Head of Communication: Abel Grau; Editorial board: Esther M. García Pastor, Alejandro Parrilla García; Writers: Lucía Casas Piñeiro, Isidoro García Cano, Esther M. García Pastor, Carmen Fernández, Ana Iglesias, Mónica Lara del Vigo, Silbia López de Lacalle, Víctor Lloret Blackburn, Alejandro Parrilla García, Belén Remacha; Photography: César Hernández, Álvaro Muñoz Guzmán, Joan Costa, Artur Martínez y Pau Franch; Translation: Fabiola Barraclough. This special issue of ‘CSIC Investiga. Journal of Science’ shows the performance of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) within the EU R&D framewok programme Horizon 2020. It presents reportages on research projects about Qur’an heritage in Europe, the exploration of Mars, the new robots that assist people, more efficient parasites controls in fishery, new sustainable packaging, methods to trace asymptomatic tuberculosis transmisión, and the historic legacy of the Senegal’s region of Pathiana, among others. Peer reviewed