Wageningen University & Research

🦠🐀Is COVID-19 the fault of bats? And were rats fully responsible for the plague? In recent and less recent #zoonotic pandemics, we must look at our role as humans. How did the animal transfer the disease? What drove the animal to the humans' living space? To discover the cause, we must look at our behaviour as well as the animals' behaviour. Dr. Bernice Bovenkerk specialises in animal ethics and environmental philosophy, and shares her thoughts about how we should look at our own role in the risks of zoonotic diseases. What was the role of humans in the COVID-19 pandemic according to you? Share your thoughts with us in the comments, and read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eu8NzgUC #COVID-19 #Animals

🧬 🐖 What are your thoughts on antibiotic use and the risk of microbial resistance? Antibiotics are vital for the well-being of animals and the safety of animal products. However, the administration of antibiotics needs to be monitored regularly, as researcher Bjorn Berendsen of Wageningen Food Safety Research explains: “The purpose of that monitoring process is to safeguard human health. Naturally, we want to minimise any traces of antibiotics in our food. More importantly, however, we don't want the bacteria in livestock to become resistant to those antibiotics. After all, that would render our strongest weapon against infectious diseases useless. That’s why livestock farmers need to be careful with antibiotics and record how much they use.” Currently, testing for antibiotics is a long and expensive process. However, Bjorn and his colleagues have developed a rapid test that can instantly give results, allowing for a much faster and cheaper process. Curious how this works? Check out the video below 🎥⬇! And read more here: https://bit.ly/4d6uIBl. #antibiotics #livestock

🌍⭐Today is Earth Day! Besides celebrating our #planet on this day, it is also a moment to come together and reflect on the importance of environmental protection! The spotlight is on Planet vs. Plastic this year, which touches upon one of many environmental problems: plastic waste. At WUR we measure the amount of plastics in oceans and rivers, trace its origin and assess its impact on nature. Curious how? Our experts tell you all about it! 💡In light of Earth Day, what do you think is an important aspect or environmental topic we should not forget? Let us know! #EarthDay #Environment #Plastic

🕷️🩸 Have you ever had a tick? Why is it that ticks carry Lyme? And how does the environment affect it? Ecologists Helen Esser, Ph.D. and Clara Köhler will travel to a Romanian primaeval #forest this spring with game cameras and white sheets. They aim to map the relationship between ticks, rodents, and the forest’s structure. Esser: "We aim to discover how the forest’s structure affects the risk of diseases caused by ticks, including in the Netherlands." Curious what this entails for Dutch forests and cities? Read more here ➡️ https://bit.ly/49JURTM Share your experiences with ticks in the comments! Any tips on how to prevent tick bites? #Ticks #Disease #Lyme

🏆💚 We are very proud to announce that WUR again ranked as the best university in the world in the field of Agriculture & Forestry! This is according to the QS World University Rankings 2024. In this field, our international research network and employer and academic reputation got rated 100%! We want to celebrate our amazing staff as well as our enthusiastic, curious students who make an opportunity every day to learn and grow together. 🌿💚To explore the potential of #nature to improve the quality of life💚🌿 #Ranking #Agriculture #Forestry

🏙️🔮Pathways towards a sustainable city: what does the city of the future look like? ‘Large cities, such as Amsterdam, are complex and unpredictable. Still, there are abundant ideas on how to make the city more sustainable,’ says Professor of Urban Economics Eveline Van Leeuwen. All of these challenges and ideas will be discussed in next week's 'Reinventing the City Conference', organised by the AMS Institute. Eveline, also the institute’s scientific director, takes you through six examples of what this might look like!🌱👇

🐛🌱We want to cut #pesticide use, but how? On paper, it's possible to significantly reduce pesticide usage through clever interventions, but reality proves to be more challenging. Every year more than nine million kilos of pesticides are sold in the Netherlands. Farmers invest in these products to get good harvests and maintain the quality of their crops. But the use of pesticides leaves traces: you find residues of the substances in food, in the soil and in surface water. There have been quite a lot of developments to cut the use of pesticides, but why don't they seem to find their way into farming practice? And why are some innovations leading to disappointment? These are some of the questions WUR researchers are trying to answer. However, there are also hopeful developments. Another farming system for lilies has been developed. Lily bulbs are first propagated virus-free through tissue culture, then spend one growing season in a greenhouse protected from aphids. With this new system, pesticides may be reduced by 25 to 50 percent. Want to know more about the research, developments, and complexities regarding the cut of pesticide use? 👉https://bit.ly/3Q1jXpU #Research #Challenge

🐛🦋 Is it possible to trick Caterpillars and lure them away from our crops? Caterpillar noses are surprisingly advanced which helps them to consume large amounts of plant materials in a short time. The Large White #caterpillars can completely destroy a cabbage harvest, thus causing a lot of damage. However, the insights of a current study might provide valuable information to help protect crops without the use of harmful pesticides. Do you think this trick will work? 📺 #Pesticides #Crop

🦆💦“We all know the tiny, yellow ducklings that float along behind their mothers in spring. The mallard is a beautiful animal, especially the male with its green head and white ring around the neck. It looks like a strong and well-balanced animal that can survive in many places, even in the most unsightly waters.” “A big difference from its ancestor the mallard is that the domesticated #Pekinduck is all white. It is kept for meat and as a result, with 3.5 kg, this animal is over 2 kg heavier than its ancestor at adult age.” “In the 1990s, a lot of research was done on husbandry systems for Pekin ducks. They were partly kept outdoors, but stricter environmental regulations meant the ducks had to go indoors. The full indoor housing system posed new challenges for keeping Pekin ducks. Around this time, animal welfare and water supply became more important. Mallards are aquatic birds and swim and forage in water by dabbling the beak along water (In Dutch: snebberen). Ducks also spend considerable time preening to keep themselves clean, and for this they need water. However, Pekin ducks only get water from nipple drinkers which does not meet the natural foraging and preening behaviours.” “WUR carried out research to test the water preference of Pekin ducks. They could choose between nipple drinkers, shallow open water and deep open water. Shallow and deep water was highly preferred. Access to open water led to an increase in preening, compared with nipple drinkers. Dipping and wetting the head and neck is the least they need, to be able to perform wet-preening activities to keep themselves clean. This is perhaps the most important indicator of a duck's welfare: if the eyes, nostrils, plumage, and legs are dirty the welfare of the ducks is at stake. A disadvantage of open water is that it can lead to hygiene problems and an increased volume of manure. To make it feasible, it is recommended that open water will be provided above a slatted floor.” “In the Netherlands, Pekin ducks are kept in a relatively low stocking density and have a flooring of straw. WUR has contributed to this type of housing. The straw partly replaces the need for water with regard to foraging behaviour. As a result, there are no problems with feather pecking and beaks are not trimmed. WUR has gathered a lot of knowledge on the water issue. Unfortunately, in practice little is done with this knowledge. Much of the meat produced here goes abroad, which makes it difficult to make improvements. There are no EU regulations, although there is a recommendation about wet-preening.” “The next step is to develop an appropriate open water system, meeting requirements of both ducks and duck farmers. It is recommended to include the cleanliness of eyes, nostrils and feathers in a welfare monitor for ducks, as this provides important information for the farmer to optimize the water system and related management.” Marko Ruis – Researcher animal welfare #Animalwelfare #Ducks #Animalscience

🌱🔎 How do #plants sense and respond to touch? When a plant embryo is being pushed through a narrow channel, something magical happens. That is, the embryo was expected to break up, but instead, the cells stretched to squeeze through the opening. Once on the other side, it popped back into its original shape. "We immediately knew: we could do something with this," says Dolf Weijers, professor of biochemistry. Charles Darwin already described how plants react to force and touch in his book 'The Power of Movement in Plants' in 1880. But only now are scientists beginning to map out these invisible forces. And it's high time, thinks mechanobiologist Joris Sprakel. "There is something missing in plant biology," he states. Did you know? The two professors were awarded the Gravitation Subsidy of over 22 million euros last month for their project! They owe their success to accidental discoveries, the intersection of their expertise, and by staying close to their own interests. What do you think is often overlooked in plant biology? Let us know in the comments! Read the whole article here, to find out what Joris, Dolf and Charles Darwin agree on! ⤵️ https://ap.lc/OJaxC #Biology #Grant #Biochemistry