SCENARIOS will devise and demonstrate a comprehensive set of technological solutions to address the detection, (bio)monitoring, long-term toxicity, risk assessment, pollution control and remediation of Per- and polyFluoroAlkyl Substances (PFASs) as a test bed for zero pollution ambition from refractory and mobile organic chemicals. SCENARIOS's approach and technologies will be self-sustainable, (near) net-zero energy and will smoothly integrate in the circular economies of EU countries and worldwide. A harmonised composition of the project consortium encompassing renewed academic and research centers and competitive technological SMEs will ensure SCENARIOS? replication and impact and continental level and beyond. The project will fill the knowledge gap and deliver disruptive remediation TRL advancements for probably the most awkward and widespread toxic class of contaminants -PFAS- with unprecedented energetic balance and the near absence of external chemical additions promoting EU leadership in the sector and a significant advance in the research field. The industrial core of SCENARIOS will enable four demonstrations (case studies) within EU industries and a public health institution stepping forward a set of industrial and societal sectors where pollutant remediation and health surveillance have excellent potential for the Green Deal implementation.

The overall objective of the Infravec2 project is to integrate key specialized research facilities necessary for European excellence in insect vector biology, to open the infrastructure for European access, and to develop new vector control measures targeting the greatest threats to human health and animal industries. Infravec2 is an Advanced Community, following a four-year Starting Community lifecycle (FP7 Infravec1). Lack of access to key infrastructures limits European vector research and impedes development of vector control measures. Insect vectors transmit parasitic diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis, and viral infections such as chikungunya, dengue, Zika, Japanese encephalitis and yellow fever. Vector-borne diseases, which have historically been a problem of tropical countries, now represent a threat for temperate regions of the world including much of Europe. The 24 consortium partners, including 4 commercial companies, hold the major European biosecure insectaries for experimental infection and containment of insect vectors under Containment Level 2 and 3 (CL2/CL3) conditions, other key insect vector facilities, and include front-line field sites in Africa, the Pacific, and the Americas. Infravec2 will implement comparable standards across the secure insectary facilities as a world first, improving exploitation of European vector infrastructures for research and public health, and will develop other innovative methodologies and technologies. Networking activities will assure that the project achieves full impact, producing a step change in European vector biology research and the product pipeline, and consolidating European global leadership in insect vectors. The goal of the Infravec2 project is to build a durable European infrastructure to control insect vector-borne disease, including with power to predict and prevent the inevitable next epidemic outbreak in advance.

The ISIDORe consortium, made of the capacities of European ESFRI infrastructures and coordinated networks, proposes to assemble the largest and most diverse research and service providing instrument to study infectious diseases in Europe, from structural biology to clinical trials. Giving scientists access to the whole extent of our state of the art facilities, cutting edge services, advanced equipment and expertise, in an integrated way and with a common goal, will enable or accelerate the generation of new knowledge and intervention tools to ultimately help control SARS CoV 2 in particular, and epidemic prone pathogens in general, while avoiding fragmentation and duplication among European initiatives. Such a global and interdisciplinary approach is meant to allow the implementation of user projects that are larger, more ambitious and more impactful than the EU supported transnational activities that the consortium is used to run. Our proposition is ambitious but achievable in a timely fashion due to the relevance and previous experience of the partners that we have gathered and that have complementary fields of expertise, which addresses the need for an interdisciplinary effort. Leveraging all these existing strengths to develop synergies will create an additional value and enhance Europe capacity for controlling emerging or re emerging and epidemic infectious diseases, starting with the COVID 19 pandemic. Such a global and coordinated approach is consistent with the recommendations of the One Health concept and necessary to make significant contributions to solving complex societal problems like epidemics and pandemics.

Increased crop productivity through genetic improvement of plants has significantly impacted world agriculture and the world’s population. Crop plants have followed the general pattern of introduction, selection, and hybridization. Once introgressed, selection and breeding strategies have led to new cultivars with improved yield and adaptation. Unfortunately, many of these important traits are typically polygenic. The consequence is that only certain unique allele combinations comply to generate elite performing genotypes. The fixation of a given genotype occurs naturally in species that display an asexual type of seed production named apomixis (i.e. clonal seed production). Unfortunately, apomixis does not naturally occur in major crop species with few exceptions (Citrus, mango and mangosteen). In crop species, apomixis would enable the instantaneous fixation of the complete genome of the best plants. When coupled with male-sterility systems, apomictic reproduction (with no need for male contribution) could help in addressing issues related to transgene escape from GM crops to organic or conventional crops, and thereby allow for better coexistence systems. This trait by itself is highly valuable for agriculture, but despite many efforts it has never been possible to introduce it into the domesticated crop species of today. The financial and economic impacts of the development of apomixis technology and its application to major crops are amazing (€1800-2300 million per annum per crop). The overall goal of the proposal is to allow for a synergy of inter-related European and international expertise to better understand the mechanisms of sexual/apomictic plant reproduction and to facilitate the application of this increased knowledge in the development of new approaches for agriculture and food industry to increase productivity.