Just weeks after completing its first ever “advanced grants” competition for experienced scientists, the European Research Council has called for proposals for the next round of funding, with winners eligible for grants of up to €3.5m (£2.9m; $4.4m) for five years.

In the first round the council, which was launched in February 2007, awarded 275 grants worth €542m.

About a third of the grants were for the life sciences, which were broken down into nine sections, including genetics, genomics, bioinformatics, and biology; neurosciences and neural disorders; immunity and infection; …