‘2100. There’s no time to waste’ is a docufilm that, through the contributions of scientists and experts, takes stock of the effects of climate change on the environment and natural resources in 26 emerged and submerged sites on the Sicilian coast, trying to imagine what the situation will be like in 2100, the year that science uses to simulate future environmental scenarios through the projection of data collected so far.

It will be this work, which has already won awards at various festivals – produced in 2021 by Fabrizio Antonioli, an associate at the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering of the CNR (CNR-IGAG), and Thalassia Giaccone, of the Anton Dohrn Zoological Station, and scripted by Martina Camatta – that will officially kick off the ‘MARE SOPRA’ popularisation project on 9th May at 18:00 at the Miela Theatre. It was conceived by the University of Trieste and realised, with the collaboration of various partners, thanks to the contribution of the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, with the aim of raising awareness among the public, especially young people, about the rising sea levels caused by global warming and the consequences already visible on our coasts.

The docufilm will be followed, at 19:00 by the ‘Impact of sea level rise on Friuli Venezia Giulia’s coastline’ round table. Moderated by Franco Foresta Martin, former scientific and environmental editor of Corriere della Sera and RAI consultant (Quark and Geo&Geo), it will feature some of the leading experts on climate change and marine biology: Fabrizio Antonioli, a coastal geomorphologist from CNR-IGAG, specialising in the study of sea level variations; glaciologist Roberto Renato Colucci, from CNR-ISP; physicist Fabio Raicich, from CNR-ISMAR, marine microbiologist Francesca Malfatti (UniTS), climate physicist and Nobel laureate Filippo Giorgi (ICTP), Giorgio Fontolan of UniTS, lecturer in Sedimentology and Coastal Dynamics UniTS, and palaeontology lecturer Carlo Corradini (UniTS).

In the coming decades, sea levels will continue to rise dramatically, changing the geography of our coasts and damaging coastal structures. It has already risen by more than 20 centimetres since 1880 and is expected to reach 30 cm by 2050. We have already had warnings of what the situation may be: the most recent was the strong sea storm last November that hit the eastern coast of the Gulf of Trieste, from Muggia to Lignano, causing extensive damage to coastal infrastructure. The combination of high sea levels and winds from the southern quadrants accumulated water in the Gulf, leading to an explosive situation that could be repeated with greater intensity and frequency in the future.

With the popularisation project ‘MARE SOPRA’, conceived by Stefano Furlani, associate professor of geomorphology at the University of Trieste, the aim is to raise awareness of the problem of rising sea levels caused by climate change. ‘With its almost 100 kilometres of coastline, Friuli Venezia Giulia is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels, with the risks of coastal erosion and flooding threatening communities and infrastructure,’ Furlani observes. ‘Rising sea levels could compromise coastal environments, but also many of the business sectors that gravitate to those areas, such as fishing and tourism. Therefore, it is crucial to raise awareness among citizens and especially the younger generation. Efforts to propose adaptation or mitigation actions are essential to tackle this problem while protecting people, the environment and the local economy from its consequences. MARE SOPRA intends to move in this direction, proposing meetings with experts, screenings of documentaries, hands-on experiences with students and citizens, and the creation of a virtual tour: an engaging and accessible tool to explore places and environments in a realistic and detailed way, almost as if one were on site’.

This is an interdisciplinary project, which will involve geomorphologists, sociologists and biologists from three university departments (Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences; Political and Social Sciences; and Life Sciences), but also citizenship, schools and associations through the Citizen Science model: it will be schoolchildren and citizens who will actively participate, after being suitably trained, in the measurement of sea level rise.

New digital technologies will also come into play, with the creation of a ‘virtual tour’ that will allow the public to virtually navigate and dive along the Friuli Venezia Giulia coastline. Thanks to 360-degree spherical aerial videos acquired by drone and by diving above and below the sea surface, a very high-resolution journey along the region’s coastline will be created from Muggia to Lignano: through a dozen clickable hotspots along the route map (including Muggia, Trieste, Duino Aurisina, Monfalcone, Staranzano, Grado, Marano Lagunare and Lignano), it will be possible to view audio content, videos, images, in-depth texts and web links to dive 360° above and below sea level.

The ‘virtual tour’, which will be tested directly by the public during an ad hoc event, will be usable from PCs, mobile devices and through Virtual Reality viewers, such as Oculus Meta 2-3, and can also be used by the science museums collaborating in the project for their dissemination activities. It stems from the experience of the Geoswim project, which started in 2012 when Furlani swam solo and surveyed along the entire coastline of Istria. The project, which has since involved biologists, archaeologists and geologists from all over Italy, has led – with the use of a boat equipped with GPS, a series of probes to measure water depth, salinity and temperature, and time-lapse and 360° cameras placed above and below sea level – to the mapping of hundreds of kilometres of Mediterranean coastline, collecting data on their morphological conformation and sea level in the present and past, as well as physical and chemical parameters such as temperature and conductivity. This summer, the mapping will be carried out by the UniTS researchers and lecturers involved in the project, who will complete the survey activities that have already begun on the coasts, by kayak and swimming.

During MARE SOPRA a number of informational meetings will be held in the municipalities of Grado, Muggia and Trieste, which will also be involved in the training and measurement activities, both theoretical and practical, conducted by young researchers and PhD students from UniTS. At the end of these activities the main coastal locations will be marked with two lines: the yellow line will mark where the sea will be in 2050, the red line its level in 2100. Finally, the usefulness of the project will be measured through questionnaires, which will be submitted to the participants in the various activities to assess the effectiveness of the 'social learning' actions.

Mare Sopra, coordinated by the University of Trieste and realised with the contribution of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, collaborates with the Marine Protected Area of Miramare, the Municipality of Muggia, the Marevivo Association – Fvg Delegation, the Marco Polo Institute of Grado, and the Galilei High School of Trieste.

The BluEcho research project is launching to address underwater noise pollution, assessing the level of noise generated by ships and wind farms in different marine basins (the Adriatic, North and Baltic seas). The project is based on EU guidelines for defining threshold values for continuous noise produced by humans in water and aims to build upon the work of previous European projects (JOMOPANS, AQUO, SONIC, JONAS, QUIETSEAS). Taking a multidisciplinary approach, BluEcho focuses on the interaction between source, medium, and receiver rather than one-way solutions.

A specific new approach will be developed for numerically modeling propellers and wind turbine blades, as well as large-scale acoustic maps. Initially, the developed methodology will be used to accurately assess the current health status of the sea. Subsequently, researchers will focus on predicting new scenarios where mitigation measures will be adopted. The effectiveness and economic feasibility of mitigation measures (including slow down or re-routing procedures in risk areas or so-called quiet periods) will also be evaluated, and the implementation of new protected areas will be proposed. Cost-benefit assessment will be conducted considering the needs of stakeholders, both in shipping traffic and wind farms.

The project, coordinated by the University of Trieste (DIA Engineering and Architecture and DEAMS Economic, Business, Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Departments), also involves the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics; Chalmers University of Technology – Gothenburg, Sweden; Institute of Marine Research – Bergen, Norway; Alfred-Wegener Institute – Bremerhaven, Germany.

Now that the Italy-Austria Interreg project SENSHOME has come to an end, the University of Trieste has obtained new funding from the European Union, enabling the university to continue its studies. The funding will strengthen research and innovation and help to introduce advanced technology, more know-how and the best practices regarding architecture for people with cognitive disabilities.

This is the specific objective of the new Italy-Austria Interreg project "BeSENSHome: Sensors in sensitive environments. Inclusive spaces which accommodate the needs of those with cognitive disabilities".

As part of the BeSENSHome project, advanced systems and smart sensor networks will be specially installed into residences, day-care centres, workplaces and facilities hosting people with neurocognitive disabilities, in order to enhance environmental comfort for occupants. To achieve this innovative goal, these systems must be customisable in order to accommodate the needs of the residents, providing individuals with the maximum level of agency possible over their built environment. Thanks to artificial intelligence coupled with the sensor network, the environment will be able to learn the preferences or requirements of the occupant, identifying stressful triggers and adjusting environmental conditions. It will also be able to alert assistants if intervention is needed, pre-emptively preventing any potentially dangerous conditions from arising. The insertion of these sensor networks into people’s environments will be implemented to the finest detail to ensure optimal integration into existing contexts. To achieve these goals and make the system as useful and user-friendly as possible, a collaborative research and design approach will be adopted throughout the project.

The developed system will then be put to the test, implementing the technologies discreetly and unobtrusively in environments where neurodivergent people and their family members/caregivers need support in their daily lives.

This support will be enhanced by the study of architectural solutions for the spaces. For example, the appropriate choice of materials for furniture and upholstery, lights and light dimming devices will facilitate sight, tactility and comfort within the various environments. The chosen spaces will also be investigated from an acoustic, visual and thermo-hygrometric point of view. This is both in order to optimise the operation of environmental sensors and to study their appropriate positioning to ensure privacy, increase autonomy, and render everyday environments more inclusive and safe.

The UniTS scientific coordinator is Giuseppina Scavuzzo, Associate Professor in Architectural and Urban Composition, Coordinator of the Architectural Studies Course of the Department of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Trieste.

Project partners include: Free University of Bozen-Bolzano (lead partner), the University of Trieste, Kärnten University of Applied Sciences, Eureka system s.r.l., Fondazione Progettoautismo FVG onlus, MCI Management Center Innsbruck GmbH.

 BeSENSHome   

Eugenio Fornasiero of the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste has been awarded € 248,000 by the Telethon-Cariplo Call for Proposals to fund a research project on neurodevelopmental disorders.

The initiative, which the two Foundations commit to continuing into the future, is dedicated to clarifying those still obscure aspects of the human genome potentially responsible for rare diseases.

Now in its third year, the Fondazione Cariplo and Fondazione Telethon call for proposals has led to the selection of 14 new research projects, for a total of € 3.2 million and 22 research groups involved.

In Friuli-Venezia Giulia, € 248,000 have been allocated to fund a project of the University of Trieste.

This brings the total joint investment by the two Foundations to almost € 14 million, which has led to the funding of 59 research projects involving 90 Italian research centres.

This initiative, inspired by a programme of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), aims precisely to ‘illuminate the darkest portion of the human genome’, inviting researchers to study genetic aspects and molecular mechanisms that are still largely unknown or poorly understood, but which represent potential for the development of new therapies for rare diseases. In particular, projects were to focus on the study of so-called T-dark targets, for which information on structure, function and interaction with molecules and drugs is unknown. Although the human genome has been completely sequenced, we still know very little about many genes and the proteins they encode. Suffice it to say that of the 4500 human proteins considered to be possible pharmacological targets, only 700 are currently in the crosshairs of approved drugs: this means that of all the others, more than 80 per cent, there could be proteins that are suitable to be studied in order to develop new therapies, but for several reasons are not being studied.

Eugenio Fornasiero from the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste will coordinate a study on neurodevelopmental disorders. In particular, the project focuses on a specific gene called CCDC32, classified as TDark of which we have very limited knowledge. The loss of function of CCDC32 is the direct cause of a rare and non-specific syndromic intellectual disability,

often accompanied by physical abnormalities. By delving into its function, the fundamental basis for understanding not only this specific gene, but also the more general mechanisms underlying rare intellectual disabilities and associated physical malformations will be provided.

As far as the geographical distribution of the research centres involved is concerned, most - 14 out of 22 - are located in Lombardy; the others are in Emilia-Romagna, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Marche, Piedmont and Tuscany. Among the pathologies under study are certain forms of muscular dystrophy such as Duchenne’s and facio-scapulo-humeral dystrophy, blood diseases such as haemochromatosis, haemorrhagic telangiectasia and thalassaemia, but also neurodevelopmental disorders and rare tumours.

A total of 77 project proposals were submitted by Italian non-profit, public or private research organisations. Of these, 69 were deemed suitable and submitted to the evaluation process, entrusted to a medical-scientific commission of 15 internationally renowned scientists from all over the world and chaired by Dr. Massimo Pandolfo of Mc Gill University in Montreal (Canada). For the evaluation of the projects, the peer-review method was used, which indicates the critical assessment that a work or publication receives from specialists with similar skills to those of the person submitting it, guaranteeing the transparency and fairness of the evaluation.

From Maine (USA) and tested for the first time in Italy and Europe, the new monitoring system allows the identification of the so-called ‘umbrella species for monitoring’, making it possible to simultaneously track other species thus maximising the effectiveness of their observation and control. The concept of umbrella species has long been known in conservation biology, but is being readapted in this case for monitoring purposes. The creator of the protocol is Alessio Mortelliti, associate professor of Ecology in the Department of Life Sciences of the University of Trieste, and first associate professor in Wildlife Habitat Conservation at the University of Maine.

Under its coordination, the University of Trieste and the Julian Prealps Natural Park, who are already engaged in a study on the behaviour of micromammals, will collaborate as partners in the project Optimal Monitoring of Mammals. This project was won on the call for the National Biodiversity Future Center, one of the five national centres dedicated to frontier research, funded by NextGenerationEU, Ministry of Universities and Research and NRRP.

Launching in April 2024 and scheduled to end in December 2025, the project aims to develop a mammal monitoring system within the park and surrounding areas, spanning 100 km2 of extraordinary biodiversity and located in Friuli Venezia Giulia on the border with Slovenia. It was also recognised in 2009 as a cross-border protected area by the EUROPARC Federation. 

Specifically, the project has two highly innovative objectives at national and international level. The first is to identify the protocol with the most cost-effective ratio for a specific management purpose and budget, which is also adaptable according to variable economic availability and aim of the institution. The second goal is to identify the so-called umbrella species. 

Alessio Mortelliti, associate professor of Ecology at the Department of Life Sciences at the University of Trieste explains, ‘Identifying umbrella species means identifying species on which to focus our effort, but at the same time ensuring that other species will be included in the monitoring. This approach is therefore an excellent tool to minimise the cost of monitoring while maximising the number of species covered. For example, monitoring the wild cat by means of phototraps makes it possible to simultaneously monitor other species, such as martens, roe deer and foxes.’

The data, collected in two field campaigns using traps, nest tubes and phototraps (the first during spring/summer 2024, the second in spring/summer 2025), will be used for the development of protocols and statistical analysis able to detect significant trends in the decline of umbrella species. As another distinctive feature of the project, a number of citizen scientists, i.e. pupils of local primary and secondary schools, will participate in the sampling activities as part of the environmental education activities promoted annually by the Park, accompanied and supported by the students of the course in Ecology of Global Changes of the University of Trieste.

 Additionally, in order to ensure sustainability in the medium to long term and remain achievable in relative autonomy, the project includes various training activities for Park staff on field techniques, the acquisition and management of data, and the identification of species. The protocol is also structured to allow for its replication in other protected areas characterised by similar forest types, and to export the results related to umbrella species in different contexts.

‘There is a passing of the baton and a transfer of know-how between the University of Trieste and the Julian Prealps Natural Park. The protocol is to be understood as a real investment for the institution. It is applied research, a model that becomes professional practice in the field’, continues Alessio Mortelliti, ‘The involvement of schools and the local community is also fundamental, so that they may feel part of this great ecosystem and become increasingly informed, conscious and empowered.’

President of the Park Annalisa Di Lenardo expressed satisfaction with the funding obtained, and emphasises that, ‘the project is significant for the area due to its innovation and capacity to create a network between a research institute, a managing body of a protected area and the local community. The data collected will increase the knowledge available to administrations and citizens in order to raise awareness of the importance of protecting biodiversity and its proper management.’

Alessio Mortelliti has twenty years of experience in the development of monitoring protocols and is co-author of some of the Ispra monitoring protocols. He has developed others for the state of Maine (USA), the Regional Agency of Lazio Parks (formerly ARP), the Selva del Lamone Nature Reserve and the monitoring of babirusa (Sus celebensis) in Indonesia. In the past, he has conducted numerous courses specifically focused on field techniques and the analysis of monitoring data in numerous countries, including Italy, Austria, the United States, Indonesia, Tunisia and Mauritania.

Aneta Aleksova, associate professor of Cardiovascular Diseases at UniTS, received the second research prize at the European Society of Cardiology's (ACVC-ESC) 'Acute Cardiovascular Care 2024' Congress, which brought together cardiologists from intensive care cardiology units in Athens.

The unpublished paper, entitled 'Increased amyloid-beta values predict mortality during long-term follow-up in patients with acute myocardial infarction, both STEMI and NSTEMI', was selected as one of the four best overall and presented at the Award session of the Congress, coming second place and earning the distinction of most scientifically original work.

The study on the predictive value of beta amyloid peptide on the mortality of patients with acute myocardial infarction was mostly carried out by the Molecular Cardiology Laboratory team (Dr. Alessandra Lucia Fluca and Dr. Milijana Janjusevic), coordinated by Prof. Aneta Aleksova herself, within the ASUGI Cardiology Complex Structure, directed by Prof. Gianfranco Sinagra.

The prestigious award is an acknowledgement of the research activity resulting from a national and international collaboration: in particular, the significant contribution of professors from the Department of Medical, Surgical and Health Sciences (DSM) of the University of Trieste - including Prof. Gianfranco Sinagra (Cardiovascular Apparatus Diseases), Prof. Stefano D'Errico (Legal Medicine) and Prof. Giulia Barbati (Medical Statistics) - and Prof. Antonio Paolo Beltrami of the University of Udine should be emphasised.

International cardiovascular experts, such as Prof. Maria Marketou from the University of Crete, Heraklion (Greece) and Dr. Donna Zwas from the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem (Israel), are also to be thanked for their involvement in the study.

Aleksova received further recognition by placing three other research papers, presented as moderated posters, among the best 14 of the Congress, which was open to scientific contributions from all over the world.

Thanks to the awards received by the cardiologist and DSM lecturer, the University of Trieste was the only Italian university to be represented among the winners of the research prizes and the best moderated posters.

The kick-off meeting of the SITE project (Shaping Inclusive Tourist Experience) has recently been held at the Urban Center of Trieste, and was funded under the Interreg Italy-Croatia 2021-2027 programme. The event marks the official launch of an ambitious project that aims to make tourism sustainable through the principles of Universal Design, addressing the challenge of diversifying flow through a more inclusive tourism.

The SITE project has been created in conjunction with a consortium of seven other partners. It has been organised by prof. Lorenzo Castelli of the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA) of the University of Trieste in collaboration with the Trieste Inclusion and Accessibility Lab (TrIAL) research group, whose contact person is prof. Ilaria Garofolo. The main objective of SITE is to promote tourist destinations that are accessible to all travellers, guaranteeing an experience free of barriers of any kind.

The Italian and Croatian partners involved in this innovative project include the City of Šibenik, DURA Dubrovnik Development Agency, Dubrovnik Airport, Municipality of Fano, Central Marketing Intelligence (CMI) - Trieste, VEASYT - Venice and the Faculty of Management in Tourism and Hospitality of the University of Rijeka.

With a duration of two and a half years, the SITE project envisages the development of pilot initiatives in key locations such as Dubrovnik, Šibenik and Fano, to test and implement solutions that make tourism an accessible and enjoyable experience for all.

In today's Europe, where a quarter of the adult population lives with some form of disability and the Ageing Index is continuing to rise, the SITE project aims to turn demographic challenges into opportunities. By creating more inclusive tourist destinations, it is not only possible to improve travellers' experiences but also to stimulate sustainable and diversified economic growth.

The kick-off meeting took place in the Urban Center, which was made available by the Municipality of Trieste, and was attended by Vice-Rector Valter Sergo, who in his welcome recalled that SITE is the only Interreg 2021-2027 project whose Lead Partner is a department of the University of Trieste, the DIA.

Thanks to the support of the European Union and the joint commitment of the partners, the SITE project stands as a beacon of innovation and inclusivity in the tourism sector. It is a practical demonstration of how, working together, we can overcome barriers and make tourism a universal experience, open to all.

INTERREG Italy-Croatia "TransH2" project, in which the Department of Engineering and Architecture (DIA) of the University of Trieste is a partner, has started. It will deal with the use of hydrogen as an energy vector for ship propulsion in maritime traffic in the northern Adriatic Sea.

As part of TransH2, the DIA's operational unit will analyse maritime connections for short-haul travellers, with a focus on mobility and the possible reduced environmental impact of using hydrogen. A number of pilot, interregional and cross-border connections will then be selected, against which different operational solutions for implementing this technology will be evaluated.

Led by the University of Rijeka, Faculty of Maritime Studies, the project involves not only UniTS, but also the Croatian Chamber of Economy, Zadar County Development Agency ZADRA NOVA, Urbanex Ltd., Maritime Technology Cluster FVG S.c.ar.l., Navalprogetti Srl and Start Romagna S.p.A.

In general, TransH2 focuses on the development of innovative solutions for maritime transport, including hydrogen-powered ships and the relevant refuelling infrastructures in ports. This will help to achieve the goal of bringing zero-emission ships to the market by 2030 (envisaged by the European Sustainable Mobility Strategy).

The project's main activities include research and analysis of options for greener maritime transport links, through the introduction of hydrogen transport solutions in pilot areas, the development of innovative hydrogen-powered passenger ship designs for local and cross-border traffic (proof-of-concept) and the preparation of fully feasible case studies.

UniTS is also participating in the LOGS project of the CNR Institute of Polar Sciences. The aim is to collect data on the glaciers in the Aqqutikitsoq mountain area in Greenland.

Renato R. Colucci, Professor of Glaciology at UniTS and Researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR, and Emanuele Forte, Professor of Geophysics at the Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Geosciences of UniTS, are both involved in the recently started measurement campaign.

The two researchers, using Ground Penetrating Radar, will assess the thickness and volume of a few of approximately 100 largely unexplored glaciers in the Aqqutikitsoq mountainous area, near the town of Sisimiut (west coast of Greenland). 

This area is important to the local community for several reasons. Firstly, the glaciers provide the summer runoff for the Sisimiut hydroelectric power plant, therefore their evolution will have a direct impact on the efficiency of the city's energy production. Secondly, the Aqqutikitsoq mountains are a popular recreational area and the municipality has licensed the development of tourist activities. For this reason, the community needs an assessment of the risks relating to crevasses and avalanches in the area and their possible future developments. The project also has ambitions to create the basis for a new long-term monitoring site on a glacier on the west coast of Greenland.

During the mission, Prof. Colucci will also chair a workshop organised at the Arctic Station of the DTU (Technical University of Denmark) in Sisimiut, together with the Greenland Winter Warning Association. The topic of this workshop will be the safety of snowmobile routes in highly crevassed areas. There will also be an information evening for the local population to explain the ongoing scientific activities.

FameLab, the science communication talent show, is returning to Trieste. The local selection for the international contest will take place next Friday 5th April from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Luttazzi Hall (Magazzino 26, Porto vecchio). As always, the challenge will be to describe a research topic in a clear and engaging way in just 3 minutes to an audience of non-experts, without the aid of projections, graphics or videos. Applications must be filled in online by Thursday 28th March 2024.

Contestants from both STEM or medical fields and the humanities (Anthropology, Archaeology, Economics, Philosophy, Geography, Law, Linguistics, Literature, Psychology, Political Science, Sociology, History and Art History) are eligible.

The local selection is organised by Science Centre Immaginario Scientifico, the University of Trieste, the University of Udine, the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) and the Municipality of Trieste, as part of the ‘Trieste City of Knowledge’ Memorandum of Understanding. 

The people ranked first and second in the local selection will receive a cash prize, take part in an international masterclass to be held in Perugia in June, and then in the national final scheduled for September and October. The winner of FameLab Italia 2024 will gain access to the FameLab International final, scheduled in November, where they will face other competitors from all over the world.

A free training session has been planned for all the Trieste competitors to better prepare for the challenge. The meeting, organised by FameLab Italia, will take place remotely on the Zoom platform on 21st March 2024, (4pm-8pm). All eligible researchers interested in joining FameLab can participate, even if they haven’t registered yet. For more info on registration, please write to info@immaginarioscientifico.it