Safeguarding European plant health: New joint factsheet outlines synergy between Horizon Europe projects FORSAID, CERBERUS and STELLA

Pensoft Publishers

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The first page of the joint infographic, opening with the headline "Technology-driven early detection of biotic stressors threatening European plant health".

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Credit: Pensoft Publishers

One of the biggest threats to Europe's forests and farms is the spread of biotic stressors, capable of reversing decades of cultivation and conservation. As part of its efforts to address this challenge, the EU has mobilised three sister projects - FORSAID, CERBERUS and STELLA. Recently, they have released a joint factsheet presenting their complementary activities demonstrating how innovative digital technologies can improve the early detection and management of plant pests. 

The factsheet marks the latest chapter in an ongoing partnership between the three initiatives. Funded under the same Horizon Europe call, FORSAID, CERBERUS and STELLA are united by a shared vision, namely that artificial intelligence, remote sensing and citizen engagement can transform how Europe identifies and responds to pest outbreaks. The output not only offers a concise and accessible overview of each project’s respective core objective, but it also highlights where their work intersects -the thematic lines,  technological solutions and methodological approaches they have in common.

Looking at them individually, FORSAID is developing a comprehensive framework for the detection, monitoring and management of 10 EU-regulated biotic stressor species in forests. Bringing together 17 partner organisations from 10 countries, the four-year project is placing artificial intelligence and digital technologies at the core of its efforts to map the future of forest pest control in Europe.

CERBERUS is building a multi-layer early detection and monitoring system for Mediterranean agriculture. Integrating remote and proximal sensings, automation for ground solutions and AI, the project collects data from space, the field and the public to support the management of both quarantine and commonly managed pests across vineyards, olive groves and citrus orchards. This information feeds into AI-driven risk maps and spraying recommendations, helping cut pesticide use while maintaining effective crop protection. 

STELLA is developing a holistic digital system - the STELLA Pest Surveillance System (PSS) - to support the early warning and detection of regulated pests. Drawing on AI-supported innovations in satellite/UAV sensing, sensor and crowdsourcing technologies, the project pairs the detection capabilities it is developing with a response strategy designed to help stop outbreaks before they can spread.

Although FORSAID concentrates on forest pest control while CERBERUS and STELLA focus on agricultural crops, the three projects have far more in common than a shared funding call. As demonstrated within the factsheet, all three are tackling comparable challenges with overlapping tools - AI-driven risk modelling, remote sensing and citizen science monitoring among them.

This common ground has already brought the projects' younger generation of researchers together. In June 2025, PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from all three consortia met for a first joint Young Scientist Meeting, where they discussed forming dedicated working groups on citizen science, communication, remote sensing and pest surveillance.

Since then FORSAID and STELLA’s partnership has moved into the field. In May 2026 the two projects carried out joint fieldwork on the Greek island of Euboea, deploying drone-based remote sensing to evaluate tree health in forests affected by canker stain disease. 

As all three projects move deeper into their implementation phases, this spirit of collaboration is expected to grow further. The joint factsheet serves as both an introduction to their combined work and an invitation to explore what a united, technology-driven plant health protection response can achieve across Europe.

 

Psychedelics and anesthetics create mirror image patterns in the brain

A new study offers a data-driven approach to differentiating conscious state

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

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For something so familiar to human experience, consciousness is still a mystery.

Each day, people cycle through wakefulness and sleep, from a higher level of consciousness to a lower one.

What’s more, some people alter their conscious experience with drugs such as psychedelics, or have unconsciousness induced by anesthesia.

Researchers have investigated these altered states of awareness in an attempt to understand how consciousness is organized within the brain.

A new Michigan Medicine led study takes a data driven approach and for the first time reveals that psychedelics and anesthetics create “mirror image” patterns of large-scale brain organization, with opposite network features.

The team, led by Rui Dai, Ph.D., and Zirui Huang, Ph.D., of the Department of Anesthesiology and Center for Consciousness Science at Michigan Medicine, analyzed functional MRI data from study participants who were administered psychedelic compounds—LSD, psilocybin and nitrous oxide—and compared them to readouts of MRIs of the brain in a sleeping state or under sedation with propofol.

“In previous literature, each individual drug’s influence on brain connectivity was analyzed separately,” said Dai.

“To our knowledge, no one has systematically assessed these two drug classes to compare network organization compared to waking consciousness.”

Specifically, the team observed that psychedelics increased functional connectivity (how closely two brain regions work together), while sleep and anesthesia reduced it.

The same pattern held for topological integration, meaning how easily information travels across the brain, and for interaction complexity, or the number of different patterns of brain interaction that can be observed.

“Overall, these results mean that during psychedelic states, the brain becomes more globally connected, more efficient in communication and more dynamic, while anesthetic states are the opposite,” said Dai.

Furthermore, their results offer a reliable way to differentiate conscious states using data.

The neural mechanism of consciousness is a longstanding scientific question, adds Huang, who is Director of the Center for Consciousness Science at University of Michigan Medical School.

“We analyze it using drugs because we know they will affect consciousness in some way, but we don’t know how. The mirror-image effect discovered by this study suggests that the integration, efficiency, and complexity of brain activity may be fundamental to consciousness.”

Additional authors: Hyunwoo Jang, Anthony G. Hudetz and George Mashour

Paper cited: “Opposite network patterns of integration-segregation in psychedelic and sedated states of consciousness,” Cell Reports. DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117830

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Journal

Cell Reports

DOI

10.1016/j.celrep.2026.117830 

 

Researcher to study how birds could inspire quieter, more agile drones

University of Central Florida College of Engineering and Computer Science

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Researcher Samik Bhattacharya and a student in his laboratory.

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Credit: Daniel Schipper | UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science

Modern drones and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struggle with safe and precise near-ground maneuvers – but birds can perform these movements effortlessly.

With that notion in mind, Associate Professor Samik Bhattacharya is studying how birds sweep their wings and use their tails during critical moments of takeoff and landing to improve the agility of drones. This research is supported through a three-year $400,000 grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Bhattacharya and his team in the Experimental Fluid Mechanics Laboratory will use 3D-printed pigeons and magpies to observe both their movements and the subsequent flow of water around their wings and tails in a water-towing tank. The aerospace engineering researcher says he specifically chose pigeons and black-billed magpies because of the similarities between their wing size and shape as well as the differences in the size of their tails.

“The magpie's tail is almost twice the size of the pigeon's tail,” Bhattacharya says. “This lets the study isolate the effect of wing-to-tail area ratio on the aerodynamics so that the differences measured between the two species can be attributed largely to the tail rather than to differences in wing geometry.”

One phenomenon that Bhattacharya is particularly interested in studying is called a dipole jet. This occurs when a bird rapidly pitches its wings during landing or takeoff. The airflow can separate near the leading edge and form a leading-edge vortex while the airflow from the trailing edge creates its own vortex. The counter-rotating pair of vortices creates a jet of fluid between them known as a dipole jet.

“This jet effectively delivers a burst of extra lift or thrust that compensates for the fact that a bird's forward speed, and the lift from its bound circulation, is too low at the start or end of flight to keep it airborne on its own,” Bhattacharya says. “The strength and direction of this jet can be tuned through wing sweep and pitch timing, directly govern the forces a bird or a future UAV experiences during the most delicate, low-speed phase of landing or takeoff.”

Dipole jets are also the reason Bhattacharya and his team are conducting their experiments in a water tank. This environment supports the high resolution optical diagnostics needed to visualize dipole jets in action. It also makes airflow much easier to measure.

The end goal of these observations is to develop concrete guidance for designers and manufacturers to create quieter and more agile drones. The findings will be shared with the robotics and aerospace industries to improve package delivery, emergency operations and urban air mobility.

“Bird-inspired fixed- or flapping-wing drones could land almost anywhere quietly and safely – think rooftop deliveries, medical supply drops in disaster zones or inspection drones that perch like birds instead of hovering,” Bhattacharya says. “Beyond aviation, the research reveals fundamental secrets of how animals move through fluids – knowledge that could improve everything from wind turbines to underwater robots.”

 

Local microbes persist in wine despite commercial yeast

American Society for Microbiology

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Key Points:

• Commercial yeast inoculation, adding a specific strain of yeast to start the fermentation process, is a common practice in winemaking.
• Researchers tested Nebbiolo grapes and discovered that regional microbial imprints remain detectable after inoculation.
• Microbes that come from the vineyard leave a lasting imprint on fermentation and wine aroma, even under controlled, inoculated conditions.

Washington, D.C.—A new study has demonstrated that regional microbial imprints can remain detectable under commercial winemaking conditions. The new research, appearing in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, an ASM journal, shows that inoculated fermentations do not “override” native microbial diversity and demonstrates that vineyard management and environmental conditions matter in the quality of wine. The study helps explain why wines from different regions taste distinct even when made with similar techniques and, supports regional flavors and branding.

“Regional identity in wine is biologically encoded and microbes from different vineyards behave differently and influence wine chemistry and aroma. Because microbial communities are shaped by geography, climate and viticultural practices, these factors indirectly influence fermentation outcomes and the regional typicity of wines,” said corresponding study author Kalliopi Rantsiou, Ph.D., Professor of Food Microbiology and Coordinator of the master’s degree in Viticulture and Enology at the University of Turin, Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, in Italy. “Furthermore, commercial inoculation does not entirely erase microbial signatures associated with the origin of the grapes.”

The researchers conducted their study because recent research has shown that grape‑associated microbial communities are not randomly distributed but exhibit clear biogeographical structuring—meaning that different regions harbor distinct microbial assemblages. These microbial differences can influence fermentation dynamics, organic acid metabolism and volatile compound formation. This concept, often referred to as microbial terroir, has become a major frontier in wine science. However, despite this growing body of work, a gap remained: almost all microbial terroir studies have focused on spontaneous fermentations or pre‑fermentation grape microbiota. Very few have tested whether these regional microbial signatures persist when winemakers use commercial yeast inoculation, common practice in modern wineries. The researchers set out to determine whether microbial terroir persists under inoculated fermentation, and whether it still influences fermentation dynamics, chemical composition and wine aroma. The aim was to test whether microbial terroir is robust enough to subsist inoculation and remain a meaningful contributor to regional wine identity—a question of high relevance for both science and industry.

Nebbiolo grapes provided an ideal model for the study because they are grown across distinct regions with strong environmental contrasts and are known for having complex fermentative microbiota. The researchers collected Nebbiolo grapes from 38 vineyards across 3 regions in northern Italy. All grapes were fermented under identical small scale winery conditions using the same commercial yeast strain, temperature, equipment and nutrient additions. This strict standardization ensured that any differences observed in microbial behavior or wine chemistry were due to the grapes and their native microbes, not the winemaking process. Throughout fermentation, the researchers repeatedly sampled the must, freshly crushed juice of grapes and wine to assess microbes present, microbial communities’ changes over time, fermentation chemistry over time and aroma compounds development. The results allowed the scientists to check whether wines still carried a “regional microbial fingerprint.”

The researchers discovered that the vineyard’s microbial fingerprint persists throughout fermentation, even when a commercial yeast is added. Regional microbial differences were clear from the start and these differences did not disappear after inoculation. Microbial differences were linked to chemical and aroma differences. The researchers concluded that the microbes that come from the vineyard leave a lasting imprint on fermentation and wine aroma, even under controlled, inoculated conditions.

“The outcomes support the concept that microbial terroir is robust. Even when winemakers use commercial yeast inoculation—a widespread practice—the vineyard’s native microbial community still shapes fermentation trajectories and contributes to wine identity,” Rantsiou said.

 

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ASM is a global community shaping the future of the microbial sciences to tackle some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Established in 1899, ASM connects scientists across disciplines, sectors and borders to advance discovery, foster collaboration and drive innovation.

With more than 38,000 members and a global network that reaches millions, ASM accelerates scientific progress through publishing, convening, advocacy and professional development. From climate change and antimicrobial resistance to industrial, basic and applied microbiology, ASM empowers the microbial sciences community to create solutions that benefit society and build what’s next.

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Applied and Environmental Microbiology

 

Electrochemical low‑concentration CO₂ capture and conversion: from catalyst design to electrolyzer engineering

SciOpen

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Schematic overview of electrochemical low-concentration CO2 capture and conversion, highlighting integrated single and dual electrolytic cell capture–conversion systems, direct dilute CO2 electrolysis through local CO2 enrichment and impurity-tolerant catalyst design, and electrolyzer engineering strategies involving gas diffusion layers, flow-field design, and operating-condition optimization.

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Credit: Industrial Chemistry & Materials

Electrochemical CO2 reduction uses renewable electricity to convert CO2 into value-added fuels and chemicals, offering a promising route for carbon recycling. However, most current studies rely on high-purity CO2 feeds, while practical carbon sources such as industrial flue gas and air contain dilute CO2 together with impurities including O2, SOx, and NOx. Low CO2 concentrations limit mass transport and promote the competing hydrogen evolution reaction, while impurities may trigger side reactions or deactivate catalytic sites. A team of scientists has reviewed recent progress in the electrochemical capture and conversion of dilute CO2, outlining strategies to bring CO2 electrolysis closer to practical carbon sources. Their work is published in the journal Industrial Chemistry & Materials on July 15, 2026.

“One of the key challenges is to maintain sufficient CO2 availability at the active sites under dilute CO2 while minimizing the effects of competing reactions and impurities,” explains Ying Wang, a professor at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The researchers highlight two main approaches for utilizing dilute CO2. The first is integrated CO2 capture and conversion. In single electrolytic cell systems, captured carbon species are directly converted within the same device, while dual electrolytic cell systems separate CO2 capture from electrochemical conversion, allowing the two processes to be optimized independently.

The second route is the direct electrolysis of dilute CO2, which avoids a separate capture step but faces greater challenges in CO2 transport and impurity tolerance. Strategies such as porous catalyst structures, CO2-affinity functional groups, and wettability regulation can increase the local CO2 concentration near active sites and stabilize the gas-liquid-solid reaction interface.

Impurities in realistic gas streams present an additional challenge. O2 can compete for electrons through the oxygen reduction reaction, SOx may cause irreversible poisoning of catalytic sites, and NOx can undergo competing reduction reactions. Developing catalysts and interfaces that favor CO2 transport and conversion while suppressing these unwanted pathways is therefore important for direct flue-gas electrolysis.

The review also emphasizes that catalyst development alone is not sufficient. Gas diffusion layers, flow-field design, pressure, temperature, humidity, and electrolyte composition all influence reactant transport, product selectivity, and long-term stability.

“Dilute CO2 electrolysis is not simply a catalyst problem, but a system-level challenge,” says Professor Wang. “Catalyst design and electrolyzer engineering need to be considered together to achieve efficient and stable operation under realistic conditions.”

Looking ahead, the researchers identify several priorities, including multifunctional catalysts for CO2 enrichment and impurity tolerance, a better understanding of catalyst deactivation under mixed contaminants, operando measurement of local CO2 concentrations, and improved mass-transfer uniformity during electrolyzer scale-up. These advances could help enable selective, durable, and scalable electrochemical conversion of low-concentration CO2 from practical carbon sources.

The research team includes Birou Huang, Renzhong Zhang, Qian Lu, Weixing Wu, Zhuohan Chen, and Ying Wang from The Chinese University of Hong Kong; and Pratahdeep Gogoi and Yuguang C. Li from the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

This research is funded by the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the 1+1+1 CUHK-CUHK(SZ)-GDSTC Joint Collaboration Fund.

 

DOI Link:

https://doi.org/10.1039/d6im00201c

 

About Industrial Chemistry & Materials

Industrial Chemistry & Materials is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary academic journal published by Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) with APCs currently waived. ICM publishes significant innovative research and major technological breakthroughs in all aspects of industrial chemistry and materials, especially the important innovation of the low-carbon chemical industry, energy, and functional materials. Check out the latest ICM news on the blog.

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Journal

Industrial Chemistry and Materials

DOI

10.1039/d6im00201c 

Article Title

Electrochemical low-concentration CO2 capture and conversion: from catalyst design to electrolyzer engineering

Public confidence in Fauci declines since spring, but still exceeds RFK Jr.

Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania

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Source: Annenberg Public Policy Center's ASAPH (Annenberg Science and Public Health) surveys 2021-2026. 

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Credit: Annenberg Public Policy Center

PHILADELPHIA — Americans’ confidence in Dr. Anthony Fauci as a source of trustworthy public health information declined over the four months from April to August 2026 in a survey conducted after he appeared before the U.S. Senate Homeland Security Committee but declined to answer its questions, invoking his 5th Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Fauci, a former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), served as the public face of the U.S. response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Homeland Security Committee chair Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky.) has repeatedly said Fauci belongs in jail and has accused him of covering up the possibility that the pandemic originated with a lab leak in Wuhan, China. Paul has blamed Fauci for millions of pandemic-related deaths.

A nationally representative survey was conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania Aug. 4-17, 2026, following Fauci’s July 29 testimony before the congressional committee. The survey period included the day of, and after, the committee’s Aug. 6 vote to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer its questions.

Half in U.S. remain confident in Fauci, more than in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

In the August survey of 1,904 empaneled U.S. adults, half (50%) say they are somewhat or very confident that Fauci provided the public with trustworthy information about matters concerning public health, a statistically significant decline of 5 percentage points from 55% in April 2026. Prior to April 2026, there had been no significant change in confidence in Fauci for over a year, with confidence fluctuating between 54% and 58% between February 2025 and April 2026.

By comparison, 38% of Americans in August 2026 say they are confident that Kennedy, the secretary of health and human services, is providing trustworthy information about public health, statistically unchanged from both April 2026 (37%) and February 2025 (38%). This leaves confidence in Fauci currently 12 percentage points higher than confidence in Kennedy, although the gap between them has narrowed since April 2026, when it was 18 points.

Data on confidence in Fauci from as far back as 2021 – when APPC first asked the question, but specifically about his guidance regarding Covid-19 – showed higher confidence levels, ranging from 71% to 63%. Fauci, head of NIAID since 1984, left government office at the end of 2022. By October 2023, 60% of Americans said they were confident that he was providing trustworthy information about matters concerning public health.

Confidence in healthcare providers remains high, but declines for health agencies

APPC survey data released last month shows that Americans’ confidence in their individual healthcare providers remains high, as compared with declining confidence in the major U.S. healthcare agencies, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The data, gathered as part of the same survey cited here, show that 87% of respondents are confident that their doctor, nurse, or other primary healthcare provider is providing trustworthy information about matters of public health, statistically unchanged from 88% in September 2024.

In contrast, in the August 2026 data, 61% express confidence in the CDC, 59% in the FDA, and 61% in the NIH, all of which declined significantly since September 2024. For additional details, see the news release: Public confidence in one’s own healthcare provider remains high.  

About the survey

The latest Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey was conducted for the Annenberg Public Policy Center by SSRS, an independent research company. Interviews were conducted by web and telephone among a nationally representative probability sample drawn from the SSRS Opinion Panel. Data were weighted to represent the U.S. adult population.

The August 2026 survey, conducted August 4-17, 2026, among 1,904 U.S. adults, has an estimated margin of sampling error of ±3.2 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. The April 2026 survey was conducted April 14-28, 2026, among 1,639 U.S. adults, with an estimated margin of sampling error ±3.5 percentage points.

For additional information, download the topline and methodology report.

The policy center has been tracking the American public’s knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors regarding vaccination, Covid-19, flu, RSV, and other consequential health issues through its Annenberg Science and Public Health (ASAPH) survey and other national samples since April 2021. The ASAPH and other health surveys are conducted under the auspices of APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute (AHRCI) by a team that includes Patrick E. Jamieson, director of APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute, which oversees the health surveys, Ken Winneg, APPC’s managing director of survey research, and APPC research analyst Laura A. Gibson.

See other recent Annenberg health survey news releases:

• Confidence in healthcare providers: Public confidence in one’s own healthcare provider remains high (Aug. 31, 2026)
• Banning glyphosate: Bipartisan majorities in U.S. favor banning glyphosate (Aug. 20, 2026)
• Recommended vaccines during pregnancy: Most Americans are unsure which vaccines the CDC recommends during pregnancy (July 22, 2026)
• Fluoridation of drinking water: Americans split on fluoridation; opposition by MAHA supporters notable (June 11, 2026)
• Maternal health knowledge: Maternal health knowledge is strong, but gaps remain, survey finds (May 29, 2026)

The Annenberg Public Policy Center was established in 1993 to educate the public and policy makers about communication’s role in advancing public understanding of political, science, and health issues at the local, state, and federal levels.

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Method of Research

Survey