Natura 2000 is regarded as a milestone in nature conservation: this network of around 27,000 protected areas across the EU is designed to preserve wild plant and animal species and their habitats. It is the world’s largest network of protected areas across countries. However, experts say that many of the species and habitats protected there are not in a favourable conservation status. And in some areas, there is a lack of public support. Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Kassel are now demonstrating how a “biocultural approach” can open up new opportunities by incorporating aspects such as the traditions, values and knowledge of the local population into nature conservation. The EU’s aim to make at least 30 per cent of land and sea areas protected areas by 2030 could contribute to the continuing development of the Natura 2000 Network. The researchers detail measures that take into account natural and cultural landscapes together and involve local people. The perspective article was published in the journal Conservation Letters.

 

IITGN researchers have proposed the concept of virtual actuation space (VAS) for Tendon-driven Continuum Robots (TDCRs). This framework can handle multiple sections of a robot with ease, significantly reduce computational demands and improve tracking precision. The scalability of this method can unlock potential in applications, such as minimally invasive surgical procedures, industrial automation, and confined-space inspections, like in aircraft engines.

Professor Timo Betz at Göttingen University’s Faculty of Physics has been awarded Momentum funding by the Volkswagen Foundation for his project “From Cells to Smart Gels: Momentum in Motion”. The award is worth just under 950,000 Euros over 4 years with a possible extension of 2 years. It will enable the translation of biological processes to synthetic materials that mimic key behaviours of living cells. At last, researchers will be able to make use of our current understanding of life to copy key features, like self-organization and physical adaptation, which have developed through evolution over billions of years. The hope is to generate smart materials that can react and adapt to external stimuli just like living entities.

The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) has developed and fielded the next generation of its Insertable Stalk Inspection System (ISIS360), a non-human entry inspection technology designed to improve the safety, speed, and accuracy of shipboard tank inspections across the U.S. Navy’s Surface Fleet. The technology is collapsing inspection timelines from days or weeks to hours and enabling pre-assessment of tank condition, so only tanks requiring maintenance are opened during availability periods.

Illinois Tech engineering professor Qing-Chang Zhong has been elected as a 2025 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for the impact that he has made to academia and industry in advancing autonomous, sustainable, and democratized power systems. 

Zhong is being recognized for inventing the synchronized-and-democratized (SYNDEM) architecture by merging synchronization principles in natural sciences and democracy concepts in social sciences and for pioneering virtual synchronous machines (VSM) technologies to revolutionize power systems.