Jellyfish are the last thing that many beach visitors want to see, let alone feel in the water. Even so, there is no need to be too concerned and the poison from our jelly fish is little to worry about. Been stung? Then there are some things you can do to relieve the pain. Pee for example, or is that a myth?
Every year you hear lifeguards at the Belgian coast appeal to people not to swim in unsupervised zones. And quite right too, say North-Sea specialists Jana Asselman, Sara Vandamme and Colin Janssen. After all, there is lots going on under the water’s surface.
Sweating without the annoying smell? In fact, it’s possible! Much is to do with the bacteria living under the armpit. Chris ‘Doctor Armpit’ Callewaert explains.
Only forty per cent of assistance dogs in training actually end up becoming a proper assistance dog. This problem not only causes long waiting lists, it also costs a lot of money. A collaboration, in the form of a professorship between professor Bart Broeckx and the non-profit organisation Purpose Dogs aims to find a solution.
“Most people water their plants too much. Or too little. Knowing exactly how much water to give them is not easy,” says Professor Kathy Steppe. She uses sensors to meticulously measure when plants need water and how much.
If you have a sweet tooth, you’ll know how difficult it is to keep chocolate cool during the summer months. So where should you store it? In a cupboard or in your fridge?
While we humans tend to enjoy the hot summer days, it can often be hell for our dogs and cats. What’s the best way to keep those furry friends nice and cool? Common sense will get you a long way, says professor Sylvie Daminet, chair of the Department of Small Pets.
What does steel production have to do with fish-food production? Everything! If you ask Myrsini Sakarika and Nele Ameloot from Ghent University. After all, they are helping to convert CO2 from the steel manufacturer ArcelorMittal Belgium into proteins, which can then be used for fish food. Pioneering research, although some finetuning is still necessary: “Fish are pretty demanding when it comes to their diet.”
Chicken feathers are full of valuable substances. Working with STAMAGRO, the start-up in East Flanders, researchers at Ghent University have helped to find a way to turn these substances into a product that benefits the growth of plants. That also means less nitrogen and CO2, because the plants require less fertilizer. And it reuses the feathers, which would otherwise end up in the rubbish. Win-win!
A new sugar replacement, call it Stevia 3.0, tastes just like sugar and is much healthier. It’s been developed by an American company, but conceived with input from Ghent-University professor Marjan De Mey. A partnership that will clearly stick around in the future.
There are currently an estimated 35,000 cases of Parkinson’s in our country. This figure increases every year. In fact, it is the fastest growing neurodegenerative illness, yet we know so little about it. Professors Roosmarijn Vandenbroucke and Patrick Santens are looking to gain knowledge of the disease with their research. “But that means that particularly large sums of money are required, and these are often unavailable”, they confirm.
The darker a bird’s wing, the better it can fly. That’s the conclusion reached by Michaël Nicolaï, as a biologist and researcher at Ghent University. “Pigment seems not only to give colour, it also helps in flying for longer.”
