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Bioeconomy

Picturing the bioeconomy

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  • The winner: Matthew Wilkinson, Forest Research, UK – Alice Holt Forest Phenology<br/> An image of the Alice Holt Research Forest in Hampshire, southern England, was selected by the EU-funded CommBeBiz project on Thursday 11 February as the winning photograph of Europe’s bioeconomy from among seven finalists. <br/> The winning image was captured by a camera suspended over the woodlands that snaps a picture every half hour. Researchers inspect them to see when buds burst or autumnal coloration begins, in o
  • Finalist: Des Dolan, NUI Galway, Ireland – We’ve been going at this from the wrong way<br/> Upside down or not? The confusion is purposeful. Dolan has rotated this image by 180 degrees in order to make people think about sustainability in a new way. His idea is to look at the entire life cycle of a product – including, extraction, manufacturing, construction, demolition and disposal, and the forests’ role in absorbing CO2.
  • Finalist: Karl Gaff, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland – Yarrow Micro-Spore<br/> With the help of an electron microscope, Gaff was able to get a close-up of a single grain of pollen using its spikes to hook onto the stem of a Yarrow wildflower. The original image came out in black and white, and then he coloured it to make it look more realistic.
  • Finalist: Joshua Chao, NUI Galway, Ireland – The rocky shores of Galway<br/> Researchers in Galway are collecting microscopic algae known as diatoms and using them to developing sophisticated micro-scale drug delivery devices. Due to the diatoms’ unique structure, they could slowly release medicine over prolonged periods of time to help patients with tumours or diseased tissue.
  • Finalist: Karl Gaff, Dublin Institute of Technology, Ireland – Dazzling Colours<br/> A thin film of Vitamin C demonstrates the power of polarised light microscopy. The bright colours result from the complex interaction between plane polarised light and the crystalline lattice.
  • Finalist: Laura Devaney, Teagasc, Ireland – A sustainable food future: outputs of the future bioeconomy<br/> An organic food box was delivered to households during the five-week CONSENSUS Eating HomeLabs experiment, which aimed to introduce participants to the idea of consuming organically produced fruits and vegetables as well as experimenting with new recipe ideas and vegetarian options.
  • Finalist: Ólafur Eggertsson, Farmer at Þorvaldseyri, Iceland – Corn production in the Arctic regions - the famous Eyjafjallajökull glacier in the background<br/> Icelandic farmers have begun to grow grains in recent decades despite being at the very edge of the cereal cultivation belt. The first farmers started breeding corn varieties in the 1960s that were better adapted to the cool temperatures and a short growing seasons, and this work has continued since. Today, the Agricultural University of Iceland sh

From microscopic pollen to cornfields by a glacier, Horizon’s latest gallery brings together the finalists of a bioeconomy photo contest.