Future trends

Biomining: microorganisms to recover critical minerals

The energy transition needs materials. Many of them. The International Energy Agency estimates that, on a pathway consistent with climate goals, production of the minerals required for clean energy technologies may need to increase sixfold between 2020 and 2040.…

Mental privacy emerges as the next digital frontier

For years, we have debated who controls our data. The next question is even more profound: who controls what happens inside your mind, and under what rules…

New challenges for atmospheric governance

The climate emergency and the slow pace of reducing emissions have brought solar radiation modification (SRM) back into the international debate. SRM involves a range of interventions designed to reflect a portion of incoming solar radiation and temporarily cool the…

Fungi as a strategic frontier

Fungi play a structural role in the functioning of ecosystems and their associated microbiomes, shaping biogeochemical, agricultural and health-related processes through networks of interaction. However, their role in these ecological interactions is not well…

The environmental footprint of space activity in the atmosphere

Growing human activity in space is expanding its environmental footprint, driven by the increasing number of satellites that re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their operational life. This practice is especially common in low Earth orbit, the region of space…

Less tobacco and alcohol, but more obesity: the evolution of major health risk factors in Spain

Smoking and alcohol consumption are declining, while obesity continues to rise: this contrast defines the recent evolution of the main health risk factors in Spain. In 2020, 20% of the Spanish population smoked daily and only 9% drank alcohol every day, compared with…

Infections without a cure: the challenge of bacterial resistance

Bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics, a phenomenom that began decades ago and is already having a major impact. In 2023, antibiotic resistance was linked to 24.000 deaths in Spain and more than 4.5 million worldwide. Recent international and…

CRISPR: genetic precision to redesign the future

Imagine a biology that is increasingly programmable, with crops able to withstand extreme droughts, bacteria capable of capturing pollutants, and cells engineered to correct hereditary diseases. CRISPR technology, developed just over a decade ago, is one of the tools…

Fewer people, more jobs: the future of Europe's workforce

Europe is heading towards a sustained decline in population. In the coming years, most EU countries will experience demographic decline as a direct consequence of low fertility rates and an ageing population.

This is not a new…

Fossil-free compost

Despite the advances in organic farming over recent decades, European agriculture still depends on a difficult-to-replace input: ammonia. Without it, it would be impossible to produce the fertilisers that sustain around 90% of Europe’s agricultural output. The problem…