ASTRONOMY

Northern Europeans can't imagine their households without ovens, whereas Southern Europeans identify the refrigerator as the most essential household appliance. In the area of communications, cars and motorbikes are clearly the technologies of choice in Italy, but are regarded as less important in countries like Norway and Germany. For entertainment, the personal computer is a clear winner as the device considered most essential by all Europeans, followed by the TV and the Internet. This hit parade of technological marvels is the result of a phone and online survey conducted by the Sci-Tech... couldn't be without it! team for this year's European Science and technology week on 4-10 November. The technologies Europeans could not be without form the starting point of three entertaining and informative Webcast shows in Italian (Thursday 7 November at 10:00 CET), French (Thursday 7 November at 15:00 CET) and English (Friday 8 November at 15:00 CET), broadcast live on the Internet from a studio at CERN. During these Webcasts scientists from the seven research Organizations and their industrial partners Sun Microsystems, Siemens, L'Oreal and Luminex will engage - from the CERN studio or from remote locations through teleconference links ? an audience of Internauts all over the world. The public will be taken inside their most popular gadgets to discover the science that made them possible and how vital fundamental research has been in the creation of modern technology. Fundamental science will be brought as close as possible to people's daily lives by showing in an entertaining way how the behaviour of electrons in silicon was essential to the development of transistors and thus to computers, for example. How new medicines are developed by looking at the genome of malaria-carrying mosquitoes, and how cancer can be diagnosed and treated with particle beams. People will be amazed to discover how fashion and design will be soon revolutionised by a new fabric made of the same optical fibre used for advanced computer networks. And how everyday products such as shampoos and sunscreens are developed using advanced scientific instruments like synchrotron radiation sources. The excitement of the Internet audience will be maintained thanks to live quiz shows for 15 to 19 year-old Europeans in the studio and online, with top-tech prizes to win. Teleconference links will be established with scientists in their laboratories all over the world and with remote audiences at the Expolradome in Paris and the Città della Scienza in Naples. Sci-tech… couldn't be without it! will show the next generation of technology users how fundamental research is relevant to everyday life, and draw attention to the fascinating opportunities that lie ahead in the world of research and development. WATCH THE LIVE WEBCASTS3 and take part in the online quizzes Thursday 7 November at 10:00 in ITALIAN Thursday 7 November at 15:00 in FRENCH Friday 8 November at 15:00 in ENGLISH on http://www.cern.ch/sci-tech For more information on the webcasts and the Sci-Tech… couldn't be without it! project contact: paola.catapano@cern.ch tel. 0041 22 767 5456