PRIME-XS,a European Infrastructure for Proteomics

The PRIME-XS consortium is a pan-European infrastructure for proteomics. As a prologue to this special issue of Molecular &; Cellular Proteomics on the research activities of the PRIME-XS consortium, we, as the guest editors of this issue, provide an overview of the structure and activities of this consortium, which is funded by the European Union's 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development.     

The European strategy on endocrine disrupters: progress to date and EU/US cooperation

The European Commission has been active in the field of endocrine disrupters since 1995. Its first actions were to fund research projects through the Fourth Framework Programme for Research and Development covering various aspects of the issue (identification of endocrine disrupters, environmental and human health impacts). This involvement in research has continued through the Fifth Framework Programme and increased to this day. The publication of a specific call for proposals on endocrine disrupters on May 31, 2001 bears witness to these efforts. In parallel, the policy profile of the issue quickly rose and led to the adoption of the Community Strategy on Endocrine Disrupters (COM (1999)706 final) in 1999. This strategy identifies actions short, medium and long term and is supported by the European Parliament and the European Council. Its short-term actions focus on the establishment of a list of substances for further evaluation of their role in endocrine disruption and on the use of existing legislation to control the risk; the medium-term actions focus on the identification and assessment of endocrine disrupters as well as on further research to better understand the ED phenomenon, and the long-term actions focus on legislative actions to protect human health and the environment. These European developments have gone hand in hand with international cooperation with the USA on research (in the frame of the EC/US S&T cooperation agreement), with the WHO on health issues and with the OECD on screening and testing issues.     

European Union research and innovation perspectives on biotechnology

"Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology" is one of 10 thematic areas in the Cooperation programme of the European Union's 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (FP7). With a budget of nearly €2 billion for the period 2007-2013, its objective is to foster the development of a European Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) by bringing together science, industry and other stakeholders that produce, manage or otherwise exploit biological resources. Biotechnology plays an important role in addressing social, environmental and economic challenges and it is recognised as a key enabling technology in the transition to a green, low carbon and resource-efficient economy. Biotechnologies for non-health applications have received a considerable attention in FP7 and to date 61 projects on industrial, marine, plant, environmental and emerging biotechnologies have been supported with a contribution of €262.8 million from the European Commission (EC). This article presents an outlook of the research, technological development and demonstration activities in biotechnology currently supported in FP7 within the Cooperation programme, including a brief overview of the policy context.     

European Union research and innovation perspectives on biotechnology

“Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and Biotechnology” is one of 10 thematic areas in the Cooperation programme of the European Union's 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities (FP7). With a budget of nearly €2 billion for the period 2007–2013, its objective is to foster the development of a European Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) by bringing together science, industry and other stakeholders that produce, manage or otherwise exploit biological resources. Biotechnology plays an important role in addressing social, environmental and economic challenges and it is recognised as a key enabling technology in the transition to a green, low carbon and resource-efficient economy. Biotechnologies for non-health applications have received a considerable attention in FP7 and to date 61 projects on industrial, marine, plant, environmental and emerging biotechnologies have been supported with a contribution of €262.8 million from the European Commission (EC). This article presents an outlook of the research, technological development and demonstration activities in biotechnology currently supported in FP7 within the Cooperation programme, including a brief overview of the policy context.     

The roads and bridges of science. Research infrastructures are key components of Europe's future research, but their funding is not guaranteed

Research infrastructures are a crucial component of modern biological research, but the EU has not yet figured out how to fund and maintain them.The development of recombinant gene technology in the 1970s heralded a new era of application-oriented research for molecular biology, with a huge economic impact. During the decades that have followed, biological research and development have become a major enterprise, with an increasing demand for sophisticated technologies, databases, tissue banks and other tools that range from microscopes and DNA sequencers to bioinformatics services and mutant collections. Biology has followed in the footsteps of physics and astronomy, which share costly instrumentation such as particle accelerators, observatories and satellites. A key difference is that biological research infrastructures are often distributed across several sites and are less costly to establish. Nevertheless, they are expensive to operate and maintain, and need long-term financial support.There is no doubt among scientists that research infrastructures are essential for biomedicine and the life sciencesThe European Union (EU) regards biomedical research as an important component of its future economic and social development as part of its ''Innovation Union'' strategy (EC, 2010), but the necessary creation and operation of research infrastructures is not keeping pace. European biologists have been highlighting the problem for years (van Dyck, 2005), to the effect that some pan-European infrastructures for biomedical research and the life sciences have been created, such as the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI; Hinxton, UK). The European Commission (EC) also established the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) in 2002, to define the infrastructures required for international research (ESFRI, 2006, 2011). However, most of the planned projects for the biomedical and life sciences (ESFRI, 2011)

European policy review: Biodiversity research to support European policy

Biodiversity research is essential to underpin the development, implementation and evaluation of policy that impacts on or protects biodiversity. An example is presented on how European terrestrial biodiversity research is being integrated to strengthen policy input. ALTER-Net is a Long-Term Biodiversity, Ecosystem and Awareness Research Network funded by the 6th European Union Framework Programme for Research and Development.     

Ethical, legal, and social aspects of farm animal cloning in the 6th Framework Programme for Research

Cloned livestock have potential importance in the provision of improved medicine as well as in the development of livestock production. The public is, however, increasingly concerned about the social and ethical consequences of these advances in knowledge and techniques. There is unevenness throughout Europe in different Member States' attitudes to research into livestock cloning. Although there is EU legislation controlling the use of animals for research purposes, there is no legislation specifically governing cloning in livestock production. The main EU reference is the 9th Opinion of the European Group on Ethics, which states "Cloning of farm animals may prove to be of medical and agricultural as well as economic benefit. It is acceptable only when the aims and methods are ethically justified and when carried out under ethical conditions." The ethical justification includes the avoidance of suffering, the use of the 3Rs principle and a lack of better alternatives. The Commission addresses these issues in the 6th Framework Programme by promoting the integration of ethical, legal and social aspects in all proposals where they are relevant, by fostering ethical awareness and foresight in the proposals, by encouraging public dialogue, and by supporting specific actions to promote the debate. Research must respect fundamental ethical principles, including animal welfare requirements.     

Getting a grip on proteomics data – Proteomics Data Collection (ProDaC)

In proteomics, rapid developments in instrumentation led to the acquisition of increasingly large data sets. Correspondingly, ProDaC was founded in 2006 as a Coordination Action project within the 6th European Union Framework Programme to support data sharing and community‐wide data collection. The objectives of ProDaC were the development of documentation and storage standards, setup of a standardized data submission pipeline and collection of data. Ending in March 2009, ProDaC has delivered a comprehensive toolbox of standards and computer programs to achieve these goals.     

The ESF's EuroBioFund: Sustainable research financing?: Start with networking!

EuroBioFund was set up by the European Science Foundation in 2006, with financial support from the European Commission to catalyse the development of large scale pan-European life sciences research programmes by engaging those involved in planning and funding research.     

Science funding and infrastructures in Europe

European science in crisis. Scared? Then read on; you should be. I argue that we cannot sit back for much longer and watch our best scientists emigrate to the USA for the most productive part of their career, and that European scientists should not tolerate a funding system that neither rewards an investigator's brilliance nor the innovative nature of their research. The EC Framework Programme is due for a face lift: scientists should wield the scalpel this time.     

欧盟Biocircle项目策略分析及对中国国际合作项目的启示

欧盟第七框架计划是当今世界上最大的官方重大科技合作计划,其研究以国际前沿和竞争性科技难点为主要内容,具有研究水平高、涉及领域广、投资力度大、参与国家多等特点.Biocircle项目是隶属于欧盟第七框架计划,参与国家24个,是一项国家联络点建设项目.通过介绍欧盟Biocircle国际合作项目,分析了欧盟国际合作项目的优势,并指出中国国际合作计划要更加主动更加开放,以期为中国的生物技术产业乃至于科技领域带来更多更好的促进机会.     

Spatial indicators for nature conservation from European to local scale

The paper presents an overview of the objectives and exemplary results of the FP 5 project “Spatial Indicators for European Nature Conservation” (SPIN). The SPIN project is focused on the development and testing of advanced classification methods and spatial indicators based on multisensor satellite data and GIS to accomplish monitoring and management tasks in the context of Natura 2000 and nature conservation. A representative selection of eight regional test areas covers a pan-European network and allows comparative investigations to provide accepted recommendations for regional and European nature conservation. The selected results of four case studies are presented and discussed. The range of work covers the production of regional and local habitat maps by object-oriented classification, a case-based reasoning method for change detection as a management support tool for planning and regulating local land use, the selection and application of structural indicators for the monitoring of Natura 2000 habitats and the downscaling and disaggregation of soil information. Results and the further implementation of presented methods are discussed in the conclusions.     

Biotechnology as the engine for the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy

Abstract

The European Commission has defined the Knowledge-Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) as the process of transforming life science knowledge into new, sustainable, eco-efficient and competitive products. The term “Bio-Economy” encompasses all industries and economic sectors that produce, manage and otherwise exploit biological resources and related services. Over the last decades biotechnologies have led to innovations in many agricultural, industrial, medical sectors and societal activities. Biotechnology will continue to be a major contributor to the Bio-Economy, playing an essential role in support of economic growth, employment, energy supply and a new generation

FP7 provides the research community with funding certainty over the next few years. One of the FP7 thematic priorities is dedicated to the strengthening the European knowledge-based bio-economy bringing together science, industry and relevant stakeholders from Europe and the rest of the world. The conditions are, therefore, favourable towards the sustainable development and deployment of biotechnologies as an engine for the knowledge-based bio-economy.     

A new view on EU agricultural landscapes: Quantifying patchiness to assess farmland heterogeneity

Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes as required by the EU biodiversity policy need a better characterization of the given landscape typology according to its ecological and cultural values. Such need should be accommodated by a better discrimination of the landscape characteristics linked to the capacity of providing ecosystem services and socio-cultural benefits. Often, these key variables depend on the degree of farmland heterogeneity and landscape patterns. We employed segmentation and landscape metrics (edge density and image texture respectively), derived from a pan-European multi-temporal and multi-spectral remote sensing dataset, to generate a consistent European indicator of farmland heterogeneity, the Farmland Heterogeneity Indicator (FHI). We mapped five degrees of FHI on a wall-to-wall basis (250 m spatial resolution) over European agricultural landscapes including natural grasslands. Image texture led to a clear improvement of the indicator compared to the pure application of Edge Density, in particular to a better detection of small patches. In addition to deriving a qualitative indicator we attributed an approximate patch size to each class, allowing an indicative assessment of European field sizes. Based on CORINE land cover, we identified pastures and heterogeneous land cover classes as classes with the highest degree of FHI, while agroforestry and olive groves appeared less heterogeneous on average. We performed a verification based on a continental and regional scale, which resulted in general good agreement with independently derived data.     

Health consequences of Chernobyl and other radiation accidents

The Radiation Protection Research Unit of the European Commission has been supporting collaborative research projects on the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident since 1991. However, in the Fourth Framework Programme of the Commission which started in 1996, the collaboration with scientists in the former Soviet Union has been placed on a different footing, and the programme has been expanded to include other regions, especially in Russia and Kazakhstan, where previous nuclear incidents have led to the exposure of workers and the local populations and to widespread radioactive contamination. There are 15 projects on health-related studies in the newly started programme, and in order to improve the collaboration between the different scientists working in these projects a Cluster Contractors' Meeting was organised in San Miniato, Italy, in June 1997 with the participation of some 50 scientists from the European Union (EU) and the Newly Independent States (NIS). This report summarizes the different topics, including molecular biology and treatment of childhood thyroid cancer, various epidemiological studies and dose reconstruction, which were discussed at the meeting and which form the major projects in the new collaborative programme. Received: 1 November 1997 / Accepted in revised form: 10 December 1997     

The loss of biodiversity conservation in EU research programmes: Thematic shifts in biodiversity wording in the environment themes of EU research programmes FP7 and Horizon 2020

Society has been seeking ways to express biodiversity's value to stimulate its protection. Economic valuation of ecosystem services has had limited success to motivate biodiversity protection and reaching the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy targets is in danger of failure. The expression of biodiversity's value in policy documents thus becomes a topic of discussion, because it greatly influences the ways policy makers think about environmental problems. We present an analysis of the word use related to biodiversity conservation versus ecosystem services in the environment themes of the FP7 and Horizon 2020 research work programs of the European Commission in the period of 2007–2014, and the projects accepted under these themes. We conclude first that biodiversity was lost as a topic in the transition from FP7 to Horizon 2020, accompanied by a three-quarters loss of biodiversity topics in the projects accepted under these research work programs. Moreover, the use of ‘ecosystem services’ was 1.5 times higher at the end of that period compared to the beginning in the research work programs, to the detriment of the use of ‘sustainability’ and ‘conservation’ which halved during that same period. In the light of international commitments to biodiversity conservation, the focus toward ecosystem services and away from conservation is of great concern.     

Diversity of European seagrass indicators: patterns within and across regions

Seagrasses are key components of coastal marine ecosystems and many monitoring programmes worldwide assess seagrass health and apply seagrasses as indicators of environmental status. This study aims at identifying the diversity and characteristics of seagrass indicators in use within and across European ecoregions in order to provide an overview of seagrass monitoring effort in Europe. We identified 49 seagrass indicators used in 42 monitoring programmes and including a total of 51 metrics. The seagrass metrics represented 6 broad categories covering different seagrass organizational levels and spatial scales. The large diversity is particularly striking considering that the pan-European Water Framework Directive sets common demands for the presence and abundance of seagrasses and related disturbance-sensitive species. The diversity of indicators reduces the possibility to provide pan-European overviews of the status of seagrass ecosystems. The diversity can be partially justified by differences in species, differences in habitat conditions and associated communities but also seems to be determined by tradition. Within each European region, we strongly encourage the evaluation of seagrass indicator–pressure responses and quantification of the uncertainty of classification associated to the indicator in order to identify the most effective seagrass indicators for assessing ecological quality of coastal and transitional water bodies.     

TRAIN: Training through Research Application Italian iNitiative

Training through Research Application Italian iNitiative (TRAIN) is a mobility program financed under the EU action called "Cofinancing of regional, national and international programs" (COFUND) of the European Commission Seventh Framework Program (FP7) - People, and has been designed to encourage the promotion and development of international programs of research through mobility at various stages of research careers. The aim of TRAIN is to improve translational skills in the field of cancer by promoting a three-year international mobility program assigning a total of 51 fellowships subdivided into incoming, outgoing and reintegration fellowships.?The TRAIN proposal has been submitted in February 2009 to the European Commission in reply to the 2008 FP7-PEOPLE-COFUND call and has been successfully evaluated. TRAIN is addressed to postdoctoral scientists or scientists who have at least four years' full-time equivalent research experience and who wish to improve their careers spending one year abroad. The mobility program is open also to non-Italian experienced scientists wishing to spend one year in an Italian research center or private company. Part of the scheme is targeted to experienced Italian scientists who have completed at least three years of research in a foreign country and are interested in returning to Italy.?TRAIN is part of an overall Italian strategy outlined by the International Program of the Italian Cancer Network "Alleanza Contro il Cancro" to promote Italian participation in the building of the European Area for translational cancer research and to enhance the interaction between academy and industry.     

Statistical Study of Protective and Risk Factors Assessed on Adolescents from South Eastern Europe and Italy, Attending High Schools in Apulia (Italy)*

This research is part of a European project in which particular attention was dedicated to “refugee” adolescents (whose migration occurred after traumatic socio-political and economic events in their country of origin). The purpose of this research was to provide a better understanding of the psychological risks and protective factors linked to the socio-cultural integration of refugee adolescents from countries with serious socio-economic difficulties. Another goal of the research was to contribute to the programmes which favour the psychophysical recovery of these adolescents from South-East Europe, with the target of attaining a normal and, as far as possible, healthy integration. The overall results obtained from the investigation form the basis for attempts to provide new models for the future creation of better policies of integration.*A collaborative project (conducted by University of Bari, Johannes Kepler Univesity in Linz, University of Tuzla, University of Prishtina, University of Tirana, Institute for Anthropological Research in Zagreb), supported by the European Commission 5th Framework specific research and technological development programme “Confirming the International Role of Community Research” – INCO – Copernicus (ICA2-CT-2002-10006).     

The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of a neglected freshwater habitat

There is growing awareness in Europe of the importance of ponds, and increasing understanding of the contribution they make to aquatic biodiversity and catchment functions. Collectively, they support considerably more species, and specifically more scarce species, than other freshwater waterbody types. Ponds create links (or stepping stones) between existing aquatic habitats, but also provide ecosystem services such as nutrient interception, hydrological regulation, etc. In addition, ponds are powerful model systems for studies in ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation biology, and can be used as sentinel systems in the monitoring of global change. Ponds have begun to receive greater protection, particularly in the Mediterranean regions of Europe, as a result of the identification of Mediterranean temporary ponds as a priority in the EU Habitats Directive. Despite this, they remain excluded from the provisions of the Water Framework Directive, even though this is intended to ensure the good status of all waters. There is now a need to strengthen, develop and coordinate existing initiatives, and to build a common framework in order to establish a sound scientific and practical basis for pond conservation in Europe. The articles presented in this issue are intended to explore scientific problems to be solved in order to increase the understanding and the protection of ponds, to highlight those aspects of pond ecology that are relevant to freshwater science, and to bring out research areas which are likely to prove fruitful for further investigation. Guest editors: R. Céréghino, J. Biggs, B. Oertli and S. Declerck The ecology of European ponds: defining the characteristics of a neglected freshwater habitat