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Bioeconomy, Environment
Reuse or let die. Crucial for life but threatening if in excess: the nutrient challenge
Reuse or let die. Crucial for life but threatening if in excess: the nutrient challenge
Nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are  a double-edged sword . As key components of fertilizers, they are  essential for life on Earth, but become a threat to human health and the environment when they are in excess and run off into water courses and wastewater.
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Recovering nutrients to save the planet: the fertilizer challenge
The Earth is a sick patient, struggling to survive and feed its inhabitants.
Wearing wood for a low-carbon life
Wearing wood for a low-carbon life
“Wood may be present in people’s life more than we think”, says Mariana Hassegawa, a researcher at the European Forest Institute . She is one of the authors of a case study on new wood-based products by the BioMonitor EU project.
How the pandemic highlighted bioplastic benefits
How the pandemic highlighted bioplastic benefits
Even though people increasingly recognise the plastic pollution threat, we have used more plastic since the covid-19 pandemic began .
Sexism also exists in botany
Sexism also exists in botany
Urban green spaces provide several benefits beyond aesthetics. They offer shade, help to reduce pollution, offer habitat for birds and insects, a space to meet and socialise or for kids to play.
Simplifying hospital waste with bio-based disposables
Simplifying hospital waste with bio-based disposables
Hospitals generate huge amounts of rubbish. According to the World Health Organization , high-income countries produce up to 0.5 kg of hazardous waste per hospital bed per day.
Improving the imperfect: photosynthesis for the future
Improving the imperfect: photosynthesis for the future
Despite its splendour and beauty, nature is full of imperfections. Indeed, the process of natural selection relies upon minor errors in genetic duplication to produce new variants, better suited to a given environment.
Climate change threatens some of the world’s best wines
Climate change threatens some of the world’s best wines
Millions of people across Europe have enjoyed soaring temperatures in the summer of 2017 , with sizzling barbeques, good food, and fine wine.
Levelling food price volatility, while supporting the poor
Levelling food price volatility, while supporting the poor
The worst food crisis in 30 years looms for 50 million people across southern Africa from Mozambique to Angola. Two years without rain has destroyed harvests. Food prices have skyrocketed.
Preventing “oceans of plastic soup”
Preventing “oceans of plastic soup”
Approximately 8 million metric tons of plastic waste washes off land into the ocean each year. Bottle caps, toothbrushes, tiny plastic fragments, filaments, pellets, film and resin float about in the water columns.
Resilient seeds - Nurturing the future of agriculture
Resilient seeds - Nurturing the future of agriculture
For the first time in its history, the Global Seed Vault on the Svalbard Islands, Norway, has authorised a withdrawal. It was requested in 2015 by Syria, a country where the war is endangering the local agricultural seed collections.
Biomass: a green source of energy?
Biomass: a green source of energy?
Bioenergy represents two-thirds of the energy produced from renewable sources in Europe, though biomass sustainability is not taken for granted.
New bio packaging for food
New bio packaging for food
To address these problems, an international research team working for the European Project SUCCIPACK is producing packaging made from PBS (polybutylene succinate) , which is based on vegetable biomass.
That’s a bioplastic wrap
That’s a bioplastic wrap
Producing food in a sustainable way is one thing. Making sure that it is wrapped in a sustainable packaging is another issue that also needs to be addressed.
Revolutionary System Monitors Water Pollution
Revolutionary System Monitors Water Pollution
Toxic microalgae, viruses and chemical contaminants are floating in our waters. These hazardous materials pose a high risk to the livelihood of the sea dwellers. Especially the aquaculture is affected by this rising problem.
Early warning system for fish farmers
Early warning system for fish farmers
The marine aquaculture sector has grown continuously over the past years, according to the FAO’s world review of fisheries and aquaculture.
Ridding the sea and land from toxic plastics fragments
Ridding the sea and land from toxic plastics fragments
Plastic products made of PVC, Polystyrene and other prominent plastics are flooding the market. They are a growing threat to the environment, as they are found in the sea or dumped in land fills .
Speeding up nature’s oil spill cleaners
Speeding up nature’s oil spill cleaners
Imagine if oil spills could be completely cleaned up soon after a marine accident. And this could be made possible thanks to none other than warrior microorganisms who attacked and completely broke down the oil.
Einar Eg Nielsen – Genetically tracking farmed fish escaping into the wild
Einar Eg Nielsen – Genetically tracking farmed fish escaping into the wild
European sea product consumption is on the rise. With overfishing being a threat to the natural balance of the ocean, the alternative is to turn to aquaculture, the industrial production of fish and seafood.
The road to sustainable tuna aquaculture
The road to sustainable tuna aquaculture
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna is a much sought after delicacy. Due to huge fishing pressure, tuna stocks have decreased dramatically . There are now signs of recovery, according to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas .
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