Plug-and-play smart cities? An open source platform jointly developed by Japanese and EU-funded researchers is facilitating the deployment of smart city technologies in urban centres worldwide to tackle urban challenges ranging from air quality and energy use to traffic congestion and infrastructure upkeep.
Until recently, there was no treatment specific to alpha-mannosidosis, one of the many rare diseases that jointly affect some 30 million citizens in Europe alone. Today, there is as EU-funded research developed enzyme-replacement therapy to stop the illness in its tracks, and this medicine is on the market.
EU-funded researchers are using innovative genomic and microfluidic technologies to identify useful enzymes in nature which could reduce the need for toxic chemicals, save energy, and boost the overall sustainability of a range of industries, from agriculture to pharmaceuticals.
Enzymes could make many chemical conversions more efficient, more sustainable and more affordable - and marine microbes produce an abundant variety of these biological catalysts, say EU-funded researchers who set out to find new ones for use in industry. A vast collection, new knowledge, four patents and a start-up are the result.
Air pollution is a major risk factor for health in Europe. EU-funded research is helping to find innovative, inexpensive and green solutions for improving air quality, particularly in urban environments.
An EU-funded project carried out an 'advance care planning' trial on patients with late-stage cancer in a bid to improve their welfare and boost their involvement in care-giving decision-making.
What is the best way to tackle sarcomas? Although clinical trials help to generate insight, they are hard to set up for rare diseases. An EU-funded project has organised several trials focusing on these malignancies, providing insight that is already helping to save more lives. It has also paved the way for further research to help patients.
Better outcomes, even with older and less-promising donor organs: new methods trialled by an EU-funded project have generated compelling results, widening the scope to transplant kidneys and livers that might otherwise not have been considered. Patients and healthcare systems both stand to benefit.
Emerging viruses pose a serious threat to global public health. EU-funded research is helping to advance our understanding of how infectious diseases evolve and adapt genetically, informing our efforts to develop an effective response. Researchers have already applied these new methods to several public health crises, including COVID-19.
A visit to your doctor could soon provide a much more complete picture of your overall health thanks to new technologies developed by EU-funded researchers. They will enable a quick and accurate analysis of proteins from blood or urine samples to be carried out in the clinic.
