JRC scientist Catherine Simoneau talks about her work on food contact materials.

On 26 May the European Commission launched the European smart specialisation platform on energy, which will support regions and Member States in using Cohesion Policy funding more effectively for promoting sustainable energy.

I am delighted to present the first issue of the Joint Research Centre’s (JRC) digital newsletter. It will provide regular updates on our latest scientific and technical support to EU policies, including news on the studies, tools and databases which underpin our work.

Can exports boost jobs in Europe? How should regions decide about the innovation strategy to make them excel, and make the most of renewables? Will alternatives to animal testing keep the promise and replace use of animals in research? Some of our best science helps to answer these questions and to advise policy-makers on how to tackle them.

Research, modelling and analysis is what we do every day to help EU policy-makers to design, implement and evaluate policies that address today’s challenges. As the Commission’s in-house science service, positioned at the interface between science and policy, the JRC can act as a sense-maker of the extraordinary wealth of scientific knowledge available today.

The purpose of this report is to present the JRC's scientific support to EU's "from farm to fork" policy which ensures Europeans enjoy safe and nutritious food, while facilitating the food industry to work under the best possible conditions. It also presents JRC research on global food security – a growing challenge for researchers and policymakers alike when over 800 million people face hunger worldwide and food demand is expected to rise by 60% by 2050.

On 20 May, one Polish and two Danish companies received recognition for having completed a verification process of their innovative environmental technologies at the Eco-Innovation forum being held in Barcelona.

Published in February 2015, the annual report provides an overview of the JRC's work in 2014. It features highlights of research activities carried out over the year in support of the main EU policies. Topics include economic and monetary union; innovation, growth and jobs; digital agenda; energy and transport; environment and climate change; agriculture and global food security; security and disaster risk reduction; health and consumer protection and nuclear safety and security.

On 5 June at the Slovak Academy of Sciences in Bratislava, Prof. Pavol Šajgalík, President of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, and Vladimír Šucha, Director General of the JRC, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

A team of JRC researchers outperformed 27 teams from academia and industry across the globe and achieved best overall result at a competition on indoor localisation in Seattle, USA.

Female liver cells, and in particular those in menopaused women, are more susceptible to adverse effects of drugs than their male counterparts, according to new research carried out by the JRC.

A JRC report short-lists seven potential aquatic pollutants to complete a first Watch List which will provide high-quality information on the concentrations of emerging or little-known pollutants across the EU.

The JRC partnered with EUROCARERS to launch a new online database of digital services for carers of older people to assist carers in fulfilling their activities.

The European Commission on 3 June issued a Communication in response to the European Citizens’ Initiative Stop Vivisection.

On 2 December, the Commission adopted a new circular economy package, which aims to extend product life span and reduce waste generation.

JRC expertise in modelling has fed into the latest issue of the European Commission's agricultural outlook for the next decade, presented during a dedicated conference in Brussels.

The JRC has designed a global index to support the EU’s Global Climate Change Alliance plus (GCCA+) programme in its goal to help the most vulnerable countries to respond to climate change in the period up to 2020.

Assessment results on the risk of humanitarian crises and disasters in 2016 for 191 nations were released on 2 December.

A JRC invention initially stemming from its research in the nuclear sector will soon be used by hospitals for minimally-invasive robotic surgery.TELELAP ALF-X is an advanced multi-port robotic system that will empower surgeons with eye-tracking and haptics, allowing them eye-control of the camera and touch sensation during surgery.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and the JRC sign a new research framework arrangement in Laxenburg, Austria.

In a new report released on 1 June by the European Commission, the increasing importance of EU exports for job opportunities in Europe and elsewhere is highlighted.

A recent assessment carried out by the JRC estimates that water erodes 970 million tonnes of soil every year in the EU.