Science
PLANT
Student wins plant sciences ward
14:37u 19 March 2010 - Plant sciences student Arjen van Zeijl of Wageningen University has won the Rijk Zwaan Plant Sciences Award 2010 for his research into strigolactones, a recently discovered type of plant hormone.
BACKGROUND
Holism 2.0: Towards the Defragmentation of Science
17:03u 18 March 2010 - Since prehistoric times human beings have tried to explain and control their overwhelmingly complex and threatening environment with tales, beliefs and rituals. Only relatively recent is the development of science, an approach that is somehow different from anything we did before, and so successful in solving problems that many people have gained a deep faith in our ability to 'carve the future'.
Dies Natalis lecture Wageningen Universiteit 2010, Marten Scheffer
NATURE & ENVIRONMENT
Sterksel designs biogas plant
9:42u 18 March 2010 - Wageningen UR's Swine Research Farm at Sterksel is to carry out research into carbon neutral pig farming using a mini-biogas plant. The Productschap Vee en Vlees (Cattle and Meat Marketing Board) will invest 170 thousand euros in a low-cost prototype design.
IF YOU ASK ME
Thinking together: How can we join forces?
16:29u 17 March 2010 - Collaboration between different disciplines is a prerequisite for being able to understand complex issues properly. But Marten Scheffer says that is not happening because universities are very hierarchical, motivated by financial incentives and run by a fairly homogenous group of Western males (see too p.15). One of his suggestions is a symposium, in the classical Greek sense of the word: a place on campus where people meet up to eat, drink and exchange ideas. A realistic idea?
BACKGROUND
Propositions may stay
14:10u 17 March 2010 - Theses are meant to be written, not read. Whoever does read them start with the propositions. And yet, these very propositions have come under fire; many have asked that they be scrapped. Hold on, professors and PhD students seem to say in an opinion poll. A bit of brushing up can't be bad, though.
AGRICULTURE
Organic and factory farming both slated
14:05u 17 March 2010 - Both factory livestock farming and extensive organic farming are dead ends for agriculture. The future lies in intensive farming that delivers food directly to the consumer. This was the message at a conference of the livestock students' society De Veeteelers on 11 March.
SOCIAL SCIENCES
GM Banana split in Uganda
11:55u 17 March 2010 - The introduction of genetically modified (GM) bananas in Uganda could meet stiff resistance from the urban population in the country, according to environmental economist Enoch Kilukwe, who obtains his doctorate in Wageningen this week.
NATURE & ENVIRONMENT
Bring on the green waste
20:48u 15 March 2010 - In the course of a four-year PhD research project, the chances of discovering anything really spectacular are slim, but Kirsten Steinbusch did her research under a lucky star. During her research with the Environmental Technology department, she found a new method of turning organic waste into energy using volatile fatty acids, formed when microbes break down the waste. These substances stink to high heaven - Greenpeace uses them to drive away whalers - but Steinbuch was able to apply micro-organisms and some hard chemistry to transform them into a lucrative product: biodiesel. She is due to receive her PhD on Friday 19 March.
ANIMAL
Searching for friendlier ways to kill nuisance animals
15:09u 13 March 2010 - The number of fallow deer in the Amsterdam Waterworks Dunes in the Bloemendaal municipality will increase to 3500 to 4000 within ten years unless counter measures are taken.
ANIMAL
Pork belly cuts better for environment than beef steak
11:31u 13 March 2010 - Milk, eggs, pork and chicken are friendlier for the environment than beef. This is the conclusion after examining sixteen life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of animal products. However, the margins for the various measurements are big.
