News

Merijn, Thirza and Irem from Piter Jelles – De Dyck secondary school have won the Science Tournament at Firda. During this national competition for fourth-year VMBO students, teams carry out practical tasks in a professional laboratory, combining biology, physics and chemistry. The edition at Firda was themed around ‘Paint’. To mark this and the extension of the partnership between organiser C3 and PPG, the winners received a colourful paint tin filled with treats.

Sugar is not always bad for you, as glucose is essential for our body as fuel. Christian Büll is creating a collection of sugar molecules in the lab to study their beneficial effects on the immune system and gut microbiota.

During the Chemistry Study Day at Radboud University, the Centre for Youth Communication in Chemistry (C3) presented a new experiment filter for secondary education. Through the experiments at c3.nl/experiments, pupils are actively introduced to inquiry-based learning. Whereas the existing experiment filter at c3.nl/experiments focuses on simple experiments using everyday materials, the new filter offers more extensive practicals. Pupils set up experiments themselves, take measurements and analyse their results. The range includes experiments in biology, chemistry and physics.

Gold can help make the world cleaner by acting as a catalyst, converting pollutants into cleaner substances. Hidde Nolten is looking into whether he can speed up the process by using small gold balls instead of one large ball.

Twelve early-career researchers from across Europe recently came together with editors from Chemistry Europe journals for a two-day event entirely dedicated to scientific publishing and communication.

The board of the Soft Matter section invites KNCV members to submit nominations for the KNCV Van Arkel Prize for scientific work completed in the calendar years 2024 and 2025.

Deadline: Friday, 1 May 2026, before 9 a.m.

The problem with plastic recycling is that discarded plastic is dirty, which hinders the process. However, according to co-founder Diederik Jaspers, the company Obbotec has a solution.

Mattijs Maris, from the start-up company Zereau, wants to install filters in toilets to remove medicines and related raw materials from wastewater.

Jeroen Glansdorp is developing scanning technology that can identify the types of plastic contained in mixed waste, enabling more effective recycling.