Author: Michael Allen

On Marianne Mulhall’s organic dairy farm in southeast Ireland, the winter wheat crop is looking better than usual. By spring, it is often a bit yellow and withered, a sign that it is nitrogen deficient. This year’s wheat ­– sown on a field where fava beans and peas were grown last summer ­– is still […]

As the world shifts toward renewable energy, one major challenge remains: efficient energy storage. An EU-funded research team is exploring the use of compressed air to store excess energy collected from solar panels.  A pilot plant at Plataforma Solar de Almería, a solar technology research centre in southern Spain, will demonstrate a concept they call solar thermal […]

While consumers are often encouraged to eat more seafood for its nutritional benefits, such as omega-3 fatty acids, sustainability and ethical concerns are also a growing factor in their purchasing decisions.  Consumers are increasingly prioritising seafood that is sustainably sourced, often preferring certified products such as those carrying the MSC and ASC labels (Marine Stewardship […]

Many will remember the sourdough bread-baking craze that emerged at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when people were stuck at home and looking for something creative to do. With social media feeds full of images of sourdough “starters” with quirky names and crisp, freshly baked loaves, home bakers discovered the joys – and the […]

A container ship sailing at night through the Baltic Sea, travelling along the Polish coast, pulls alongside a fishing boat. This behaviour immediately triggers the Polish authorities and raises questions. “You need to ask why are two vessels meeting in the middle of the sea in the middle of the night? Are they involved in […]

When oceanographer Toste Tanhua and his research team set up a trial system to monitor aquaculture conditions near Barcelona in 2023, they were keenly aware of the havoc a powerful storm had wreaked on the region three years earlier.  Storm Gloria ravaged southeast Spain in January 2020, killing 13 people and causing millions of euros […]

Bacterial infections are a major health challenge, killing around 100 Europeans a day as they become increasingly resistant to common antibiotics. To address this, researchers like Dr Rienk Pypstra are working together to create more effective treatments. The problem with bacteria – one of the simplest life forms – is that they evolve very quickly.  […]

When Dr Andrés de la Escosura, an organic chemistry researcher at the Institute for Advanced Research in Chemical Sciences (IAdChem) in Madrid, Spain, set out to fundamentally change the way that we produce the chemicals used in everyday life, his rationale was simple. Chemistry in nature is clean and efficient, whilst industrial chemistry is anything […]