Science that matters

From a very young age, Astrid Stubbusch wanted to thoroughly explore life in all its forms. In her thesis she showed the astounding strategies that bacteria develop to find food. She has now been awarded the Prix Schläfli for Biology for this work.

Nearly six in ten native European freshwater fish species are now of elevated conservation concern. This is revealed in the Red List published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Artificial groundwater recharge is one way of preparing for increasingly frequent dry spells. The length of time the water spends in the ground between infiltration and extraction is crucial to its quality. A study shows that environmental tracers, which enter rivers via the cooling water from nuclear power stations, can be used to determine this residence time.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world came to a standstill – and many lakes became measurably clearer. A global study shows that lockdowns caused water turbidity in lakes worldwide to drop sharply, particularly in lakeshore regions and river mouths, as a result of reduced industry, traffic and leisure activities.