Biotechnology

The development of future real-world technologies will depend strongly on our understanding and harnessing of the principles underlying living systems and the flow of communication signals between living and artificial systems. Living Machines, organised by FET project CSNII, is a forum to discuss the development of novel technologies through the distillation of principles from the study of biological systems.

Prof. Emma Master works on new enzymes and proteins that can be used to produce renewable materials from plant fibres. Her findings could boost the biochemical and bioplastics markets.

By 1 December 2014 the first 100 calls had closed. What can we tell about the popularity of the programme, the success of SMEs, the degree to which the programme has attracted newcomers - both as participants and as expert evaluators - the proportion of women experts and the speed with which contracts have been signed? See this new page to find out more!

This year the theme for the conference is Global Outreach: Enabling Cultures and Diversity in Research Management and Administration. This theme reflects the growing need and ambition to reach out and get connected and work together globally. Cooperating not only in the field of scientific research & innovation and higher education but also in the field of research management and administration.

The first ten projects of the new Bio-Based Industries Joint Undertaking (BBI JU), a partnership between the EU and industry, will get underway with a total of €50 million from Horizon 2020, the EU's research funding programme, and a further €28 million from the industry. This is thanks to the signature of the grant agreements finalised today (15 June 2015).

End of 2014 the first Horizon 2020 projects were signed. Since then almost four thousand more have been added.

As announced by President Juncker on 13 May 2015, the European Commission intends to set up a new Scientific Advice Mechanism ("SAM"). The mechanism will support the Commission with high-quality, timely and independent scientific advice for its policy-making activities.

For three decades, the EU Framework Programmes have been funding breakthroughs across Europe. RTD’s Horizon Magazine looks at the people and events that have helped shape European research policy, taking you behind the scenes during the pivotal moments from the last 30 years of research funding. These articles have been brought together into a special Horizon supplement to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Framework Programmes.

Horizon 2020 has started, a new game with new rules. What are the experiences so far? What has improved? What new obstacles and challenges have appeared? Are there already best practices we can learn from?

With the support of the European Research Council (ERC) "Proof of Concept" grants, 59 researchers in Europe will now get the chance to turn their inventions into viable products.

Understanding the brain and its various pathologies could benefit millions of people. At the same time, progress in neuroscience is increasingly dependent on advanced technologies. This kind of synergistic cross-disciplinarity is a hallmark of FET research.

Professor Michela Chiappalone is a neuroscientist at the Department of Neuroscience and Brain Technologies, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT). She is also the coordinator of the BRAIN BOW FET Open project aiming to connect in vitro neuronal assemblies to an artificial system for restoring the lost neuronal functionality. In this interview she tells us about her experience, as a researcher involved in a FET project.

Can we crack the code used by neurons to encode and transmit information? Can we use our knowledge of the neural code to improve the communication between brain and machines? These are the questions that SI-CODE addresses, aiming to make a big leap forward in improving the understanding of the code used by neurons to transmit information with potential applications in innovative brain machine interfaces (BMIs).

This year's Nobel Prize laureate Prof. E. Moser is leading the FET GRIDMAP project which aims to better understand the processes used by the mammalian brain to generate and read spatial information. Prof. E. Moser is joining the prestigious list of 9 Nobel Prize laureates that chose the FET programme to collaborate with the best scientists in Europe on ambitious scientific endeavours.

In May 2014, FET launched a consultation to identify promising and potentially game-changing directions for future research in any technological domain. Nearly 500 contributions have been received, suggesting new topics, or further refining previously identified topics.
This first analysis provides an overview of the material received, with short description of the ideas (as stated by their respective authors) and putting them in context of some others.

This new edition of RE.WORK Technology Summit will explore new technological advancements shaping the future of business and society. Industry leaders, technology pioneers, entrepreneurs, researchers and government will explore emerging technologies including robotics, BCI, the internet of things, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence

AGROCOS is a pioneering European project which is using modern scientific techniques to explore the ancient – and still largely untapped - richness of nature to develop new products for the agrochemical and cosmetics industries.

This short video animation will guide you through the first steps you will need to take to apply to Horizon 2020.

Find out more about Horizon 2020 in this three minute animation clip which will give you a general overview of the programme specifics.

Industrial Technologies 2014 is expected to attract 1500 visitors from over 50 countries to Athens, Greece, on April 9-11, 2014, including experts, decision-makers and influencers in the fields of nano and biotechnology, advanced materials, and new production technologies.