The main goal of NANOFACTS is to efficiently overcome the networking gaps and deficiencies in research capabilities and collaboration regarding research in cancer theranostics nanomaterials and biosensing diagnostics of cancer, between BIOS and the partner institutions, internationally-leading counterparts at EU level, leading to the enhanced scientific and technological (S&T) capacity of all the participating institutions with a principal focus on BIOS. In order to widen the research agenda at BIOS with cancer-related research and health-related biosensing technologies, NANOFACTS will harness and improve pre-existing links with two leading European research institutions in the field of nanotechnology and development of biosensors: • Trinity College Dublin (TCD), Ireland, The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, an expert in application of nanotechnology for cancer treatment and imaging; and its validation, including biocompatibility of nanoparticles/nanodevices. • Vienna University of Technology (TUW), Faculty of Technical Chemistry, Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemistry and Institute of Chemical Technologies and Analytics, an expert in devising health-related biosensors. The main strategies to be explored during the project activities will include: a) BIOS researchers gaining knowledge on devising theranostic nanoparticles for real-time in vivo detection of cancer biomarkers, along with simultaneous targeted cancer therapy and imaging and b) enhancing the capacity of biosensing technologies at BIOS with cancer-related biosensing, including construction of an array of user-friendly personalized point of-care microfluidic and electronic diagnostic devices for electronic and optical sensing of cancer biomarkers, which could be introduced to home disease-monitoring. Complementarity of the consortium is based on the diversity of the expertise, knowledge and access to the stakeholder communities required for the success of the project.

Precision Agriculture (PA) is an evolving farming management strategy using digital technologies & techniques to monitor and optimise agricultural production processes. PA methods, harnessing data streams from satellites, mobile phones, Internet of Things (IoT) and technologies such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, have the potential to increase quantity & quality of agricultural outputs while reducing input (water, energy, fertilisers, pesticides, etc.) and waste. One of the main challenges facing PA is a low rate of adoption of PA technologies & practices, especially concerning the "big data in agriculture". One of the reasons is the lack of skills for executing efficient communication and in turn fuel the adoption rate of the data-driven PA innovations. There is also a need to enhance scientific & technological (S&T) skills for executing sophisticated data analytics on multiscale/multisource agricultural data, addressing all classes of data source, environment/region/individual farm/individual animals/plants, in order to extract more accurate and impactful actionable information and knowledge from the combined data. DRAGON capacity-building strategy will enable expertise and skill transfer from Agri-EPI Centre, the UK and Wageningen University in the Netherlands to BIOS in order to enhance 1) BIOS’ researchers’ S&T capacity for performing multi-scale/multi-source data analyses; 2) BIOS’ researchers’ capability to communicate practical big data-related knowledge to various stakeholders across the supply chain and the non-scientific local communities. Specifically, this means that BIOS knowledge technologies research group, currently focused on data analytics only (science-driven research), will be enhanced through DRAGON into BIOS Knowledge & Innovation Group (KIG) concentrating on interdisciplinary innovation-driven R&D within a co-creation environment. Post DRAGON BIOS’ KIG will be competitive in the PA sector on European and Global levels.

Agriculture and food security are one of the main focal points of EU policies, since,in the next 20 years, world food production must increase by 50%, while 80% of that increase must come from intensification (Source: FAO). ANTARES aims to evolve BioSense Centre at the University of Novi Sad, Serbia, into a European Centre of Excellence (CoE) for advanced technologies in sustainable agriculture and food security. This endeavor is supported by the participation of the Serbian Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development (MESTD), the national research authority who will provide both institutional and legislative expertise as well as co-financing of 14 mil Euro. The participation of DLO, the Netherlands, the leading European research institute for applied and market-driven research in agriculture and food security, currently involved in 250 FP7 projects, will secure that the know-how and experience of highest European standards are transplanted to Serbia. ANTARES envisages a long-term and mutually beneficial strategic cooperation between DLO and the new CoE, by exploiting the competitive advantages of both organizations. The project relies on the principles of continuity (by capitalizing on the achievements of BioSense), evolution (by identifying the gaps and implementing actions to address them), and consensus (by incorporating the needs and expectations of stakeholders in the vision and strategy of the new CoE), to engage the region in a path of innovative growth. ANTARES is perfectly aligned with the regional innovation priorities as presented in the Smart Specialization Strategy of Vojvodina, while its impact in innovation, economic development, and sustainability is expected to spread at a much broader national and European level.

The BIRTH project will investigate the key biological and cultural mechanisms affecting fertility rates resulting the Neolithic Demogaphic Transition, the major demographic shift in human evolution. We integrate skeletal markers with micro-nutritional and macro-scaled cultural effects on fertility rates during the Early-Middle Holocene (10000-5000 BC) in the Central Balkans. Human, animal and plant remains, will be analysed using methods from bioarchaeological, forensic, chemical sciences in order to: 1) Investigate variability in the pattern of birth rates (number of pregnancies, interval(s) between them and the duration of the reproductive period) through histological analysis of irregularities in tooth cementum of women; 2) Determine paleoobstetric and neonatal body characteristics, health status and nutrition through analysis of skeletal remains; 3) Determine micronutritional changes during the Early-Middle Holocene through trace element (Zn, Ca and Fe) analysis; 4) Investigate the micro and macronutritional value of prehistoric foodstuffs, through an analysis of animal and plant remains and to compare the nutritional intake in relation to health and fertility; 5) Establish a chronology of the NDT in the Balkans by summed radiocarbon probability distributions; 6) Explore the possible role of culture in driving fertility increases, through analysis of community attitudes to birthing trough investigation of neonate graves and artifact connected to the birthing process. Given that the issues of health and fertility are of utmost importance in the present as they were in the past, the BIRTH project offers new understanding of biocultural mechanisms which led to fertility increase and novel approaches to ancient skeletal heritage, and emphasizes their great potential for modern humanity.