Certain plastic materials can be incredibly difficult to recycle. The EU-funded MultiCycle project has developed a pilot plant that can recycle complex plastic materials. This helps the EU move towards a circular economy, allowing citizens to benefit from plastics in an environmentally friendly way.
If data is the new gold, it’s only fair that its rightful owners can use and share it as they please. A novel Privacy-Enhanced Dashboard has been developed by the EU-funded PoSeID-on project. This will make it easier for EU citizens to exercise greater control over their personal data, across a wide range of public and private services.
Europe is in the process of moving away from an economy based on fossil fuels. The EU-funded FALCON project has achieved a breakthrough with a range of bio-based compounds that turn waste plant matter into essential chemicals. This offers citizens a greener and more economically viable future.
The many microscopic organisms, or microbiome, that live in our gut play a big part in keeping us healthy, yet a breakdown in communication between them and the rest of the body can badly affect our health. The EU-funded META-BIOME project set out to understand the causes of this miscommunication. To understand this could allow for new treatments against many diseases, benefiting all citizens.
The EU-funded POTENT project has been developing a new type of drug delivery system for glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. It can considerably improve treatment outcomes for patients and increase their life expectancy. Clinical trials could start in 2 to 4 years, a step closer to making the system available for the patients that could most benefit from it.
Drug assessment for potential negative effects on patients’ hearts is a cost-intensive task, and it still occasionally fails to deliver on its promise. The EU-funded MAREP project has created a new laser-based technology that can streamline the drug development process. At the same time, it enhances patient safety which is a big plus for all citizens.
The EU-funded DEBUNKER project has been studying the mechanisms creating, reinforcing and correcting misperceptions. Early findings provide a glimmer of hope for those willing to right the wrongs of conspiracy theories, misinformation and fake news. These findings offer hope that our societies can become less polarised and divided and more transparent, ultimately benefiting all citizens.
Whilst being a renewable energy, hydropower has a rather large environmental footprint. From its dams causing flooding to its power plants threatening fish populations, the key to the wider use of hydropower is to make it more sustainable. Thanks to new cost-effective measures developed by the EU-funded FIThydro project, environmentally friendly, sustainable hydropower may soon be a reality.
Even though Neanderthals once dominated Eurasia, we know very little about how they lived and why they went extinct. But a new archaeological method developed by the EU-funded PALEOCHAR project could change that. As a result, the project brings us valuable information and a more complete picture of the Neanderthal world, increasing our knowledge of life on Earth many thousands of years ago.
The ancient Egyptians left behind a plethora of papyri containing valuable written information but most of these have remained unpublished and unstudied. The EU-funded ELEPHANTINE project has created a large database and a new software solution that could soon change this. This could allow for a much better understanding of some of the world’s most fascinating ancient civilisations.
