Interview scientist: Forensic doctor
Michel Piette is forensic doctor and professor in forensic medicine at the University of Gent. He investigates the cause of unnatural deaths in Gent and surroundings.
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works). It was published in Eos Magazine 2 (Jan. 2010) and can be downloaded here (in Dutch).
Preview video of the interview with ethologist Marc Bekoff
This short video is a teaser for the interview with American ethologist dr. Marc Bekoff.
The first part of the interview will appear soon on my website (in English) and in the science magazine Eos (Dutch only). I talked to Bekoff about emotions, morality, intelligence, consciousness, pain and tool use in animals. Bekoff strongly believes in Darwin’s concept of evolutionary continuity where differences between species are differences in degree and not in kind. This means that if we have a certain characteristic – for example empathy or pain – animals have it too, but in a different degree.
The second part of the interview will appear later on my website. In part two Bekoff addresses the artificial dichotomy between men and the other animals, ‘whom’ we eat, how we treat animals and vegetarianism. Bekoff concludes by sharing the biggest change he believes the world needs right now and how we can help to bring about this change.
Interview scientist: Bioinformatics scientist
Kris Laukens investigates the complexity of biological systems through data integration with mathematical models.
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works). It was published in Eos Magazine 1 (Jan. 2010) and can be downloaded here.
Interview scientist: Sustainability experts
An Vercalsteren and Carolin Spirinckx investigate the environmental impact of products/ services by means of life cycle analyses (LCA).
This interview is part of the series ‘Wetenschap Werkt’ (Science Works). It was published in Eos Magazine 12 (Dec. 2009) and can be downloaded here.
Pigeons are intelligent, a kid can see that
© Helga D'Havé. Young pigeons.
Pigeons are not stupid… I knew that since I was a kid. How could they otherwise find their way home to the pigeon house of my uncle after being released in a strange land they had never visited before? The intelligence of pigeons is now scientifically proven.
A short article on this (in Dutch) was published in Eos-magazine 4 (April 2009) and can be downloaded here. The English version follows below: Continue Reading »
Fish feel pain much like humans do
Image credit: Oktaviani Marvikasari
It seems obvious that it is an unpleasant experience for fish (or any other animal) to be caught on a hook or to die slowly from suffocation. Still, many scientists make a difference between an unpleasant experience and pain, that is for non-human animals but not for humans. The debate on whether fish feel stress and pain is still ongoing despite the mounting scientific evidence. In the debate it is often ignored that pain serves an evolutionary function: the pain experience is a necessary trait in order for animals to identify and escape from life threatening situations.
A short article on this (in Dutch) was published in Eos-magazine 7/8 (July-Aug. 2009) and can be downloaded here. The English version follows below:
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 »
Enjoy your vegs and your nitrate
Image credit: Christa Richert
Being a vegetarian – and consequently eating a lot of vegetables and fruit – I have been concerned about my intake of nitrate. On a daily basis I consume a bunch of super healthy and yummy leafy green vegetables, the latter being known to be high in nitrate. It is time to find out the truth about this nitrogen compound…
The original Dutch version of the article can be read in EOS magazine 10 (Nov. 2009) or downloaded here. The English version follows below:
Health educators and toxicologists tell us that nitrate is dangerous for our health. More and more research is countering this statement. Nitrate would benefit heart health and help maintain a healthy blood pressure.
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.
