Life Sciences: A Solution to Pollution

You can interact with scientists who are leading exciting research projects that use molecular biology to examine life and nanoplastics deep in the oceans and on land. You will gain a better understanding of why life science research is important in the global effort to tackle pollution, and how this research can help us find solutions.

Scientists from EMBL and our partner, the Tara Ocean Foundation, will introduce existing and future ocean and land research projects, such as:

• Mission Microplastics – to understand where plastic pollution in the ocean comes from and how it impacts us.
• Tackling plastic pollution – using specialised X-ray technology to understand the impact of tiny plastic particles that can get into our bodies and food supply.
• TREC– a touring mobile lab that will collect samples from land, oceans and rivers to help monitor the health of European coastlines and seas, and will accelerate knowledge transfer through outreach and training of citizens and scientists.
• Fighting pesticide pollution with microbes – to identify microbes and how they break down pesticides. This will enable scientists to better monitor pesticide pollution, remove pesticides from the environment, and design greener chemicals.

You will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in discussion with EMBL scientists, the Tara Ocean Foundation, and representatives from industry and government about how we can all be more active in reducing pollution and making our world healthier and greener.

Who should attend?

Anyone interested in learning and engaging in discussion about how life science research can help us find solutions to pollution and how key sectors of society can play an active role in creating a greener world. This could include activists, students, science enthusiasts, scientists, and policy- and decision-makers from industry, academia, or government.