The potential for mRNA goes well beyond the COVID-19 vaccine. With the support of the EU-funded MOSaIC project, one research centre in Poland is conducting cutting-edge research in the field, paving the way for new treatments against diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer’s and genetic conditions.
Changes to the sugars attached to proteins have been linked with a range of human diseases, but the tools needed to detect this phenomenon have been lacking. The EU-funded GLYCOSURF project developed a new test that can detect these subtle alterations. The technique provides a robust and reliable way to provide early diagnoses.
Identifying the specific genetic mutations that cause cancer has always been a challenge. The EU-funded NONCODRIVERS project offers a solution with a pioneering approach that applies machine learning based modelling to tumour data. This could lead to more personalised therapies that save the lives of thousands of citizens every year.
Materials used in medical implants such as pacemakers and insulin pumps can be hazardous to the body. The EU-funded BISON project seeks an alternative in self-assembling peptide building blocks. These biological electronics offer citizens safer implants that could be powered by the body itself.
Patients who've gone through chemotherapy know that as effective as it may be, it also causes a lot of damage to otherwise healthy cells. The EU-funded NANOCARGO project has pushed a solution forward for breast cancer that would avoid such damage. This breakthrough could benefit the many thousands upon thousands of women in Europe who undergo treatment for breast cancer every year.
Technology developed in an EU-funded project for high-energy physics experiments also has the potential to greatly enhance the sensitivity of PET scanners for medical imaging.
EU-funded researchers have developed an innovative and 'smart' prototype contrast mechanism for use in medical imaging that could provide doctors with important new insights to help diagnose injury and disease.
EU-funded researchers have developed an ultrasensitive test to rapidly, accurately and cost-effectively diagnose disease, underpinned by innovative biosensing technology that could help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV and cancer.
EU-funded researchers have employed quantum physics to develop an optical microscope that opens up the potential to view the tiniest of objects - including many viruses - directly for the first time.
A non-invasive system being developed by EU-funded researchers could make radiotherapy a safer and more-effective treatment for cancer patients by creating a visual dosage map of the tumour and the surrounding healthy tissue.
