It is very important for us to find out how climate changed in the past. Without knowing, we cannot predict how the future climate might behave. Global, systematic measurements of climatic variables have only been collected over the last few decades but we need to know how it varied through longer periods of time. We particularly need to know about this in the North Atlantic shelf seas which are currently experiencing accelerating climate change. The layers of ocean sediments in these regions contain the skeletons of microscopic organisms which can provide information about past climate. Benthic foraminifers in particular live in these shallow ocean habitats and their microscopic calcite shells accumulate through time providing a high resolution record of past environments. Communities of specific species (assemblages) are associated with the regional habitats of the shelf seas and this relationship is applied to similar assemblages found in time slices in the sediments (transfer functions). Forams also incorporate into their shells the physical and chemical signatures of the seawater in which they grow. This can be used as a geochemical 'proxy' to reconstruct the past environment in which they lived. All these past climate reconstructions are based on the assumption that the shells of a single species were constructed in the same range of environmental conditions. Using a unique DNA marker in living forams, we know that this is not always true. Individual morphospecies sometimes represent several distinct genetic types (genotypes) which may be adapted to different environments within a morphospecies range. It is highly likely that these are different species. Scientists are unknowingly analysing a mixture of different species because they look very similar (cryptic species). This will introduce noise and possible error into the data of both transfer function methods and geochemical proxies. To overcome this, we propose to genotype all the important benthic morphospecies used for past climate reconstruction throughout the regional habitats (biogeographic provinces) of the mid to high latitudes of the northeast Atlantic. We will sample these with the help of our four project partners from Norway and Iceland. We also have to bear in mind that these regions experience a wide range of environmental conditions as the seasons change. To address this, we will take samples from regions where seasonal studies are being carried to find out whether different genotypes appear as the environmental conditions change. Central to this study will be an extensive morphological investigation of shell shape to find out whether we can find subtle differences to help recognise the new genotypes in the modern ocean and most importantly, in the fossil record. We hope to genetically and morphologically define all important benthic morphospecies used for past climate reconstruction in the North East Atlantic to produce a unified classification scheme. From our high resolution sampling, we will be able to produce a new bioprovince distribution map for the present day northeast Atlantic/Arctic. We will discover whether 'generalist' species really occupy different bioprovinces or represent a series of different cryptic species with different ecologies. Finding identifiable new species will improve our understanding of how bioprovinces have migrated North/South as the glacial cycles have come and gone. Do different cryptic species appear in the same place as the seasons change? Their recognition would allow the exploration of seasonality in the fossil record. Do foram shells of the same species have a different shape in different environments? Confirmation will provide evidence of specific environmental conditions in the present day and in the past. This link between present and past also provides important clues about how extreme changes in these dynamic marine environments affect the survival of species and drive their evolution through time.

The ANR MEDSALT project aims to consolidate and expand a scientific network recently formed with the purpose to use scientific drilling to address the causes, timing, emplacement mechanisms and consequences of the largest and most recent 'salt giant' on Earth: the late Miocene (Messinian) salt deposit in the Mediterranean basin. After obtaining the endorsement of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) on a Multiplatform Drilling Proposal (umbrella proposal) in early 2015, the network is planning to submit a site-specific drilling proposal to drill a transect of holes with the R/V Joides Resolution in the evaporite-bearing southern margin of the Balearic promontory in the Western Mediterranean - the aim is to submit the full proposal before the IODP dealine of April 1st 2017, following the submission of a pre-proposal on October 1st 2015. Four key issues will be addressed: 1) What are the causes, timing and emplacement mechanisms of the Mediterranean salt giant ? 2) What are the factors responsible for early salt deformation and fluid flow across and out of the halite layer ? 3) Do salt giants promote the development of a phylogenetically diverse and exceptionally active deep biosphere ? 4) What are the mechanisms underlying the spectacular vertical motions inside basins and their margins ? Our nascent scientific network will consit of a core group of 22 scientists from 10 countries (7 European + USA + Japan + Israel) of which three french scientists (G. Aloisi, J. Lofi and M. Rabineau) play a leading role as PIs of Mediterranean drilling proposals developed within our initiative. Support to this core group will be provided by a supplementary group of 21 scientists that will provide critical knowledge in key areas of our project. The ANR MEDSALT network will finance key actions that include: organising a 43 participants workshops to strengthen and consolidate the Mediterranean drilling community, supporting the participation of network scientists to seismic well site-survey cruises, organising meetings in smaller groups to work on site survey data and finance trips to the US to defend our drilling proposal in front of the IODP Environmental Protection and Safety Panel (EPSP). The MEDSALT drilling initiative will impact the understanding of issues as diverse as submarine geohazards, sub-salt hydrocarbon reservoirs and life in the deep subsurface. This is a unique opportunity for the French scientific community to play a leading role, next to our international partners, in tackling one of the most intellectually challenging open problems in the history of our planet.

Antibiotic resistance (AMR) is a major public health issue, with 5 million deaths in 2019 linked to AMR worldwide. These numbers are comparable to the toll of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Without new solutions, AMR is projected to soon become one of the leading causes of death in the EU. Addressing this challenge requires the development of new, effective antibiotics, but this alone is not sufficient due to the rapid evolution of bacteria. Understanding the drivers and mechanisms of AMR is vital to delay or reverse resistance in both existing and new antibiotics, especially since no new broad-spectrum antibiotics have been developed since the 1990s and their development is a lengthy process with high attrition rates. The ENDAMR doctoral network aims to better equip researchers in Europe to understand and develop new strategies to tackle AMR. WP1 focuses on how AMR affects the fitness of pathogenic bacteria in the gut microbiome, aiming to identify microbiome characteristics that predispose to AMR infections and to explore microbiome-based interventions. WP2 examines AMR acquisition via horizontal gene transfer, investigating evolutionary pathways, host genetics, environmental factors, dissemination, and AMR reservoirs. WP3 is dedicated to understanding the frequency, mechanisms, and clinical implications of antibiotic resistance, with a particular focus on the less studied aspects of heteroresistance and tolerance, and to developing diagnostic tools and predictive models. WP4 explores the combination of antibiotics to enhance treatment outcomes and potentially prevent or reverse AMR, based on understanding the interplay of resistance mechanisms. ENDAMR will also prepare doctoral candidates for various career paths beyond academia, including teaching, science communication, and entrepreneurship. Candidates will gain transferable skills and learn from industry role models, equipping them to make significant contributions to solving the AMR crisis.