CORDIScovery – unearthing the hottest topics in EU science, research and innovation

Did the ability to feed babies porridge help to fuel the population explosion seen in the Neolithic period? Did people take to the seas far earlier than previously thought to chase whales and seals? What is the difference between a flourishing desert frontier fort and one that dwindles into dust? We take a look at three times when food was a catalyst for change.

Bettina Schulz Paulsson, an associate professor of Archaeology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, specialises in research related to the Stone Age. Her interests encompass seafaring, megaliths, prehistoric whaling and scientific dating and methods.

Associate professor of Egyptology at the Polytechnic of Milan, Corinna Rossi, focuses her research on the relationship between architecture and mathematics in ancient Egypt. Rossi has been exploring the antiquities of Egypt’s Western Desert for over 20 years.

Sofija Stefanović is professor of Physical Anthropology and Bioarchaeology in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. She is interested in the prehistoric patterns of fertility and the influence of the duration of breastfeeding on children’s health in the Neolithic period.

For more info the projects featured, visit: ⁠https://europa.eu/!nFkxTW

What do turbine blades high above the ocean and the bowels of a cargo ship have in common? The inspection vital to keeping both safe and functioning can often be hazardous, the sites frequently inaccessible, and the operation always complex. So how can drones help?

Technicians rappelling down vast blades on the open seas, checking the parts bit by bit; engineers crawling through cramped spaces where air is poor; ships losing time in dock while cranes are used to get engineers to the top of masts: these have been the traditional ways of checking for wear and tear on wind turbines and in ships. But robots provide a new way of approaching the problem.

Here to chat about the industrial use of drones and robots are:

The CEO of BladeInsight, the company behind the Windrone Zenith project, André Croft de Moura. André is interested in robotics and data solutions applied to renewable energy generation. He is joined by Alessandro Maccari, whose background is in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. Alessandro is Research and Development director at RINA Services in Italy. He coordinated the ROBINS project and has been applying his expertise to the challenges posed by the use of autonomous vehicles in ship inspections.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!Vr8qxg

The antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, organisms are developing, and our bid to counter that with new ways of controlling them, is like an arms race – one we stand a better chance of winning if we use the antimicrobials that are still effective, more carefully. This special episode of CORDIScovery, timed to coincide with the WHO’s annual World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, invites three guests to share the work they are doing to win the race between the resistance microbes develop, and the ways we have to control them.

Fredrik Almqvist, co-founder of QureTech Bio AB, explains the work the QTB4AMR project is doing to change the chemical relationship between an antibiotic and its target bacteria. The weird and wonderful world of soil microbes and the ways in which they communicate could give rise to a new generation of biopesticides. Ana Bejarano explains how her RhizoTalk project will help.

How did farming become so systemically dependent on antibiotics and is it too late to turn that around? Nicolas Fortané, who coordinates the ROADMAP project, shares his findings.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!QpB9CM

Virtual reality – just another bone of contention between screen-addicted adolescents and their frazzled parents? Or can the inherent characteristics of VR, communicating at a distance but in a space that feels intimate, be harnessed to really revolutionise the way we interact?

Can avatars, digital representations of ourselves, foster empathy or are they yet another medium providing a cloak of anonymity that can be abused? And are deep fakes about to go 3D?

Dr Salvador Alvidrez, Marie Curie Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast is interested in the socio-psychological effects of communication technologies. He is looking at VR and its role in tackling prejudice. Can we use VR to walk around in someone else’s shoes? Fancy a digital twin? Dr Verónica Orvalho’s company Didmo has patented technology to generate digital humans. Her inventions have been used by Microsoft, Universal and Sony and others. But how can the general public make the most of VR? I2CAT is making the tech cheaper and more immersive. Sergi Ferandez explains how.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!YtfHQf

Healthcare professionals working flat out for a year, living through experiences nothing could really prepare them for; health systems stressed to breaking point; a population facing fear, insecurity and grief without the human contact to make these bearable – the pandemic will cast a long shadow. Dr Hans Kluge, the World Health Organisation’s Europe Director warns we are facing a growing mental health crisis the impact of which is likely to be long-term and far-reaching.

Lars Montelius is the Director–General of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory, and a professor in Nanotechnology at Lund University, Sweden. He is exploring the interface between nano technology and life sciences. What will the next gen sensors look like? How is nano tech going to change how we do things?

Professor of Human Computer Interaction and Digital Health in the School of Computing and Communications at Lancaster University, Corina Sas is interested in mental health technologies and refining how humans can convey emotions to computers. Do devices have a role to play in helping us deal with mental health challenges?

However sophisticated the digital solutions are, will people always prefer face to face contact with a psychiatrist? Dr Elena Phillips, based at the Hamburg Centre for Health Economics has some answers.

Pity the public health authorities charged with working out what cutting-edge tech to fund. Can that decision be simplified? Check out what the President of Italian Health Economics Association, Aleksandra Torbica, is working on.

For more info on the projects featured, visit: https://europa.eu/!yNXdqV