Press Release: EU Contest for Young Scientists: European young science stars selected to shine in Paris

15 European and non European promising young scientists, aged between 14-20, have been rewarded for their scientific project, of the highest quality, at the EU Contest for Young Scientists. The winners will share € 51,500 in prizes. The event, organised by the European Commission and the French national host organiser, 'Sciences à l'Ecole' and the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) took place for the first time in Paris at the well-known 'Palais de la découverte', a place of scientific education for generations. 87 projects were presented. The three first prizes of €7,000 each were awarded to Liam Mc Carthy and John D. O'Callaghan from Ireland for 'The Development of a Convenient Test Method for Somatic Cell Count and its Importance in Milk Production', Fabian Gafner from Switzerland for 'Dikranos - the airplane with reverse gear' and Aleksander Kubica and Wiktor Pilewski from Poland for 'Spiral Zone Plates'. The three second prizes and third prizes were given to projects from France, Malta, Spain, Hungary, Germany and Israel. At last year's contest, the European Commission launched a Prize for International Cooperation, for the best project from a Third Country team underlining the importance of international scientific cooperation in research. This year, the prize was won by Peter Massey and Shaunak Bakshi from the United States for 'Lipoic Acid: Towards a Novel Neuroprotective Treatment for Alzheimer's-Associated Cognitive Dysfunction in a Drosophila Model'.