News Earth and Life Sciences

North Sea Days on 9 and 10 October On Thursday 9 and Friday 10 October 2008 the North Sea Days will be held for the tenth time. Deltares, Imares and NWO are organising this event on the Pier in Scheveningen. Researchers and policymakers will debate what the consequences of a changing climate will be for the North Sea. For example, presentations will be given about the advisory report from the Delta committee, coastal extension and wind parks, but also about the effects of chemical substances.

ALW contributes to nature series for Dutch broadcaster NCRV ALW has contributed to a new nature series, called The Netherlands under water for Dutch broadcaster NCRV. In six episodes a picture will be sketched of water in the Netherlands, both as a threat and as a rich source of natural diversity. ALW's input is mainly derived from the research programmes Water, Biodiversity and Sea and Coastal research. Subjects tackled include blue algae, life on and below the Wadden Sea and the dispersal of species via streams. The first episode will be screened on Tuesday 23 September on Nederland 2 at 19.55 hours, and then every Tuesday at the same time, until the end of October. Keep your eye on the ALW website for more information.

Biosecurity Scientists, certainly within the life sciences, must be aware that the fruits of their work can fall into the wrong hands and be used for other purposes. A workgroup from the KNAW has drawn up a Biosecurity code of conduct which NWO subscribes to. In practice this means that applicants will also be asked to view things from the perspective of a malicious person when providing detailed information.

Seventh European Framework Programme successful for ALW researchers ALW researchers were highly successful in the second call of FP7. Within the theme environmental research they obtained almost ? 21 million. This makes the Netherlands the third most successful applicant in the EU. The third call is now open until 8 January 2008. Read more.

Newsletter Sustainable Earth Would you like to keep abreast of the latest news within the NWO theme Sustainable Earth? Then you can subscribe to the separate digital Alert Service. This newsletter will keep you informed about developments within this theme.

Staff changes at ALW bureau The following staff recently left ALW: . Dr. Leonie de Visser (polar year IPY) . Pascalle Jacobs (ZKO Sea and coastal analysis) . Anneke Spaans (secretariat) . Dr Ingrid Vleghels (Polar programme and Molecule to Cell) will be leaving on 1 October. Dr Tanja Kouwenhoven took up her appointment at ALW on 1 September, and is working on the theme Sustainable Earth.

Information magazine about organ donation The BWM information magazine Donor in hart en nieren (Donor in heart and 'kidneys') will be published shortly. The Biosciences and Society Foundation is under the auspices of NWO-ALW. The magazine produced in cooperation with NIGZ will be published together with a DVD and teaching materials for high school pupils. The following subjects are covered: pressing organ shortage, history and procedure, brain death, rejection of organs, live donorship, new developments, donor registration, interviews with donors and recipients.

Subsidy awards The ALW Divisional Board recently awarded subsidies in the Open Programme, Rubicon, from the Innovational Research Incentive Scheme the Veni and Vidi grants, and the research programme Ergo. In the Open Programme, 9 of the 24 applications were honoured. See overview Rubicon: 14 of the 51 applications were honoured. See overview. Veni: 17 of the 60 applications were honoured. See overview Vidi: 12 of the 69 applications were honoured. See overview Within the programme Ergo (Ecology of genetically modified organisms) 3 grants were awarded. See overview Programme news Amendments Open Programme Since 1 August 2008, different guidelines apply for the submission of applications in the Open Programme. In the past, applicants could only submit applications once per year; this rule has lapsed and applications may now be submitted more than once per year. However, a limitation does apply, namely that per applicant only one application may be handled in the Open Programme at any one time. As soon as an application has been honoured or rejected a new application can be submitted. Deadlines Deadline 15 September: ESF research conferences Deadline 16 September: User Support Space Research Deadline 23 September: The Value of Animal Welfare Deadline 15 October: ERAnet CRUE, call High-water protection / Flood resilient communities Deadline 16 October: Netherlands Polar Programme Deadline 23 October: ESF research networking programme Deadline 24 October: PolarCLIMATE Call for Proposals Click here for further information about these deadlines.

Press releases

Enhanced movement ice cap has no consequences for rise in sea levels Glacial ice at the edge of the Greenland ice cap is moving increasingly faster due to melting. However, in the long term this process will be halted because the meltwater is carried away via broader channels and the movement of the ice will once again decrease. Ultimately this process will not lead to a further rise in the sea level, conclude researchers from Utrecht University in Science. This research result comes from the Netherlands Polar Programme.

Advice from research: trade visitor rights Antarctica Tourism on Antarctica is increasing and that can form a threat for the vulnerable South Pole area. A study from Maastricht University, funded by the Netherlands Polar Programme, has come up with a possible solution: sell the visitor rights to the highest bidder.