We’ve long known that a woman’s lifestyle and exposures during pregnancy can influence her child’s health. But what about men?
Oskar Karlsson and his team from Stockholm University reveal that, even before conception, a father’s environment – from chemical exposure to stress – can alter gene expression in ways that are passed down to future generations.
By revealing how a father’s past can shape his child’s future, the project doesn’t just advance biology and public health concerns – it also demands we rethink reproductive responsibility, from the lab to the living room.
Check their website: https://karlssonlab.se
#FrontierResearch
@stockholmuniversity@scilifelab@environment_sthlmuni@eukommissionen
Winning a grant from the European Research Council means the freedom to explore bold ideas, ask big questions and push the frontiers of knowledge.
For many researchers, it’s a moment they will never forget.
Interested in applying for a grant?
The ERC offers several types of grants for researchers at different stages of their careers:
👉 Starting Grants for early-career scientists
👉 Consolidator Grants for researchers building their own team
👉 Advanced Grants for established research leaders
👉 Synergy Grants bring together small groups of researchers to tackle ambitious problems
👉 Proof of Concept Grants explore the innovation potential of ERC-funded discoveries.
Find out more on our website!
🌊 Who controls the science of the high seas? The new UN High Seas Treaty is a big win for ocean protection, but it also tells another story.
Alice Vadrot, Professor in International Relations and the Environment at the Universität Wien, followed the negotiations closely and found that science wasn’t just guiding decisions, it was part of the negotiations.
📊 Countries used data strategically
🌍 Not everyone had equal access to science
⚖️ A balance had to be struck between conservation and fairness
Power in global politics is closely tied to who produces and controls knowledge. In the end, science isn’t just about facts, it’s about influence.
#ScienceDiplomacy
@univienna
On Europe Day, we're asking a question we think is worth sitting with: what happens when science is free to follow curiosity, without knowing where it will lead?
The answer, time and again, is that it leads somewhere important.
Researchers spend years exploring questions with no obvious application – from how AI reshapes warfare, to what ancient ice reveals about climate, to how policies build up over time.
None of these started with a guaranteed outcome. All of them produced knowledge that matters.
That is free science. And it is worth protecting.
@eu_science europeancommission
Every year, around 3.2 million women are diagnosed with breast, ovarian or cervical cancers. Together, these cancers cause over 1.2 million deaths annually.
An ERC-funded project led by Claudia Allemani is tackling a crucial question: why survival for these cancers differ so dramatically around the world.
It provides the first truly global picture of cancer care pathways, based on data for more than 275 000 women, diagnosed between 2025 and 2018, across 39 countries.
🔷 The findings show that for ovarian cancer, fewer than 20% of women are diagnosed at an early stage worldwide, although the situation remains slightly worse for women in low-and middle income countries.
🔷 Access to surgery and treatments that align with international guidelines also varies widely, and older women are less likely to receive recommended care.
By identifying where and why care falls short, the project aims to guide policymakers and help prevent avoidable deaths worldwide.
“Optimal treatment for early-stage tumours is more accessible in most countries. Efforts to promote early detection should continue,” says Claudia Allemani, based at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK.
Co-author Veronica Di Carlo refers to international clinical guidelines, stressing “women everywhere need to be able to discuss their treatment with medical professionals, in order to access the best available options according to recommended guidelines.”
#WorldOvarianCancerDay
@lshtm
🌍 The biggest challenges we face can’t be solved alone. From climate change to global health and digital security, progress depends on cooperation across borders, yet collaboration is under pressure.
In the new #ERCMagazine, ERC President Maria Leptin discusses why science diplomacy matters and how science can help bridge divides.
She highlights three key ideas:
🔸 Knowledge as a global common
🔸 Science as a tool for diplomacy
🔸 Inclusive scientific research systems
By supporting curiosity-driven research, the ERC helps sustain open international collaboration.
📖 Read the editorial in the latest ERC Magazine: Check the link in bio
🔬 The quiet diplomacy of science. While headlines focus on political tensions, another kind of diplomacy is happening: researchers collaborating across borders, data shaping international agreements, and evidence bridging ideological divides.
The new ERC Magazine explores how research is reshaping global cooperation, featuring:
💡 How science strengthens multilateral systems
🌊 What really happens inside ocean biodiversity negotiations
⚖️ Why evidence matters in constitutional debates
💻 The diplomatic challenges of emerging technologies
🧪 What history can teach us about science diplomacy today
🌍 How ERC Synergy Grants connect curiosity-driven research to real-world policy challenges
As ERC President Maria Leptin puts it:
💬 'We don’t ask our researchers to be diplomats - yet their excellent science naturally feeds into global policy.'
Meet ERC grantee Themis Alissafi, who serves as an ambassador for the ERC in Greece. She is advancing research on how the immune system is regulated, helping us better understand inflammation and disease.
She also leads her own research group at the Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens and is Assistant Professor at NKUA, contributing to cutting-edge immunology research in Greece and beyond.
The future belongs to the curious. From the depths of the ocean to the most remote deserts and laboratory benches, ERC-funded researchers follow their curiosity wherever it leads.
Curiosity-driven research pushes the frontiers of knowledge and often leads to breakthroughs we could never have predicted — ones that later transform our lives, from new medical technologies to everyday tools.
Because when researchers are free to explore the unknown, they don’t just answer questions — they uncover entirely new ones. And that’s where tomorrow’s breakthroughs begin.
ERC grantees and their teams have been carrying out their research at over 1,000 host institutions across Europe and beyond — some of which you can spot in this video.
Photo credits for pictures shown in video 📸: Jacopo Pasotti; Savanna Paulsen; Ana B. Marín-Arroyo; Nohemi Sala; João Cascalheira; James Guest
It’s all about space these days 🌑🌠
Check out this fascinating research from Inge Bellemans and her team at the University of Ghent in Belgium. She received an ERC Starting Grant in 2024 to investigate how metal, oxygen and cement can be produced from lunar dust to build a permanent lunar base.
By using high-temperature electrolysis powered by solar energy, the process could produce essential materials directly on the Moon - without relying on supplies from Earth. This innovative, waste-free approach could also inspire more sustainable metal production methods here on Earth.
@ugent@eu4be
Photo credits: NASA & University of Ghent
World Health Day is a reminder that simple actions can already make a difference for our health and our planet.
🧼 Wash your hands more often
🚫 Don’t dispose of medicines in sinks or toilets
💊 Use antibiotics only when prescribed
As highlighted by keynote speaker Ilaria Capua at a recent ERC conference, tackling antimicrobial resistance requires a true One Health approach across people, animals and the environment.
@ecdc.eu
