble, France Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Hungary Szabolcs Rozsnyik 18 Chemistry Research of Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes Composites' photochemical properties ILL - The Institute Laue-Langevin One week stay in Grenoble, France Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Slovenia Aleš Zupančič 18 Chemistry Self-cleaning fabrics based on nanocovers XFEL - the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser Facility One week stay in Hamburg, Germany Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Slovakia Jakub Šalko 18 Physics Observation and Modeling of Planetary Nebulae Spectra Intel ISEF 2014 Prizes 3 prizes: participate at Intel ISEF in May 2015, Pittsburgh (PA), USA Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Bulgaria Marin Blagoev Shalamanov Vasil Georgiev Vasilev 17 18 Computing Genetic Algorithms for Foreign Exchange Trading Czech Republic Vojtěch Boček 19 Computing LORRIS TOOLBOX - Microprocessor Application Development Kit Poland Jerzy Krzysztof Szuniewicz 17 Physics Optimizing the Process of Single Photons Coupling into Single-Mode Fibers by Using a Genetic Algorithm and Spatial Light Modulation EuCheMS special donated prize for chemistry €1 000 Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title New Zealand Thomas Andrew Morgan 19 Chemistry The effect of UV light on vitamin D2 concentration in oyster mushrooms WOLFRAM Wolfram Research All Mathematics students are awarded a free one year Mathematica Student Edition license + free one-year subscription to WolframAlpha Pro HOST ORGANISER SPECIAL DONATED PRIZES University of Warsaw 5 prizes: Internships in the faculties of Mathematics, Informatics and Mechanics, Biology and Chemistry Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Italy Antonio Pio Di Virgilio Domenico Parigino Francesco Antonio Tucci 20 18 20 Medicine A new method for the diagnosis of Enterobius vermicularis infestation Turkey Emre Girgin Osman Akar 17 18 Mathematics On a New Class of Triangle Centers and Their Pedal Triangle Finland Maura Kere 18 Medicine How do varying concentrations of caffeine affect the expression of the selected genes ATM, CYP1A2, ADORA2A, DRD2, NRCAM, and COMT in the human neuroblastoma cell line SH-SY5Y? Czech Republic Emil Skříšovský 19 Mathematics The Simson-Wallace Theorem and Its Generalizations in the Plane and Space Austria Dominik Heinz Dörler Hanna Franziska Weiss Simon Moll 19 18 18 Chemistry Development of a procedure for recovering phosphorus from sewage sludge ash and development of a low-cost rapid measuring instrument for the quantification of phosphorus PZU Foundation Prizes 2 prizes of €2 500 Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title USA Faye Jong Sow Fei 15 Environment Bio-Waste Materials as Eco-Friendly Mordant in Fabric Dye Process Canada Daniel Malcolm McInnis 16 Engineering Picture This!: A Novel Approach to Limb Donor Identification & Prosthetic Design Ministry of Science and Higher Education Prizes 2 prizes of €2 500 Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Switzerland Camill Eric Oberhausser 20 Social sciences Moral Attitudes – Differences between Women and Men South Korea Jiyoon Kim 17 Social sciences Investigating Mathematical Nature of Korean Traditional Music; Comparing Folk Music and Royal Music Samsung Electronic's Prizes 3 electronic devices Country Name of contestant Age Field Project title Spain Aina Guijarro Baude 19 Social sciences Learning Spanish as a foreign language. Error analysis Belarus Ilya Novoselskiy 16 Environment Bioconversion of chicken manure into the biomass of microalgae (Dunaliella salina) Belarus Nikita Kondratyonok 16 Mathematics Continued Fractions and Euclidean Algorithm in Norm Unique Factorization Domain