A new reference report published today by the JRC lists 79 reference methods for GMO analysis which have been validated according to international standards. This compendium, developed jointly by the EU Reference Laboratory for Genetically Modified Food and Feed (EU-RL GMFF) and the European Network of GMO Laboratories (ENGL), presents the technical state of the art in GMO detection methods. Each method is described in a user-friendly way, facilitating the implementation of GMO legislation by official control bodies.

Most of the methods have been developed by the biotechnology industry and validated by the EU-RL GMFF for their applicability according to EU legislation. They will be used by EU Member States to organise official controls on GMOs and the compendium will therefore contribute to the health and consumer protection of European citizens.

Europe’s cyber security experts are putting their skills to the test today in the first ever pan-European exercise. In “Cyber Europe 2010″, experts will try counter simulated attempts by hackers to paralyse critical online services in several EU Member States. The event is organised by EU Member States with support from the European Network Security Agency (ENISA) and the JRC’s Institute for the Protection and Security of the Citizen (IPSC).

The scale and coordination requirements for conducting exercises with many Member States are high, especially in the case of distributed exercises. The JRC-IPSC studies new approaches and technologies to support large scale cyber-security exercises. In Cyber Europe 2010, the Institute is providing scientific and technical support including the communication and coordination tools that make the exchange of hundreds of simulated events possible.

On 2 November, the European Atomic Energy Community and the United States National Nuclear Security Administration (NSSA) formally expanded their cooperation in the field of nuclear material safeguards research and development to include nuclear security. JRC’s Director General Roland Schenkel representing Euratom and Mark Whitney, US NNSA Assistant Deputy Administrator for Nonproliferation and International Security signed the agreement between Euratom and US Department of Energy at the IAEA International Nuclear Safeguards Symposium held in Vienna.

The November / December edition of the JRC Newsletter has been published and can be downloaded here. It features an editorial by Dominique Ristori, Deputy Director General for Energy at the European Commission on Europe’s policies for a responsible use of nuclear energy.

This month’s issue also has news on the JRC’s innovation projects competition as well as recent research results on corporate R&d investment, soil biodiversity, fisheries science and mass spectrometry.

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on a definition of the term ‘nanomaterial’. The growing use of nanomaterials in consumer products and technological applications has led to the need for a definition of the term for regulatory purposes. A request for a “comprehensive science-based definition” was made by the European Parliament in April 2009. The definition should determine when a material should be considered as a nanomaterial for legislative and policy purposes in the European Union. The Commission invites stakeholders including the general public to put forward their views. The public consultation will run until 19 November.

In July 2010, the JRC published a reference report entitled “Considerations on a definition of nanomaterial for regulatory purposes”. The report discusses possible elements of a definition aiming at reducing ambiguity and confusion for regulators, industry and the general public. It recommends that the specific term “particulate nanomaterial” should be employed in legislation to avoid inconsistencies with other definitions and that size should be used as the only defining property.