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3D bio-printing is defined here as the use of 3D printing technology for applications related to the body, whether the products themselves include biological material or not, and whether or not their purpose is medical. It includes any application for rehabilitating, supporting or augmenting any kind of biological functionality. The impacts of 3D bio-printing are uncertain, and it is not clear which actions may be required to foster responsible development of the technology. A STOA study, 'Additive ...

This study aims at highlighting the importance of the territorial dimension and structures for economic growth at European level. It focuses on the role and potential of the existing cohesion policy funding in planning and implementing ICT infrastructures in the regions, and in accompanying the efforts to digitalise European economy and society. In the same context, the study also highlights the role and potential of cohesion policy funding in planning and implementing integrated science and technology ...

For better or worse, artificial intelligence (AI) is predicted to have a huge impact on the future of humanity. As new promises and concerns reach increasingly mainstream audiences, the debate is starting to capture the public imagination. In this publication, we present four opinion pieces, each responding to the question should we fear AI? The four authors come from different disciplinary backgrounds and present diverging perspectives on whether we should fear the future of AI, and how we should ...

Investing in research is considered essential for achieving smart, sustainable and inclusive growth and jobs in Europe. The EU Framework Programme for research and innovation is the EU’s primary instrument for building the European Research Area. Framework Programmes are expected to produce European added value: therefore the principle of juste retour does not apply. Research needs to be of the highest quality, produced in international collaboration and selected on a competitive basis. Under such ...

Digital tools could create stronger connections between European citizens and the EU decision-making process and, by doing so, might contribute to reducing the EU democratic deficit. This report investigates what lessons can be drawn from local, national and European experiences of the use of digital tools for the functioning of EU decision-making procedures and institutions. For that purpose, a review of current literature on e-democracy and the European public sphere has been carried out; 22 local ...

Synthetic biology is expected to begin to design, construct and develop artificial (i.e. man-made) biological systems that mimic or even go beyond naturally occurring biological systems. Applications of synthetic biology in the healthcare domain hold great promise, but also raise a number of questions. What are the benefits and challenges of this emerging field? What ethical and social issues arise from this engineering approach to biology?

This study describes knowledge transfer from European universities and institutes to industry, focusing on the role of the Industrial Liaison / Technology / Knowledge Transfer Office function. It explores practices in European institutions and compares these with international ones, especially from the USA. The project is based upon a comprehensive literature review and a programme of detailed case studies of knowledge transfer strategies and practices. It addresses the wide range of knowledge transfer ...

On October 12, 2010 the Science and Technology Options Assessment Panel (STOA) together with Technopolis Consulting Group supported by Knowledge4Innovation/The Lisbon Forum, and TNO, organised a half-day workshop entitled ‘Copyright in the Single Market, Opportunities for Harmonisation and management of Rights’. This workshop was part of the 2nd European Innovation Summit at the European Parliament which took place on 11-14 October 2010. The workshop addressed in the first part the topic of the opportunities ...

This report is based on an independent, policy-oriented investigation of the current European patent system. The central premise of the report is that the patent system has so far been a positive factor in promoting innovation and the diffusion of knowledge, and thus that the system is contributing in a constructive way to economic and social welfare objectives. In acknowledging the importance of the patent system in relation to many aspects of society, it is also essential to continually evaluate ...