Science has long held that in the food chain, plants support animals. While this may be true on land, the EU-funded MixITiN project has shown that such a system isn’t applicable to our oceans. The project hopes that its findings will help to improve knowledge and thus broader education efforts on marine ecology, allowing citizens to gain a better understanding of the ocean’s great wonders.
If countries can't train high-quality research staff, they will struggle to deliver innovative cancer treatments. An EU-funded project enabled four academic institutions to exchange staff and share best practices, resulting in various career advancements and successful research grant applications. These will benefit citizens through the researchers' expanding skills to advance cancer treatments.
EU-funded researchers are employing the principles of control engineering to regulate the biochemical machinery inside cells, bringing the day ever closer when bacteria will be used to manufacture biological molecules on demand.
Ebola, Zika, MERS, COVID-19? An EU-funded collection of mammalian viruses is supporting researchers around the globe in their efforts to shed new light on old and emerging illnesses and advance their treatment and control. This Research Infrastructure is the world's largest archive of such pathogens and is set up to respond to outbreaks quickly.
While lifespans have been steadily increasing, age-related diseases are also on the rise. EU-funded research is looking at ways to help prevent illness in later years and pave the way to a happier and healthier old age.
EU-funded researchers have discovered an important new mechanism by which cells flag and repair damage to their DNA - an unexpected finding that could improve the treatment of diseases such as cancer.
Multiple myeloma is a rare and incurable type of cancer that affects cells in the bone marrow called plasma cells. An EU-funded project is using revolutionary cell technology to tackle multiple myeloma, developing a viable and commercially attractive treatment for it and other rare diseases.
European science is missing out on talent as leadership positions remain predominantly occupied by men. To challenge this gender imbalance, an EU-funded project is helping research institutes support female staff in their research career and encouraging work-life balance.
Peptidomimetics are small molecules that mimic short natural proteins - peptides - and produce the same effects as their natural counterparts. An EU-funded project is developing peptidomimetics that can alternate between biologically active and inactive forms when exposed to light. The technique could lead to new light-controlled drugs which can be turned off and on when needed to treat cancers and other diseases.
An EU-funded project is using synthetic biology techniques to design broad-spectra vaccines against mycoplasmas and viral infections in farm animals. By designing a growth medium without animal components and developing a platform to engineer new vaccines, the project will give the EU livestock industry a much-needed boost.
