A group of scientists of Plant Research International (Wageningen UR), Radboud University Nijmegen, Utrecht University, and the Wageningen-based companies IsoLife and Plant Dynamics has demonstrated that the 'methane emission' by living plants is negligibly small. This is shown in their publication in New Phytologist. The scientists thus disprove the claim made by other scientists in 2006 that plants would through the production of methane gas make a substantial contribution to the emission of greenhouse gases. Early 2006 Nature published an article claiming that plants emit the greenhouse gas methane and thus make a substantial contribution to the global production of this greenhouse gas. At the time this claim caused quite some controversy. These conspicuous and controversial findings have urged a group of Dutch scientists to test these findings. The group of Dutch scientists brought together a unique combination of expertise and facilities. Their cooperation led to an innovative experiment. Plants were grown in an environment with 13C, a non-radioactive carbon isotope. Any methane emission could thus easily be detected against the methane background of the natural atmosphere in which 12C-methane is dominant. The scientists grew six plant species and methane emission was measured very accurately and highly sensitive by using the so-called photoacoustic laser technique. Even this technique with a sensitivity of one particle in one billion showed no significant methane emission. The scientists neither measured noticeable methane gas emission in experiments in which plants were grown for a longer period of time in a closed chamber. This is, insofar as known, the first independent research in which the 2006 claim has been tested. The results are clear: plants emit no methane. The search for the explanation of the gap in the global methane balance remains unfinished.
X-ray insights may enable better plastics production
An X-ray study at DESY is pointing the way towards a better understanding of plastics production. A team led by Utrecht University investigated so-called Ziegler-type catalysts, the workhorses in the world's polyethylene and polypropylene production, at DESY's X-ray source PETRA III. As the ... more
Why is sugar not transparent? Because light that penetrates a piece of sugar is scattered, altered and deflected in a highly complicated way. However, as a research team from TU Wien (Vienna) and Utrecht University (Netherlands) has now been able to show, there is a class of very special li ... more
Optimal information about the invisible
Laser beams can be used to precisely measure an object’s position or velocity. Normally, however, a clear, unobstructed view of this object is required – and this prerequisite is not always satisfied. In biomedicine, for example, structures are examined, which are embedded in an irregular, ... more
Bacteria generate electricity from methane
Generating power while purifying the environment of greenhouse gases should be achievable using bacteria. In a new publication, microbiologists from Radboud University have demonstrated that it is possible to make methane-consuming bacteria generate power in the lab. The bacteria, Candidatu ... more
Quantifying exchange interactions on the atomic scale
Today, there is a great effort to scale down magnetic memory towards nanometer-sized bits in order to ultimately store information in a single magnetic atom. This makes it necessary to image magnetic properties on the atomic scale. At the heart of magnetism is the exchange interaction – pro ... more
X-rays show birth of semiconductor for blue LEDs
Using a special pressure furnace, an international team of researchers has analysed the initial stages of the growth of the semiconductor gallium nitride with X-ray light. The observations show for the first time the atomic structure of the interface of the semiconductor material with liqu ... more
Promising biobased alternatives to polar aprotic solvents
A report from Wageningen Food & Biobased Research commissioned by RIVM (the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) has revealed a number of promising biobased alternatives to the controversial polar aprotic solvents NMP, DMAc and DMF. Wageningen Food & Biobased Rese ... more
Vredestein showed a prototype of its Fortezza Flower Power at the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen in August. This innovative road tyre is made of rubber extracted from the roots of dandelions. The prototype is the result of a EU joint initiative in which Vredestein and Wageningen Uni ... more
Polymerisation pilot facilities can accelerate the development of biobased materials
While the polymerisation of biobased monomers is an important step in making plastics, resins and coatings from plant materials which can compete with their fossil counterparts, there are currently no pilot facilities for this process available in the Dutch R&D ecosystem. Industry, regional ... more
IsoLife BV was established in 2005 as a spin-off company of Plant Research International , Wageningen UR, The Netherlands. Mission: IsoLife is founded on the belief that public health and environmental and food quality can be improved by the use of stable isotope labelled products in th ... more
