21 December 2015
Worldwide economic losses from river flooding could increase 20-fold by the end of the 21st century if no further actions on flood risk reduction are taken. Over 70% of this increase can be attributed to economic growth in flood prone areas.
14 December 2015
120 researchers with a grant from NWO’s Talent Scheme attended the Talent Scheme Laureates meeting 2015. The meeting was held at Pakhuis de Zwijger in Amsterdam.
26 November 2015
It could never be found until recently, in a fish tank a few floors below Radboud University’s microbiology department: one single organism able to perform the complete process of nitrification. Microbiologists used to think that two distinct groups of bacteria were responsible for the stepwise oxidation of ammonia to nitrate via nitrite. Nature magazine publishes the results – which have implications on climate research and wastewater treatment – on November 26.
23 November 2015
As of today, NWO uses a new application and reporting system: ISAAC. Research proposals can now be submitted through this new application to NWO.
10 November 2015
From 27 November to 7 February the winners of the BAD Award will exhibit in Eindhoven. The three winning projects of the Bio Art & Design Award are about funky organs, drones and bacteria. They are part of a bigger exhibition on bio science called Body of Matter. The BAD Award competition wants to bridge the gap between art and science by using biology.
3 November 2015
Between 13 and 23 November 2015, NWO is migrating to the new online application and reporting system, ISAAC. This affects the possibility to submit applications.
20 October 2015
Anaerobic ammonium-oxidizing (anammox) bacteria are known for their ability to convert ammonium into nitrogen gas without using oxygen. The chemical compound hydrazine, also used as rocket fuel and the strongest reductant on earth, is central in this process. An international team of microbiologists, including Boran Kartal from Radboud University, now describes the protein that synthesizes hydrazine in anammox in full detail. Nature magazine publishes the results on October 19.
12 October 2015
Now that the top sectors Creative Industry and Logistics have also made room for responsible innovation research, the Responsible Innovation Research programme will be expanded to cover all top sectors from 2016 onwards. With a budget of more than six million euros the Responsible Innovation programme has therefore acquired a prominent position in NWO's contribution to the Dutch 'Knowledge and Innovation Contract' for 2016-2017, which was signed on 5 October 2015.
14 September 2015
State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science Sander Dekker and NWO chairman Jos Engelen awarded NWO Spinoza Prizes today to four leading scientists working in the Netherlands. Organic chemist René Janssen, religious studies scholar Birgit Meyer, statistician Aad van der Vaart and human genetics professor Cisca Wijmenga were presented with the prize in the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.
21 August 2015
Scientists of the Hubrecht Institute Utrecht developed a new method for identifying rare cell types by single-cell mRNA sequencing. The newly developed algorithm, called RaceID, is very useful for identifying rare cell types in normal and diseased tissue. The research, funded by an NWO Vici grant, is published ahead of print on the website of Nature the 19th of August 2015.
