News

Juliette Legler, Matthijs Hisschemöller and Jacob de Boer in the News.

Recently, the spotlight has fallen on the scientific work of three IVM researchers, Juliette Legler, Matthijs Hisschemöller and Jacob de Boer, demonstrating that research performed at the IVM can have societal impact.

Juliette Legler contributed to a Canadian documentary on obesity and the link with chemicals, broadcast on Canadian television Thursday, January 12. Her toxicological research with zebrafish examines how exposure to chemicals influences gene expression early in life, which may lead to a higher susceptibility to become overweight. More information on the obesity research project Obelix site and the CBC site: http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/episode/programmed-to-be-fat.html.

Matthijs Hisschemöller’s research on more sustainable energy has led to his involvement in the battle to retain knowledge and technique regarding flexible sun panels within the Netherlands. This resulted in articles in two  Dutch newspapers: De Telegraaf and Het Parool on Tuesday, January 3, and a radio interview with Hisschemöller on Saturday, January 7. More news on this issue can be found on the website of Helianthos zonnecellen.

Jacob de Boer has looked into the indirect relations between the decrease of the eel  population and the concentration of PCB’s and dioxins in the habitat of the eel. De Boer investigated a possible correlation with the sex of the eel: primarily female eel s have a lower fat percentage. He also identified links between the effect of contamination with PCBs and dioxins on the fertility of the eel eggs. The results of his paper  ‘Eel, an endangered species due to high concentrations of pcb’s’ were reported in an article in Het Parool , Saturday, January 14.