News and insights

Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus more commonly found in greenhouse and bulb-growing regions

WUR researcher Eveline Snelders and two PhD candidates have mapped the spread of the (drug-resistant) fungus Aspergillus fumigatus across the Netherlands. While the fungus is present ubiquitous in the air, the resistant variant was found more often in greenhouse horticulture and flower-bulb regions.

Keuzegids 2026: WUR proud of second place in the Keuzegids

Wageningen University & Research (WUR) is proud of its second place in the Keuzegids 2026. The university regards the high ranking as recognition of its consistently strong educational quality.

sign to prohibit transport due to bird flu

Bird flu at poultry farms, updates 2025/2026

An overview of recent highly pathogenic bird flu infections on Dutch poultry farms

Bird flu

Landscape design with an eye for the future | Exhibition

From November 6, 2025, to April 3, 2026, the Special Collections of Wageningen University & Research will host an exhibition on the work of garden and landscape architect Voorhoeve, comparing his designs with a modern design approach for the Oosterbeek region.

West Nile virus infection officially detected in a horse in the Netherlands

An infection with West Nile virus (WNV) has been officially confirmed in a horse in the Netherlands. Wageningen Bioveterinary Research (part of Wageningen University & Research) has detected antibodies against WNV in a second horse in the province of Zuid-Holland. The sample was collected by the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security and Nature has informed the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) of this finding.

Wood properties help detect illegal trade

By combining chemical and genetic properties of wood, the origin of tropical hardwood can be determined much more accurately. This precision is needed to detect illegal timber trade. This is the main outcome of a study by Wageningen University & Research and international partners. The researchers determined the chemical and genetic properties of nearly 250 trees from Central Africa. By combining wood properties, they were able to estimate the origin of those trees with 94% accuracy within a radius of 100 km.

Consumer behaviourNutrition and health

Agrifood Monitor 2025: Dutch consumers can take a hit

What do you do when your favourite product becomes more expensive, temporarily unavailable, or looks a bit different? The tenth Agrifood Monitor by Wageningen Social & Economic Research (WSER) shows that most Dutch consumers remain calm. We prefer to wait and see how the situation develops.

Crop protectionFood wasteNutrition and healthProtein transition

Six policy options could nearly halve the biodiversity footprint of Dutch food consumption

The global decline in biodiversity has far-reaching consequences for ecosystems and our food production. Achieving biodiversity restoration targets requires strong policy efforts – but which ones? Researchers from Wageningen Social & Economic Research (WSER) examined a combination of six policy options, including adopting the EAT-Lancet diet and halving food waste.

Recent background stories (8)

Background stories

Sustainable water and land use

Potatoes are desperate for treated sewage

Droughts mean farmers don’t have enough water. Water from sewage treatment plants seems a stable future source for irrigating farmland, but is it safe? Water technologist Erik Vriezekolk is now taking the first steps to investigate this.

CRISPR-Cas pioneer John van der Oost: ‘Chance has been a determining factor in my scientific career’

When John van der Oost arrived in Wageningen all those years ago, no one had heard of CRISPR-Cas – not even him. His path to discovering this revolutionary technique was determined in part by random chance and in part by seizing the opportunities that arose. Van der Oost will be retiring this year.

Genetic modification

The Netherlands already phased out battery cages and mink fur, what can that teach us about future transitions?

Gas extraction in Groningen, mink fur, cramped battery cages, pulse fishing. The Netherlands has phased out controversial practices in the past. However, research into the process of phasing out has so far been sparse.

Healthy choices start in the supermarket

Supermarkets offer a wide assortment of unhealthy products. ‘Supermarkets can give consumers a subtle nudge in the right direction.’

General publicBiobased and circular society

The search for circular potting soil for growers and garden lovers

Biochar, a type of charcoal, could be a likely candidate. But is replacing peat with biochar really that easy?

Don't change the bioreactor, but the microorganism

Ruud Weusthuis is exploring a new approach in biotechnology. He wants to adapt microorganisms to fluctuating sugar and oxygen concentrations.

Science aims to outsmart extreme, unpredictable wildfires

Wildfires can sometimes suddenly escalate into an unpredictable and life-threatening inferno. The cause of such behaviour is occurring increasingly often – even in the Netherlands. How can researchers and firefighters gain better control over this phenomenon, known as pyrocumulus?

Climate-proof futures

Why eating healthy is more challenging for people of modest means

Financial constraints, stress, unhealthy food offerings, and social environment together make a healthy meal far from straightforward, research by Sanne Djojosoeparto and colleagues shows.

How is the Dutch black honeybee kept?

The black bee is a native bee species that used to appear everywhere in the Netherlands and is now only found in Texel. The keeping of this bee is important for the biodiversity

Current topics (5)

Current topics

Wolves

After an absence of approximately 150 years, the wolf has re-established itself in the Netherlands. This dossier provides you with the latest news, background information and results of Wageningen University & Research on wolves in the Netherlands.

Wolves

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Nitrogen

Nitrogen is an essential building block for life, but high nitrogen deposition on natural areas causes biodiversity loss.

Nitrogen

Cellular agriculture

Cultivated meat and fish, and animal-free dairy products are rapidly becoming viable alternatives to animal-based products and could significantly reshape our future protein supply.

Cellular agriculture

Methane

Dutch livestock farmers have already made considerable strides towards a sustainable livestock sector. A critical task, as one of the climate agreement goals, is to further reduce the emission of methane (CH4).

Methane