Biotech

Non-treated myocardial infarction and nerve injuries need support to heal, but current technologies often fall short. Biomaterials, advanced body-compatible materials, can offer a solution, but they often fail to integrate properly due to luck of electrical conductivity, leading to treatment setbacks. To address this, the ESCULAPE project is harnessing MXenes, a class of atom-thin inorganic compounds with promising potential in nanotechnology, polymer science, and tissue engineering. The goal is to use MXenes to improve tissue repair and wearable electronics. The project delivers on its goals through cross-institutional exchanges, bridging academia and industry to accelerate knowledge transfer. It plans to build partnerships to provide cutting-edge research training and develop next-gen biomaterials, from heart and nerve tissue regeneration to flexible electrodes and wires for wearable biosensors.

Those living with deafness have a higher risk of depression, loneliness and dementia. Yet all too often, people with hearing loss aren’t making use of the technologies available to them. Millions of people live with severe hearing loss worldwide, though only about one in 20 receives a hearing implant. MOSAICS, an MSCA Industrial Doctorate project, wanted to understand why this was and help reduce outcome variability. This meant identifying the technological, biological, cognitive and social factors influencing how well people hear when using implants. This enabled them to understand why implants work better for some people than others, helping ensure that hearing implants support participation in daily life for everyone. The project also highlighted the importance of person-centred care, to clinicians, patients and the scientific community. The insights gained during the project are already affecting how audiologists at the Radboud University Medical Center perform their work, contributing to more effective and equitable hearing care.

Europe’s bio-based industries are addressing the key challenge of sustainability with researchers coming up with ways to turn agricultural and food waste into everything from energy to plastics and cosmetics. As a result, Europe needs to prepare its researchers to take leading roles in this emerging sector, which is where the Talent4BBI project comes in. It is helping early-stage researchers to work with industry and universities to get the skills and experience they need to become the continent’s future bioeconomy leaders. The project enabled 10 researchers to develop skills and experience in fields such as biotechnology and green chemistry to make bio-based products. For example, researcher Ana Del Hierro Calvachi used bioreactor technology to design continuous fermentation processes. By working with yeast, she could convert carbon sources derived from local food waste into high-value chemicals for industrial use. Ana and the Bionet team (industry partner) are able to support local industries in the Spanish region of Murcia and demonstrate how the process can be scaled up from the laboratory to pilot scale, contributing to Europe’s transition to a more circular biobased economy.