Brussels, 03/05/2011 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 3 May, the European Commission gave the go-ahead to three new biological science research infrastructures to foster research into challenges relating to climate change, health and sufficient supplies of high quality food. Once up and running, the three new infrastructures will be open for use by researchers from across the EU and beyond. France will coordinate an infrastructure for studying how ecosystems respond to environment and land-use changes. The United Kingdom will lead in setting up an infrastructure on systems biology with applications expected in the pharmaceutical, healthcare and agricultural sectors. The third infrastructure, to be set in place in France and Germany, will notably improve pan-European access to viruses, bacteria and fungi needed for research on infections affecting humans and crops, as well as for research on bio-security. Overall investment for setting the infrastructures in place is about €0.7 billion. European Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, who is responsible for research, innovation and science, said the initiative was “a key part of the EU's Innovation Union plan. These collaborative efforts create economies of scale, boost EU competitiveness and deliver better value for money for taxpayers. The biological science infrastructures we are announcing today can make a major contribution to tackling some of the toughest problems we face, including climate change and threats to human health and to our food supplies”. (Com-Gp/transl.jl)