Whole Truth Coalition

The European Commission plans to help the Irish government communicate “Europe” better to citizens after June’s shock No vote on the Lisbon treaty, with a new inter-institutional agreement to pull together the PR efforts of the main EU institutions.

“It’s not about the European Commission interfering with the procedures and referenda on the Treaty, but it is investing in trying to correct the situation where so many people said they didn’t know anything about the EU, or didn’t know enough to take a position when they were asked,” communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom said on Wednesday (22 October) in Strasbourg.

Ms Wallstrom plans to sign a “memorandum of understanding” on launching a new communication “management project” in Ireland when she visits Dublin on 13 to 14 November.

The one year partnerships - already up and running in Germany, Hungary and Slovenia with eight other EU states about to sign up - see the commission provide EU literature, journalist training, school manuals and other civic education programmes.

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Scientists are a step closer to being able to wipe the mind clean of painful memories, a deveolpment that will offer hope to those with a fear of spiders or who are trying to bury traumatic experiences.

Neurobiologists believe they will soon be able to target and then chemically remove painful memories and phobias from the mind without causing any harm to the brain.

The researchers think that the new technique could help war veterans get over the horrors of conflict and cure people with debilitating phobias.

It could even eventually be applied to ease the pain of a failed relationship or a bereavement.

“While memories are great teachers and obviously crucial for survival and adaptation, selectively removing incapacitating memories, such as traumatic war memories or an unwanted fear, could help many people live better lives,” said Dr Joe Tsien, a neurobiologist at the Brain and Behaviour Discovery Institute at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.

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Following a landmark Commons vote, Britain will become one of a handful of countries in the world to encourage ground-breaking research by implanting human cells into an egg taken from an animal, usually a rabbit.

Pro-life MPs warned that the step could lead to the creation of half-human, half-ape “humanzees” or “minotaurs” - a claim denied by the Department of Health.

Hybrids - called “admixed embryos” by the scientific community - are banned in at least 21 countries, but scientists believe that they could be used to find cures for dozens of serious conditions, from heart disease to dementia.

MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill after being told that it could revolutionise the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, bringing to a close one of the most bitter Parliamentary wrangles of recent years

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