The origin of oxygenic photosynthesis is one of the most dramatic evolutionary events that the Earth has ever experienced. At some point in Earth’s first two billion years, primitive bacteria acquired the ability to harness sunlight, oxidize water, release O2, and transform CO2 to organic carbon, and all with unprecedented efficiency. Today, oxygenic photosynthesis accounts for nearly all of the biomass on the planet, and exerts significant control over the carbon cycle. Since 2 billion years ago (Ga), it has regulated the climate of our planet, ensuring liquid water at the surface and enough oxygen to support complex life. The biological and geological consequences of oxygenic photosynthesis are so great that they effectively underpin what we think of as a habitable planet. Understanding the origins of photosynthesis is a paramount scientific challenge at the heart of some of humanity’s greatest questions: how did life evolve? how did Earth become a habitable planet? EARTHBLOOM addresses these questions head-on through the first comprehensive scientific study of Earth’s first blooming photosynthetic ecosystem, preserved as Earth’s oldest carbonate platform. This relatively unknown, >450m thick deposit, comprised largely of 2.9 Ga fossil photosynthetic structures (stromatolites), is one of the most important early Earth fossil localities ever identified, and EARTHBLOOM is carefully positioned for major discovery. EARTHBLOOM will push the frontier of field data collection and sample screening using new XRF methods for carbonate analysis. EARTHBLOOM will also push the analytical frontier in the lab by applying the most sensitive metal stable isotope tracers for O2 at ultra-low levels (Mo, U, and Ce) coupled with novel isotopic “age of oxidation” constraints. By providing new constraints on atmospheric CO2, ocean pH, oxygen production, and nutrient availability, EARTHBLOOM is poised to redefine Earth’s surface environment at the dawn of photosynthetic life.

For almost 100 years, the evolution of humans has been summarized as a transition from small-brained bipeds with an ape-like body plan (referred to as australopiths), to large-brained striding bipeds with a human-like body plan (members of the genus Homo). This characterisation dominates popular perception of human evolution in the public sphere. However, three newly discovered fossil human (hominin) species (H. naledi, H. floresiensis and Australopithecus sediba) do not fit this simple transitional model in either morphology or time (the former two surviving contemporaneously with modern humans), and have re-ignited debate about the origin of the Homo lineage, including perceptions of the earliest putative Homo species, H. habilis. These new fossils raise fundamental questions about the ecological niches occupied by hominins and the inferred transitions between niches throughout human evolution. With NewHuman, I will pioneer a novel, interdisciplinary and holistic approach using cutting-edge analyses of internal structures of fossil hominin teeth and bones to reconstruct the adaptive niche of these enigmatic species and test whether there is an unrecognized adaptive branch on the human family tree. Specifically, NewHuman will employ ground-breaking imaging techniques and analytical tools to reveal never-before-examined tooth and bone structures in these hominins. In doing so, it will 1) characterize the behaviour of these enigmatic species and place them more firmly into their ecological environment; and 2) elucidate the adaptive strategy that was likely the transition from australopith-like hominin species to later Homo, but which also represents a highly successful lifeway that persisted for over 2 million years alongside the evolving human lineage. By achieving these ambitious aims, NewHuman will have a significant impact on hypotheses about human evolution, and could result in a paradigm shift that overturns current views on human evolutionary history.

The main aim of the CleanHME proposal is to develop a new, clean, safe, compact and very efficient energy source based on Hydrogen-Metal and plasma systems, which could be a breakthrough for both private use as well as for industrial applications. The new energy source could be employed both as a small mobile system or alternatively as a stand-alone heat and electricity generator. Hydrogen-Metal Energy (HME) is gained when hydrogen reacts with some metals under slightly increased temperature and pressure. First experiments have shown that the total heat energy produced exceeds by many orders of magnitude the chemical energy and strongly depends on applied active metallic materials and gas conditions in special reactors. Furthermore, accelerator experiments performed at higher energies of hydrogen isotopes have shown that the reaction rates can be enhanced by many orders of magnitude due to so-called electron screening effect if metallic samples with special nanostructures or crystal lattice defects are utilized. Thus, the main objectives of our proposal are to elaborate a comprehensive theory of HME phenomena and optimize the choice of the best materials for energy production in hydrogen-metal systems by combining accelerator and gas-loading experiments and to improve the reactors design leading to higher and stable energy production. We plan to construct a new compact reactor to test the HME technology during the long-term experiments and increase its technology readiness level. The proposed solutions have a potential to be a breakthrough for the power supply industry and present a solution for a carbon-free technology contributing to the climate and natural environment protection. To ensure it, we would like to build a broad multidisciplinary European consortium of scientific institutions, start-ups and commercial companies spread over 9 European countries, collaborating with leading scientists in USA and Canada.