The seas are changing. Marine conservation seeks to protect valuable habitats but the pristine state of marine ecosystem functioning and biodiversity – that is, the system as it operated before there was any large scale human impact – is conjectural. Conservation management strategies are often based on highly altered ecosystems where the degree of human-induced change is unknown. In SEACHANGE, we propose a structured and systematic approach to the reconstruction of marine ecosystem baselines to quantify the impact of anthropogenic cultural transitions on marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. SEACHANGE will address two key questions: 1) What was the nature of long-term changes in prehistoric marine biodiversity and ecosystem functioning over a 3000-year period in NW Europe and the degree of human impact associated with major socioeconomic changes across the Mesolithic-Neolithic boundary? 2) What has been the scale and rate of marine biodiversity loss and changes to ecosystem functioning as a result of fishing intensity and marine habitat loss during the last 2000 years (including the Industrial Transition) in the North Sea and around Iceland, eastern Australia and the west Antarctic Peninsula? To address these questions we will analyse: 1) absolutely-dated annually-resolved bivalve shell series (“sclerochronologies”); 2) marine sediment cores; 3) archaeological midden (waste) materials including shells and bones. We will date these samples precisely and undertake zooarchaeological and palaeoecological, stable isotope geochemical and environmental DNA/DNA metabarcoding analyses. We will compare the data with historical and archival sources, and we will generate numerical ecosystem simulations. We will identify how depleted the current marine environment is compared with that before large scale human impact and what measures are needed, and how long will it take, for marine biodiversity to recover.

Despite advances in the medical management of high-risk pregnancies and deliveries, cerebral palsy (CP) remains the most common physical disability in childhood in high and low-to-middle income (LMIC). In addition, caregivers of children with CP are at higher risk of psychiatric issues, further increasing health and socio-economic burden to the families. In spite of the scientific advancements in early detection and intervention (EI) in CP, there is a lack of implementation into clinical service delivery. The overarching aim of the BORNTOGETTHERE program is to exploit current evidence on early detection and efficacy of EI for infants at high risk of CP by implementing the International Clinical Practice Guideline in Europe (Italy, Denmark, Netherlands), LMIC (Georgia, Sri Lanka) and hard to reach populations (Remote Queensland and Western Australia). It will provide a multifaceted knowledge translation approach focused on i) optimizing context-specific health programs for early detection of CP, thus reducing age at diagnosis and age at referral to EI; ii) optimizing early functional characterization of infants with CP, thereby fostering personalized EI and preventing secondary complications (i.e. hip dislocation) and iii) testing the implementation of integrated EI programs adapted to country-specific welfare systems. The protocol of service delivery will result from the adaptation of early detection and EI programs based on the proven, effective intervention strategies, and those that are included into ongoing research based on effectiveness shown with preliminary data. This framework will be validated in real life varying world conditions through a large implementation program and a multicentre parallel controlled trial. The main beneficiaries will include a wide range of stakeholders: not only concerned families and communities but also policy makers, public authorities, the media, and citizen groups to ensure the translation of evidence into routine practice.