By the end of the 21st century, sea levels are estimated to rise between 40 and 60 centimetres worldwide. Coping with this will be a major challenge for many European coastal communities. ERC grantee Jadranka Šepić at the University of Split in Croatia is investigating how climate change will affect the strength and frequency of tsunami-like flooding events along European coastlines. Her research could help coastal communities prepare better for future challenges.
There is much more to marine plastic pollution than meets the eye. In his quest to set the record straight about this litter, Erik van Sebille, an oceanographer at Utrecht University, is garnering international interest from the public, media, schoolchildren and policymakers alike. His passion for public outreach has led him to become one of the first laureates of the ERC Public Engagement with Research Award. We interviewed him to find out more about his winning media relations strategy and the benefits public engagement has brought to his research.
What if damaged brain cells could be replaced? ERC grantee Malin Parmar has developed innovative genetic reprogramming techniques that can produce new brain cells from other types of cells in the body, opening up new therapeutic pathways to combat disorders such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Une bourse du Conseil européen de la recherche (ERC) a permis au professeur Guust Nolet de retourner en Europe pour développer de petits robots sous-marins qui pourraient aider à comprendre la structure de notre planète. Dix ans plus tard, grâce à un partenariat industriel financé par une subvention supplémentaire, ces robots sont aussi utilisés pour surveiller la santé de nos océans.
An ERC grant motivated Prof. Guust Nolet to move back to Europe to develop small underwater robots that could help us understand our planet’s structure. Ten years later, thanks to an industrial partnership funded by an additional ERC grant, these robots are also employed to monitor the health of our oceans.
Ανάμεσα στους κρωγμούς των πουλιών σε ένα μικρό, απομακρυσμένο νησί στην πύλη του Αιγαίου πελάγους, ένα φιλόδοξο έργο επιχορηγούμενο από το Ευρωπαϊκό Συμβούλιο Έρευνας (ΕΣΕ) και με συντονιστή τον Δρ. Βασίλη Αμοιρίδη, έβαλε τις βάσεις για τη δημιουργία ενός παρατηρητηρίου για την κλιματική αλλαγή, με την ενθουσιώδη υποστήριξη του ΕΣΕ, του Εθνικού Αστεροσκοπείου Αθηνών (ΕΑΑ) και της Ελληνικής κυβέρνησης.
Amidst the raspy jabbering of Buzzards on a remote island at the edge of the Aegean Sea, one ambitious ERC grantee, Dr. Vassilis Amiridis, instigated the construction of a climate change superstation with the enthusiastic support of the ERC, the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the Greek government.
Quantifying the carbon storage potential of terrestrial ecosystems will have to take account of the relative contributions of photosynthesis and respiration to the global carbon cycle. The SOLCA project developed an ambitious approach to tackle this challenge.
The human brain is a remarkable organ, but how did it evolve to give us such unprecedented cognitive abilities? ERC grantee Pierre Vanderhaeghen and his team from ULB, VIB-KU Leuven turned to the genome for answers: a specific set of genes, found only in humans, could play a determinant role on the size of our brain. Published today in Cell, Vanderhaeghen's EU-funded research helps to unlock the secrets of human evolution.
ERC grantee Erik van Sebille is developing advanced modelling tools to help assess the full extent of the problem of plastic pollution in our oceans and how it is affecting the marine environment. The tools will help policymakers design targeted measures to address a big and growing issue.
