Scientific analyses of ancient biomolecules (proteins, DNA, hard tissues) have transformed our knowledge of archaic hominins present in Eurasia prior to the expansion of modern humans from Africa. In 2010, a finger bone discovered in Siberia was assigned using DNA to a new, previously unknown human group, the Denisovans. The Denisovans interbred with both Asian Neanderthals and AMH over the past 100,000 years; their geographic distribution is now thought to have stretched from the Siberian steppes to the tropical forests of SE Asia and Oceania. Despite their broad spatio-temporal range, the Denisovans are only known from 4 tiny bones, all from a single Siberian cave. This patchy knowledge of an entire human population significantly limits our ability to test hypotheses and interpretative models concerning major issues in human evolution, such as the routes and timing of people movements across Asia, the nature and frequency of interaction between archaic indigenous groups and migratory modern humans, the mechanisms leading to the demise of archaic lineages and eventual sole dominance of our species on Earth. This project aims to rectify the dearth of Denisovan fossils by applying a novel combination of cutting-edge scientific methods (collagen fingerprinting, radiocarbon dating and ancient DNA analyses) designed to identify, date and genetically characterize new human fossils, with a particular emphasis on the discovery of Denisovan remains. Instead of only focusing on the few morphologically identifiable human bones, a groundbreaking high-throughput approach will target bulk collections of unidentified bone fragments (n=30,000) from ~20 Asian sites dating to between 100,000-10,000 years. Ultimately, the goal is to expand our understanding of the Denisovans, reveal their geographic range, age, genetic variation and archaeological signature. In addition to solving the puzzles of ancient population history, this research has the potential to decode the patchwork that makes modern humans who we are today, physically, behaviourally and genetically.

Nowadays, uncrewed spacecraft missions not only push the boundaries of our scientific understanding of the Universe, but are an indispensable tool for monitoring and increasing our understanding of Earth. However, deploying and operating spacecraft comes with many challenges usually not encountered in ground-based systems. Two major challenges are the construction, repair and modification of structures in space (e.g. telescopes like JWST) and their operation under harsh constraints like limited power and transmission bandwidths, restricting especially the computing power available onboard spacecraft. BASE (Biologically-inspired Autonomous Systems for Space Exploration) envisions a future of independent and autonomous spacecraft that can adapt to unexpected situations and reconfigure their structure accordingly without human guidance. To achieve this bold goal, this action will lay the conceptual foundation for such innovative technologies by developing novel concepts combining techniques from AI, neuromorphic computing and mathematics. More specifically, I will (i) for the first time thoroughly analyze the potential benefits (i.e. energy demands, performance) of spiking neural networks to enable onboard AI and (ii) develop methods for the autonomous self-assembly and self-modification of space structures from individual components, focussing on scenarios that are compatible with currently envisioned designs. The ambitious applications considered in BASE will drive highly innovative progress in the considered disciplines, e.g., by deriving the first mathematical theory for characterising computational properties of spiking neural networks. By tightly binding theory and algorithms to concrete applications, the transferability of the outcome of this action to impactful technologies is guaranteed. Finally, the objectives of BASE are complementary, providing both the computing platform and methodology for spacecraft autonomy, yielding a highly unique research program.

Subterranean ecosystems host a broad diversity of specialized and endemic organisms that account for a unique fraction of the global taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity. Furthermore, they deliver crucial nature’s contributions to people—especially the provisioning of potable water to more than half of the world’s population. Yet, these out-of-sight ecosystems are systematically overlooked in post-2020 biodiversity and climate change targets. Only 6.9% of known subterranean ecosystems overlap with the global network of protected areas, with just a few of these areas designed to account for their vertical dimension. Two main impediments are responsible for this lack of protection. First, subterranean biodiversity patterns remain largely unmapped, even in areas with a long speleological tradition such as Europe. Second, we lack a mechanistic understanding of subterranean species' response to human-induced perturbations. The project DarCo aims to map subterranean biodiversity patterns across Europe and develop an explicit plan to incorporate subterranean ecosystems in the European Union (EU) Biodiversity Strategy for 2030. To this end, we have established a multidisciplinary team of leading scientists in subterranean biology, macroecology, and conservation science from a broad range of European countries. The project is articulated in three interconnected work packages devoted to direct research (WP2–4), plus a fourth package (WP5) aimed at maximizing the dissemination of results and engagement of stakeholders to implement practical conservation. First, by compiling existing databases and leveraging a capillary network of international collaborators, we will gather distribution data, traits, and phylogenies for all major subterranean animal groups, including crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and vertebrates (WP2). These data will serve to predict species responses to human threats using Hierarchical Modelling of Species Communities (WP3). Models' predictions of biodiversity change will provide the basis for a first dynamic mapping of subterranean life in Europe. By intersecting maps of diversity patterns, threats, and protected areas, we will design a plan to protect subterranean biodiversity complementing the current EU network of protected areas (Natura 2000), while taking into account climate-driven shifts in subterranean ecoregions (WP4). Finally, through target activities in WP5, we seek to raise societal awareness about subterranean ecosystems and invite stakeholders to incorporate subterranean biodiversity in multilateral agreements. In compliance with the European Plan S, we will make all data open and re-usable by the development of a centralized and open database on subterranean life—the Subterranean Biodiversity Platform. This will ensure that future generations will be able to build upon knowledge accumulated on subterranean biodiversity and monitor the effectiveness of today’s protection measures in the years ahead.

The fundamental weakness of nation state and EU efforts to effectively manage migration to Europe lies in ensuring the return of foreigners who pass or avoid border controls but are then neither granted asylum nor a residence permit. Many Member States thereby increasingly rely on public policies for the so-called ‘voluntary return’ of irregular migrants and (refused) asylum seekers. Very little is known about how these approaches work in practice and whether they meet stated policy goals and discharge state obligations regarding migrants’ human rights. The project REvolTURN addresses this research gap through a close and comparative analysis of ‘voluntary return’ policies in Austria and the UK, including their adoption, implementation and immediate outcome. It examines 1) how voluntariness of return is constructed and framed in law, policy and public discourse, 2) which notions of voluntariness are crucial for policy implementation, and 3) what impact this has on migrants’ own decision-making about their return. My innovative and interdisciplinary mixed-method approach combines comparative policy and discourse analysis, detailed institutional ethnography through observation and in-depth interviews and a survey among potential returnees. REvolTURN addresses a key priority of the Horizon 2020 work programme for 2016-17: to better manage migration, and will also contribute to recent scholarship regarding the in/effectiveness of migration policies and the agency of migrants holding no or highly precarious statuses. The project has three main objectives: 1) to better understand the role and functioning of voluntariness in the context of state-managed migratory return; 2) to develop a framework for assessing and comparing these roles and functions, including their effectiveness; and 3) to thereby contribute to evidence-based and workable policy solutions that increase the number of genuinely voluntary returns without undermining the very logic underlying this approach.