Interview scientist: Food engineer
Marieke Dhooge investigates how to make cheaper qualitative bread for third world countries.
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works). It was published in Eos Magazine 11 (Oct. 2009) and can be downloaded here.
Comeback of the barn owl
© Wim Acke
Last June I accompanied a friend (thanks for the pic Wim!) to visit a barn owl nest at the attic of a former pigeon house in a small village in East-Flanders. We counted four barn owl young (and several small pigeons in the lower part of the house). Unfortunately, a few weeks later my friend told me only one small barn owl was left, but there were no remains of the three others, so they clearly hadn’t died there. Possibly the three young owl were stolen for pet-keeping. Unfortunately some selfish people think they need an owl at home. Barn owl populations have been thriving again in Belgium, but this story makes clear that new dangers are present..
The original Dutch version of the article can be read in Eos-magazine no. 9 (Oct. 2009) or downloaded here. The English version follows below:
In the seventies barn owls populations had dropped to their lowest numbers ever in history. At present and as a result of protection measures the barn owl is again an often sighted bird in the agricultural landscape. Continue Reading »
Interview scientist: Space engineer Stijn Ilsen
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works) for EOS Magazine. With the interview series we want to shed light on what scientist actually do, how they came to science and where they’re heading. The interviews are in Dutch only.
First interviewed scientist was Stijn Ilsen. He is a space engineer and more specifically tests satellites. He helped with the launch of the HERSCHEL satellite, and the PROBA1 and only recently the PROBA2 satellite.
The interview was published in Eos Magazine 10 (Oct. 2009) and can be downloaded here.
Non-destructive biomonitoring with hedgehogs
© Helga D'Havé. Hedgehog at Rivierenhof, Deurne, Belgium.
Where is the time where – for days, weeks, months – I saw more hedgehogs than humans? These were exciting times (being out at night in park areas), weird times (having zero ‘human’ social life), and rewarding times (getting to know these night creatures and gaining results). Hedgehogs are suitable bio-indicators of environmental pollution, that was the main conclusion of my PhD research (2002-2006).
My recent article in the Dutch magazine ‘Zoogdier’ brought my research again in the news. An English summary follows below: Continue Reading »
Bioplastics are not biodegradable
You may have noticed them in your health food store; thin plastic shopping bags for fruit or vegetables. Here in Belgium I have been using these whenever I had forgotten my reusable shopping bag. After using the same bag a few times, I always happily disposed it with the compost waste, until I learned these so called biodegradable or compostable bags are not really degradable…
The Dutch version of the article can be read in Eos-magazine no.9-Oct. 2009 or downloaded as pdf here. The English version follows below:
The bioplastics industry is telling us that bioplastics are biodegradable or compostable. But this is not really true. In Flanders (northern part of Belgium) and probably many more countries, bioplastics are incinerated just as the bulk of our waste.
