Human activities, particularly industrialization and the widespread use of artificial materials, have significantly affected human, animal, and environmental health. These impacts have become increasingly worrisome as industrial processes continue to accelerate, causing a massive waste generation which contributes to pollution and worsens interconnected health issues, stressing the need for urgent action to address environmental degradation.
Despite growing research on such impacts, knowledge gaps persist. To understand the extent of these challenges, it is essential to adopt an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably harmonize and enhance the well-being of people, animals, and ecosystems (One Health approach). For this, having access to advanced technologies and services is essential. Research Infrastructures that offer cutting-edge tools for tackling challenges in health, environment, and food are key to improving our knowledge and research in these areas. Achieving this integration necessitates careful consideration of several key aspects. Interdisciplinary collaboration is a cornerstone of this process, demanding the engagement of diverse stakeholders, including policymakers, to ensure that solutions are contextually appropriate and impactful.
The FHERITALE project aims to landscape the services currently provided by European Research Infrastructures (RIs), and to highlight technological gaps by analyzing up-to-date literature on artificial materials at the micro- and nanoscale within the One Health framework. This includes identifying trends, clusters, and technological needs. In the medium term it will become possible to close such gaps through collaborative technological developments at RIs.
