The Board of the Spanish Congress of Deputies has selected the first topics for the Science and Technology Office

The Board of the Congress of Spain has selected the first four topics to be reviewed by the newly created Science and Technology Office of the Congress of Deputies.

The chosen topics are:

• Use of green hydrogen as fuel
• Artificial intelligence and health
• Breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer
• Cybersecurity

The Science and Technology Office, in collaboration with the Advisory Board - a formal committee comprised of representatives from outstanding national research institutions - presented a total of 17 different topics with relevance for Spain and medium-term potential.

The proposed emerging research topics were clustered into four large groups (climate change and energy, biomedicine and health, bio-based solutions for societal challenges and digital society). Each theme included a summary, the temporal relevance and an analysis of the existing evidence, potential and scope.

• The proposed topics were:
• Artificial light at night.
• Conservation of soil ecosystem.
• Sustainable harnessing of strategic raw mineral materials.
• Use of green hydrogen as fuel.
• Artificial Intelligence in the energy sector.
• Antimicrobial resistance and potential new therapies.
• Artificial intelligence and health.
• Advanced therapies.
• Breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer.
• Indoor air quality.
• The ageing process and health
• Synthetics biology and ethical implications.
• Plants genome editing and sustainable agriculture.
• Education in the digital age.
• Cybersecurity.
• The future of work.
• Neuroscience: applications and ethical implications.

In the upcoming months, the Spanish Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology will gather and review the current research on these four emerging topics through a literature review, interviews with tens of experts and stakeholders, and internal and external peer review.

About the Spanish Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology
The Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology will produce impartial and independent briefings that review and gather the scientific and technical consensus on the prospective topics of interest for the Parliament Members. All this information will be made public to everyone, including the general public.

In the same way, the Office for Science and Technology will organize activities with other collaborating institutions to facilitate the knowledge exchange between the Spanish Parliament, the research communities and the general public.

The Office works closely with the Advisory Board, which is a formal committee comprised of representatives from the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC); the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII); the Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT); the Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute (IAC); the Network of Centres of Excellence Severo Ochoa and Maria de Maeztu (SOMMA); the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI); the Research Executive Agency (AEI); the Spanish University Rectors ‘Conference (CRUE); Spanish Confederation of Scientific Societies (COSCE); the Institute of Spain- Royal Academies (IE-RA); Science for Parliament Society (CEEP); and the Association of Science and Technology Parks of Spain (APTE).