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Over the past 3.8 billion years, nature has been engineering itself to survive. It has also developed efficient and sustainable adaptation mechanisms against changing environmental conditions. To further the EU's political ambitions, could we employ biomimicry to mitigate climate change and achieve climate neutrality? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

In this podcast we explore the potential ecological benefits of increasing our capacity to store energy, especially from renewable sources. As the availability of some renewable energy sources is variable and intermittent, devising new energy storage capacities could ensure energy security and reliability and help the EU in its efforts to achieve climate neutrality by 2050. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

As the European Commission prepares to launch a much awaited revised EU pharmaceutical strategy, two recent studies by the European Parliament's Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA) advance possible options to tackle current weaknesses in drug development and ensure access to high-quality medicines, including the creation of large-scale European biomedical infrastructure, and a series of targeted strategies to improve EU health research coordination and reprioritise areas of unmet therapeutic need. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

By 2050, an estimated two thirds of the world population will live in urban areas. Could vertical farming help feed this growing urban population sustainably by reducing the demand for agricultural land and shortening the travel distance between food production and consumption? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

As AI spreads into workplaces, workers and employers are increasingly confronted with applications and software that affect labour relations. While AI systems could be introduced with the explicit aim of improving working conditions, this cannot be expected in general and evidence suggests that it may be the exception. In this podcast, we'll talk about the impacts that artificial intelligence applications may have on our workplaces and how policymakers and legislators in the EU will need to ensure that it works for and not against us. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Quantum technologies could be a game-changer in the digital transformation of health care. By enabling much faster and more complex data analysis, they could open the door to the accelerated discovery and development of novel therapeutics, improved diagnostics and treatments, including for rare and complex diseases, genuinely personalised medicine, and better data-driven health policy planning. However, as is also the case in other sectors, quantum technologies come with risks, particularly to cybersecurity and data privacy, as well as economics, trade, and global competition. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Antimicrobial-resistant infections are predicted to become the second biggest cause of death worldwide by 2050. Despite increasing investment in the development of new antimicrobials, awareness campaigns on antimicrobial misuse and abuse, and monitoring of antimicrobial use and resistance in animals, humans and the environment, antimicrobial resistance continues to grow and the last three decades have not seen even one novel antimicrobial class reach the market. Could the answer lie in a 'Trojan horse' strategy to disrupt a natural physiological process common to all bacteria? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

One language disappears every two weeks, and up to 90 % of existing languages could be gone by the turn of the century. Globalisation, social and economic pressures and political options can determine whether a language survives. Multilingualism is a cornerstone of the European project, with 24 official and 60 minority languages. In a digital era, ensuring digital language equality can help preserve linguistic diversity. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been under the limelight of so strong political and social debate that its suitability for its main original purpose of improving supply chain efficiency may come up as a surprise; but, what if, under the actual situation of stress artificial intelligence really can provide solutions for strategic sectors significantly improving their capacity to cope with pressure? More specifically, can the agri-food sector benefit from this technology to the extent of compensating for the shortages being broadly foreseen? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Demographic, socio-political and economic pressures have made eating meat an unsustainable practice for the long term. However, meat substitutes have proved unpopular, owing to social norms and a lack of trust; some alternatives also contribute heavily to climate change. Could microbial protein be a sustainable alternative to meat that not only solves these multidimensional pressures but also contributes actively to reversing climate change? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

The rapid growth of genetic databases worldwide, coupled with fast-decreasing costs and increased technological speed, has raised the possibility of every human genome on Earth being sequenced within this century. This brings to the forefront ethical and legal questions on data privacy and ownership. While a world genomic database would revolutionise preventive medicine and research, new forms of surveillance, discrimination and power imbalances could emerge. The global interplay between the individual, the state and private individuals could shift, requiring modern and flexible legislation to protect the rights of the individual. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Rising sea levels place coastal cities under constant threat. An estimated 250 million people currently live on land below projected annual flood levels, often in coastal cities such as London, Lagos, Mumbai or Shanghai; and this number may rise to 630 million by the end of the century. An additional 318 million people have been displaced since 2018, due to climate disasters. Could it be that, instead of humankind fleeing from water, building on it could serve as a better long-term solution? What would the creation of entire water cities entail for societies, economies and the environment? What if populations could live on water instead of facing displacement and migration? - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

'Innovation' is often used as a shorthand for improved technical, economic and social processes. However, any specific innovation involves the redistribution of costs and benefits, creating winners and losers. For some, regulation of technology should be avoided in case it hinders innovation, while, for others, regulation is an essential measure to mitigate risks. However, regulation and innovation are not a zero-sum game. Debates about regulatory (in)action and its impact on innovation would benefit from greater specificity about which innovation paths are considered desirable, for whom, and how policy choices would help to achieve them. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Managing the risks of the Covid-19 pandemic remains a challenge. While EU vaccination rates have reached three quarters of the population, new SARS-CoV-2 variants keep emerging in the EU. Although these variants appear to be generally less severe, they still pose challenges to health systems. The implementation of a globally effective vaccine strategy remains key to enhancing Europe's resilience. If measures are successful, it is expected that SARS-CoV-19 – while still present – will enter a stage of seasonality, characterised by higher case numbers in the winter months, similarly to the flu. To achieve this, rethinking present surveillance and monitoring schemes, ensuring the distribution of vaccines worldwide and implementing an action plan against disinformation and misinformation could be crucial. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Automated decision-making by systems that use machine learning to dynamically improve performance are still seen as lacking the 'human perspective' and flexibility to adapt to the particular nuances of specific cases. But perhaps, as they lack the 'cunning' to hide their biases, automated systems actually make fairer decisions than do humans, when these decisions are based on data that have been properly curated. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

While killing all microorganisms in our bodies may seem tempting to some germaphobes, scientific evidence indicates that beneficial microorganisms (that live in nearly ubiquitous communities called microbiota) are an essential component of human health, and could form a new frontier for personalised medicine to fight non-communicable diseases and improve human health. In this podcast, we'll look at the microorganisms that live in our bodies and the incredible role they play in assuring our health. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Following the first successful organ transplant in 1954, this procedure has become increasingly prevalent as it has revolutionised the treatment of end-stage organ failure. Nevertheless, organ shortage remains a critical problem which could potentially be overcome with xenotransplantation, regarded a promising alternative approach. In this podcast, we'll talk about the transplantation of animal derived organs and cells into humans. A medical procedure known as xenotransplantation that could open the door to a renewable source of desperately needed organs. - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

The European Union has an ambitious climate strategy and is looking for ways to boost technologies that will make it possible. Could hydrogen and the deployment of related technology and infrastructure become a decisive factor in decarbonising specific industry sectors? In this podcast, we'll talk about hydrogen and its potential to accelerate the decarbonisation of European industry. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

The way most food is produced is harming the planet. A profound change is needed, involving all agri-food actors. As consumers, we sit at the end of the agri-food chain. Our daily dietary choices implicitly support certain food systems, production methods and types of food. What could help us make better choices? In this podcast, we'll talk about ecolabels and their potential to nudge us towards more sustainable food choices. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP

Nanoparticles lie at the heart of a new method for delivering medicines inside the body – and they were crucial to the success of the Covid-19 mRNA vaccines. This new drug delivery method and others could transform the way we treat disease, potentially boosting the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and HIV, among others. Insulin and Covid-19 vaccines might even become available as pills. In this podcast, we'll look into new drug delivery methods that could simplify the way we treat diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's. - Original publication on the EP Think Tank website - Subscription to our RSS feed in case your have your own RSS reader - Podcast available on Deezer, iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, YouTube Source: © European Union - EP