news 2022

Earth and climate scientists from Vrije Universiteit (VU) Amsterdam united forces to disentangle the combined effects of diminishing snow cover and a changing jet stream on recent Siberian fire extremes. The study was published today in the scientific journal Science. With a total of about 200,000 km2 of forest and tundra burned - equaling nearly five times the size of the Netherlands - the years 2019, 2020 and 2021 were the largest fire years in northern Siberian larch forests since 2001.

Neuroscientist Rik van der Kant (VU Amsterdam and Alzheimer Center Amsterdam UMC) and chemist Martin Giera (Leiden University Medical Centre) have been awarded a Neurodegeneration Challenge Network (NDCN) grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

It's not the individual brain regions but rather their connections that matter: neuroscientists propose a new model of how the brain works. This new view enables us to understand better why and how our brains vary between individuals. The researchers publish it in a special issue of Science on November 4th.

Nutrient enrichment via fertilization leads to the loss of plant diversity via increased competition for light between plants, while herbivores protect plant diversity by alleviating competition for light. Utrecht University-researcher Yann Hautier and international colleagues provide the first direct evidence for these mechanisms in natural systems.

Aircraft noise is an irritating source of ambient noise and a significant cause of stress for local residents and animals in the vicinity of airports. Reducing aircraft noise is a major social issue in the Netherlands, as evidenced by the discussions on the permitted number of flight movements at Schiphol.

General practitioners regularly see patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) that have no clear explanation. These patients often feel misunderstood. But the researcher Inge Stortenbeker, who will receive her PhD from Radboud University on 3 November, found that a physician's use of language and choice of words can influence how anxious patients are after a consultation.

After a busy day at the office, many people collapse onto the sofa instead of getting some exercise. The mechanism behind this phenomenon is what Sven van As explored in his PhD thesis, which he is defending at Radboud University on 2 November. "When we feel stressed or tired, we tend to go for the easy option." Contrary to expectations, Sven van As's PhD research did not provide evidence that cognitively demanding work leads to lower levels of physical activity.

How the Eindhoven Hendrik Casimir Institute develops novel information and communication systems. The future of our information-based society will be built on hybrid technologies, EHCI researchers Diana Leitao and Chigo Okonkwo are convinced. And that is why both scientists, though firmly rooted in their respective disciplines of physics and electrical engineering, are strong advocates for seeking synergies between people with different research backgrounds.

Dishonesty and corrupt behavior by institutional representatives undermines trust and cooperation among people who have witnessed this kind of violation of norms. This is the conclusion of social psychologists Giuliana Spadaro and Paul van Lange (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) in collaboration with the University of Turin.

Professor Gert-Willem Römer of the University of Twente says it's one of his pet peeves: in many science fiction and action films, lasers are used in a way that completely defy the laws of physics. Take lasers that blow up spaceships. These lasers make a sound when they are fired, but space consists of a vacuum, so sound doesn't travel there.

UT researcher Kingsley Kumah optimised a machine learning algorithm to improve the resolution of rainfall predictions using satellite data. To train his algorithm, Kumah used rainfall information gathered with phone signals. This technology enables measurements in places that are difficult to access.

Longread Can minerals help extract the greenhouse gas CO2 from the air? PhD candidate Emily te Pas is investigating the potential of spreading crushed silicate minerals on agricultural land. 'This is still pioneering at this stage. It is important to collect data: does it work and is it safe?'' Photo above: Marcel van den Bergh At a testing site in Renkum, PhD candidate Emily te Pas is investigating whether the greenhouse gas CO2 can be extracted from the air by adding silicate minerals to agricultural soil.

Shallow lakes and ditches emit less greenhouse gases if rooted submerged plants are predominant instead of free-floating plants or algae. There are several reasons why Dutch water managers should encourage more submerged plants in Dutch waterways, researchers argue. But these plants will have a better chance of survival if fewer fertilisers are leached into Dutch waters.

An international group of 28 sea-level scientists and practitioners of the World Climate Research Programme's Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level Change and Coastal Impacts has released a new estimate for high-end sea-level rise. High-end sea-level rise projections represent what might happen rather than representing the most likely outcome.

In the Connected Circularity programme, four research teams - within 4 Flagship projects - from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) have been working on HOW to shape the transition to a circular bioeconomy. That is an society in which organic material forms the basis of our food system and in which no more materials are wasted.

Recently, a new one-stop point for information on migrant integration in Europe is launched. The  SprINg evidence repository  helps policymakers, service providers and advocates work with migrants to make their policies and practices more evidence-based. The repository is created under the leadership of Peter Scholten , dr. Asya Pisarevskaya and Alex Webb from the Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR).

Manipulating elusive waves like light, sound or electrons, in periodic structures or crystals, has something mysterious. In the leading physics journal Physical Review Letters, published by the American Physical Society, a team of researchers from the University of Twente now describes how any kind of wave, whether quantum or classical, is confined in any kind of crystal.

Mathematician Alessio Gallucci improves the mapping of human skin by using models and deep learning. With just a scan of your face and a little basic data, such as height and weight, mathematician Alessio Gallucci can produce a complete body scan. To improve the 3D analysis of our skin he used deep learning techniques.

How can we make food safety monitoring as effective as possible with the available resources? That is the question that the Chair of Food Safety Economics is tackling. This is the central topic of the inaugural address of special professor Ine van der Fels-Klerx on October 20, 2022. The title of her speech is: 'Integrating economics in food safety monitoring: what, where and how?' Food safety is under pressure Despite the fact that food in the Netherlands and Europe has never been so safe, as it is today, there are all kinds of developments that put this safety under pressure.

It has long been known that humanity is exceeding planetary boundaries for nitrogen use. Scientists have now mapped those exceedances regionally for the first time. Whereas countries in north-western Europe and parts of India and China are emitting far too much nitrogen, there is actually room for intensification of nitrogen use across much of Africa and South America.