environment
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Jan Peter Lesschen on soil health and climate
Dr Jan Peter Lesschen is a senior researcher and project leader on soil and climate at the Dutch institute Wageningen Environmental Research where he focuses on greenhouse gas emissions, soil science, land use and regional scale modelling. It is estimated that 60-70% of European soils are in an unhealthy state – what is causing this ...
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with José Gomez on soil health and climate
Agricultural engineer José A. Gomez of the Spanish National Research Council researches soil management systems in agricultural areas. He also is the project coordinator of the Horizon 2020 funded project TUdi that develops solutions for restoring soil health. It is estimated that 60-70% of European soils are in an unhealthy state – why is this ...
A scientist’s opinion: Interview with Prof. Dick Vethaak about microplastic pollution
Last April 2024, we had the privilege of interviewing Prof. Dick Vethaak, a renowned expert in the field of micro- & nanoplastics. It is with great sadness that we heard about him passing in June 2024. We are honoured to be able to share his insights via the European Science-Media Hub and extend our deepest ...
Revolutionising food production: ‘Similar to making wine’
Peter Rowe is part of the REACT-FIRST consortium and CEO of Deep Branch, a British carbon recycling biotechnology company. They have pioneered a process that uses microbes to convert carbon dioxide from industrial emissions and turns them into high-value proteins. This way, they aim to secure the global food system by meeting the demand for ...
Producing milk with CO2 and electricity
Milk without cows: the European Hydrocow project, funded by the European Innovation Council, aims to produce milk with carbon dioxide (CO2) and electricity, removing the cow from the process. They are working on engineering a microbe that converts CO2 and hydrogen, produced from water using electricity, into beta-lactoglobulin, a major constituent of milk. We interviewed ...
Tackling the environmental impact of the textile sector
After food, housing and transport, textiles come in fourth place for environmental impact at EU level. Yet textiles are also essential to our daily lives, from clothing and furniture to protective equipment and even buildings and vehicles. How can we reduce this impact and make the textile industry more sustainable and circular? Part of the ...
Mark Post: ‘The future of lab-grown meat is promising’
Mark Post is a co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Mosa Meat, a European food technology company that grows beef directly from animal cells as well as co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Qorium which grows leather in a similar fashion. Mark Post is Professor of Sustainable Industrial Tissue Engineering at Maastricht University and has ...
Meat grown in a lab: a sustainable and slaughter-free alternative to conventional meat?
Once the preserve of science fiction, cultivated meat has become a reality. According to its advocates, it is a way to revolutionise food with more environmentally and ethically sound meat. Even though it is not allowed in the EU yet, will cultivated meat soon be on European plates? In 2013, Professor Mark Post unveiled the ...