Facilitating the search for new antibiotics: that's what Gilles van Wezel aims to do by looking at similarities in the DNA of antibiotic-producing bacteria.

Lisette de Senerpont Domis is to be appointed professor of Smart Ecological Monitoring of Aquatic Systems at the University of Twente as of 1 May.

Swimming in nature is healthy. A group of British researchers have started a project to spread the word.

Fields and meadows provide a range of key services, as long as the soil is healthy. A group of researchers and companies will study how farmlands can be returned to multifunctionality.

Ever wonder what makes soil, soil? And could soil from the Amazon rainforest really be the same as soil from your garden? Researchers from the University of Manchester and the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) are using DNA sequencing to unlock the secrets of the world’s soils, and analyse ecological patterns and microbial communities on a global scale.

The conversion of Amazon rainforest for agriculture has led to deforestation and soil degradation. Agroforestry has been suggested as a sustainable alternative, but NIOO's Eiko Kuramae says its impact on the soil needs to be more fully considered.