European Parliament - Eprs Science And Technology Podcasts

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

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

'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

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

Since its early development in the 1960s, Internet infrastructure has become almost as important as electricity and transport infrastructures in contemporary societies. More and more key services such as banking, food retail, and health care, rely on Internet connections. Despite its original resilient decentralised design, the increasing importance of a few central players and centralising developments have made the Internet more vulnerable to failure. What repercussions would that entail? Listen to our podcast to know more! https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2021)690044 https://youtu.be/wggqWelXPLk Source: © European Union - EP

Deepfakes are hyper-realistic videos created through artificial intelligence techniques. They present many possibilities, but also dangers. A wide range of malicious uses have been identified, including fraud, extortion and political disinformation. The impacts of such misuse can be financial, psychological and reputational. While the technology itself is legal, some malicious uses are not, and a combination of legal and technical measures may be mobilised to limit their production and dissemination. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2021)690046 https://youtu.be/m2FfdjMWBr0 Source: © European Union - EP

Artificial intelligence (AI) policy debates are replete with metaphors. In this podcast, we explore some challenges presented by the central metaphor of ‘intelligence’, examine how AI metaphors emphasise competition at the cost of cooperation, and ask whether new metaphors could help us to articulate ambitious visions for AI, and new criteria for success. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2021)690024 https://youtu.be/McfLzteWrEo Source: © European Union - EP

The internet of things is already making us reimagine daily life, but could artificial intelligence be the key to reaching the full potential of this technology? https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2021)656344 https://youtu.be/czGzqz2JTrM Source: © European Union - EP

As artificial intelligence (AI) companies and other organisations are seeking ways to comply with ethical principles and requirements, blockchain, under specific circumstances, could be seen as a means to safeguard that AI is deployed in an ethically sound manner. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document.html?reference=EPRS_ATA(2020)656334 https://youtu.be/JpNf0uqzVcs Source: © European Union - EP

Sequencing and analysis of the human genome, all the genetic information stored in our DNA, enable understanding about a person's ancestry, health and various traits. DNA sequencing greatly benefits medicine and the life sciences by allowing them to predict and cure diseases. While DNA sequencing technologies continuously improve and become less costly, what if we all soon possessed our personal, smart DNA sequencers and apps to analyse DNA? https://multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/en/eprs-multimedia-centre_15406_pk https://youtu.be/PCtgcZpswdU Source: © European Union - EP