The Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) launches 14 scientific challenges to expand knowledge about life, matter, the brain, disease, society, energy and climate. These challenges are presented in the “White Paper Scientific Challenges 2030”, which channels the CSIC’s scientific advances towards understanding and solving major global challenges.
The CSIC launches 14 strategic topics to coordinate cutting-edge and multidisciplinary research teams. The contents of these proposals are gathered in the “White Paper Scientific Challenges CSIC 2030”, which has had during the last year with the collaboration of more than 1,100 researchers belonging to 112 CSIC centers, including the Center for Advanced Studies of Blanes (CEAB-CSIC), as well as external collaborators of other public research bodies and universities.
The “White Paper Scientific Challenges 2030” proposes a reflection on current issues with greater scientific impact and social importance, as well as expanding the boundaries of knowledge in areas such as the origin of life, the composition of matter, exploration of space, the functioning of the brain, the energy transition, global society and the impact of global change, among others. These topics will work as large research teams, which enhance synergies between areas of knowledge, in order to achieve the objectives set.
The paper addresses complex challenges in areas such as health and social sciences and the selected strategic topics cover both basic issues and potential applications of knowledge.
“The 14 White Papers, designed as a reference for the elaboration of the scientific strategy of the institution, allow to know the research that is carried out today in the centers of the CSIC, and at the same time provide a global vision of what will be the scientific priorities over the next decade “, explains Victòria Moreno-Arribas, Vice-President of Scientific and Technical Areas of the CSIC
The Blanes Center for Advanced Studies is actively involved in three of the strategic issues
One of them is Challenge 5, which deals with aspects related to the brain, mind and behavior. It aims to understand the basic mechanisms that govern the functioning of this organ, and use this knowledge to design and evaluate therapeutic approaches.
Another of the issues in which our center has been involved is in Challenge 7, an area that proposes to assess the impact of global change. We understand global change as the set of environmental changes that result from human activities on the planet. The aim of the CSIC in this field is to study the past of these transformations, to understand the present, and to be able to predict the future of the global environment.
The last of the proposals in which the CEAB-CSIC has participated is Challenge 13, that of the oceans. In addition to being fundamental to the well-being of human societies, they act as the largest reservoir of carbon and heat on Earth. Growing problems of acidification, rising temperatures, rising sea levels and the presence of invasive species, among others, make this challenge the essential tool to achieve a healthier, safer and more secure future. sustainable for our oceans.
