Director of ELLIS Institute Finland, prof. Samuel Kaski, receives ERC Advanced Grant of 2.5 M€ to develop new machine learning that is robust, generalizable and engages human experts.

There is more movement in our genome than we think. Almost half of the human genome consists of transposons – short DNA sequences capable of relocating within the genome. They “jump” from one place to another, not uniformly distributing across the genome, but often grouping together in clusters. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have now discovered how this clustering occurs. This is made possible by a physical effect that results in local unfolding of the genome. The results were published in the Biophysical Journal. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2025.03.038)

University College Dublin researchers Assoc Prof Barry Wardell and Prof Kylie Jarrett receive a total of €5 million for projects exploring gravitational waves and livelihoods generated by digital platforms.

Diego Di Bernardo of the Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine (TIGEM) has received a €2.5 million ERC Advanced Grant for DIMERCIRCUITS, a project that combines synthetic biology, artificial intelligence, and systems biology to create programmable genetic circuits. These tools aim to precisely and reversibly control gene expression, paving the way for safer, more personalized gene therapies. Using rare diseases like Friedreich’s ataxia as testbeds, the project could unlock new treatment strategies for a broad range of genetic conditions..

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg receives over 10 million Euro by the European Research Council (ERC). Four research projects – in astrophysics, neuroscience, brain imaging, and math – were awarded around 2.5 million Euro each in the form of a competitive ERC Advanced Grant. ISTA is one of the most successful institutions at winning grants from this EU funding body.

A new study  by Prof. XUE Tian from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), Prof. YAO Yonggang of the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Prof. ZHAO Huan of Hefei University has revealed that chronic exposure to artificial light at night (LAN) can trigger depression-like behaviors by activating a specific neural pathway in the brain.