A recent tide observed at the beaches of Crete has reasonably aroused public interest or concern, for upcoming consequences. But was it just a local phenomenon? Which areas were most affected? How does it evolve over time?

Honey bees pollinate the majority of crops, but their survival is under threat and the parasitic mite Varroa destructor may be a major cause of honey bee decline. Beekeepers use selective chemical acaricides with low bee toxicity to control Varroa infestation, a powerful “pro-drug” approach relying on species-specific bioactivation, to attain this selective toxicity and protect bees.

Research by the teams of Prof. Athanasios Nenes and Spyros Pandis of the Center for Studies on Air Quality and Climate Change (C-STACC; http://cstacc.iceht.forth.gr) of the Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences at the Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas (ICE-HT/FORTH; http://www.iceht.forth.gr) led to the discovery of a chemical mechanism that rapidly produces air pollution from biomass burning, during the night.

Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) and Professor at the Medical School of the University of Crete, was unanimously re-elected Chairman of the Board and Director of the Central Administration of FORTH, by a 7-member Evaluation Committee of distinguished scientists, headed by Dr. George Pavlakis (Head of Human Retrovirus Section, National Cancer Institute – NCI).

The Coastal and Marine Research Laboratory of FORTH, carried out field surveys at the coastal zone of the Municipality of Chersonissos on Friday 11 December 2020, to have an overview of the situation of the areas that were affected by the recent storm, in the framework of its collaboration with the Directorate for Environment and Hydro-economy of the Region of Crete.

The unprecedented rainfall of high amount and intensity that hit the island of Crete during the 9-10th of November, 2020 had as a result the occurrence of extensive floods and landslides in residential and rural areas of the island. Among the severely affected areas was the Regional Unit of Rethymno, with the effects of severe weather on both infrastructures (damages to constructions and road network) and in its primary sector (destruction of crops) being characterized as incalculable.

Prof. Athanasios Nenes, Affiliated Scientist of FORTH/ICE-HT, Coordinating Member of the Center for the Study of Air Quality and Climate Change (C-STACC) and Professor at the School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland was elected by the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fellows Committee as a member of the 2020 class of AGU Fellows.

Α big European research project on developing new software tools for the accurate prognosis and precise treatment of prostate cancer, will be coordinated by Prof. Manolis Tsiknakis, Affiliated Professor at the Institute of Computer Science (ICS) of FORTH.

As announced today in Brussels, Nektarios Tavernarakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH), and Professor at the Medical School of the University of Crete, was unanimously elected Vice President of the European Research Council (ERC).

The European Geoscience Union (EGU) will award Prof. Spyros Pandis the medal Vilhelm Bjerknes for 2021. Prof. Pandis is a collaborating faculty member of FORTH/ICE-HT (Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences) and professor at the Department of Chemical Engineering of the University of Patras. This medal is awarded for significant disciplinary contributions in the Earth, planetary and space sciences and the ceremony will be held during the EGU Annual Assembly, 25-30 April 2021.