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The In-depth section offers background articles, interviews, analyses, and reports that look beyond the issues of the day.
In March, NWO and the National Growth Fund programme Cellular Agriculture awarded €4.1 million to three projects, two of which focus on cultivated meat. We asked Joshua Flack and David Kilian, principal investigators of these projects, about what they plan to do to get this animal-friendly meat onto our plates.
The former Leeuwenbergh laboratory in Utrecht has been designated National Chemical Heritage by the KNCV. It was here that Professor Gerrit Jan Mulder set a new course in motion. He placed the emphasis on practical work and gave the laboratory the central role in chemical education and research that it still occupies to this day.
Europe wants to extract more critical raw materials itself. The most well-known of these is lithium. In Germany, it is being extracted together with hot water from deep underground. 'Logically, we do this in the places with the highest lithium concentrations.'
Eight years after the introduction of proton therapy in the Netherlands, technical developments are moving rapidly, but gathering clinical evidence takes time. 'Proton therapy was an interesting technique, but now it is a mature, clinically applicable treatment.'
The ultimate battery is sustainable, affordable, recyclable and consists of as few critical materials as possible. And preferably manufactured in Europe. For researchers, there is more than enough work to be done. 'In principle, there are countless elements in the periodic table with which you can make a battery.'
Danqing Liu draws on her broad expertise to develop materials that make our sensory experience far more varied. 'In our digital world, it is becoming increasingly important that we are able to physically touch something.'
Francien Peterse, associate professor of geochemistry at Utrecht University, is this year's recipient of the John Hayes Award from the Geochemical Society. The award honours mid-career scientists who conduct research in organic geochemistry whilst combining multiple disciplines. Peterse receives the award for her methods of reconstructing Earth's past climate using ancient, microbial biomarkers. C2W | Mens & Molecule visited her lab(s) in Utrecht to find out more about the award and the research for which she is receiving it.
For most plants, metals in the soil pose a problem, but so-called hyperaccumulators couldn't care less. This offers interesting possibilities for cleaning up contaminated soils or for new forms of metal extraction. However, such projects do require considerable staying power. 'According to our estimates, it will take 20 to 30 years before the nickel has been largely extracted.'
Each year, road traffic in Europe produces around half a billion kilograms of 'tyre wear particles'. This also releases a considerable quantity of 6PPD-Q, an oxidation product of a widely used tyre additive, into the environment. The substance has been found to be lethal to coho salmon, and in the US a lawsuit is now under way in which fishermen and environmental organisations are taking on tyre manufacturers to force a ban. The ruling is expected in May. In the EU, meanwhile, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the Austrian environmental agency UBA are working towards a ban.
Image: Cheung et al. (2026) Advanced Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adma.202521420 Scanning electron micrographs of five different samples of MIL-125-NH2 synthesised following the same procedure under different environments with chemicals from different suppliers With a new tool, researchers can easily document how they have prepared and synthesised metal-organic frameworks, enabling colleagues to replicate results more consistently. The EU4MOFs consortium has published the open-access tool in Advanced Materials.
