ten students accompanied by four young and enthusiastic teachers from the Don Bosco College of Zwijnaarde spent ten unforgettable days at Don Bosco Muhazi where they had time to interact with the local community and to discover the surrounding natural environment The students also met Mrs Colette Schaumont coordinator of the Planning and Development Office of the Salesians of the Africa Great Lakes Province They took part in a wide variety of activities including an intensive introduction to Computer Science and English in discovering the natural beauty of the area and playing sports; later the students took part in the Oratory's activities The young people of the Don Bosco College Zwijnaarde also celebrated the "Feest van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap" an important historical date for the Belgian population the young explored the Gikomero market and its surroundings and spent moments of conviviality and sharing at a local restaurant the children were greeted with a party in full Salesian style The farewell evening was enriched with songs The young people of Rwanda in fact presented several traditional dances; they also offered flute performances and recited a poem entitled "Drums for peace." they took part in typical Rwanda games and were able to taste the characteristic foods of the area agasekas filled with local tea were donated The agaseke are small baskets that in ancient times were used for weddings and symbolize peace and love ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007 This site also uses third-party cookies to improve user experience and for statistical purposes By scrolling through this page or by clicking on any of its elements Figure 1: Metrics obtained from different downstream process samples Protein biopharmaceuticals have emerged as important treatments for diseases with otherwise unmet medical needs These biologics are produced by recombinant mammalian those cells produce endogenous host-cell proteins (HCPs) that can contaminate biopharmaceutical products despite multiple purification steps in downstream processing Because such process-related impurities can affect product safety and efficacy Multicomponent enzyme-lined immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) presently are the workhorse method for HCP testing Polyclonal antibodies used in the test typically are generated by immunizing animals with an appropriate preparation derived from production cells without the product-coding gene But ELISAs do not recognize all HCP species completely — they cannot detect HCPs to which no antibody was raised — and in a multicomponent set-up Mass spectrometry (MS) complements them nicely because it can provide both qualitative and quantitative information on individual and even previously unknown HCPs MS analysis of HCPs can be achieved through bottom-up proteomics approaches using peptides derived from HCP proteins following proteolytic digestion Scientists can be confronted with great complexity and a large dynamic range and the separation space can be dominated by peptides derived from the therapeutic protein users need highly efficient separations in preparing MS samples micro-sized Pillar Array Column (μPAC) technology is highly promising The columns are produced by a lithographic etching process that creates a perfectly ordered separation bed on a silicon chip peak dispersion is virtually eliminated to generate highly efficient separations HCP Analysis We used μPAC columns in combination with a hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap MS system (Thermo Fisher Scientific) for characterization of HCPs throughout the downstream process of a therapeutic monoclonal antibody (MAb) fragment recombinantly expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells Proteinaceous samples collected at different purification steps were reduced using dithiothreitol (DTT) and alkylated using iodoacetamide (IAA) before overnight trypsin digestion We subsequently loaded 2 μg of digested sample spiked with four predigested protein calibrants — alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) at 10 fmol/μg and eleven-nineteenleukemia (ENL) at 0.1 fmol/μg — through a micropillar-array–based precolumn on a 200-cm long μPAC column Peptides were separated using a 116-minute gradient and the MS operated in data-dependent acquisition (DDA) mode We searched the resulting data against a CHO database extended with the sequence of the MAb fragment and the protein calibrants Figure 1 shows some important metrics for downstream-process samples and 12,731 unique peptides were identified corresponding to 2,444 protein groups with at least one peptide spectral match (PSM) and 1,812 proteins with more than one PSM We observed good clearance of these proteins throughout the purification process in the last step of which the number of HCPs was reduced to two and trypsin from the protein-groups columns Semiquantitation of the HCPs identified with >1 PSM was achieved by spiking predigested proteins (ADH and ENL) at known concentrations in every sample We plotted the average intensity of the three most intense peptides per protein calibrant as a function of column load (expressed in fmole) and applied the slope of the resulting calibration curve (counts/fmole) for semiquantitation of HCPs in the corresponding sample We adapted a procedure described by Silva et al Figure 2: Host-cell proteins (HCPs) detected at a given concentration in different samples Figure 2 plots the number of HCPs detected at a given concentration in the different samples Figure 3 shows that total HCP concentration (sum of all HCPs) in the harvest Figure 3: Purification step 3 total HCPconcentration in harvest and finalpurification samples as measured by massspectrometry (MS) total HCP concentration drops to 9.9 ppm (9.9 ng/ mg) Figure 4 follows two specific HCPs throughout the process is present at 59,393 ppm in the harvest but reduced to 3.1 ppm in the final purification step It has been described to associate easily and nonspecifically with both the Fc and Fab fragments of antibodies (2) Phospholipid transfer protein isoform X2 is present at 2,500 ppm in the harvest and reaches below detection limit in the final purification step MS/ MS spectra showed phospholipid transfer protein isoform X2 and clusterin peptides both present at low ppm levels (data not shown); however high-quality MS/MS data could be obtained for confident identification Figure 4: Evolution of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell HCPs clusterin and phospholipidtransfer protein isoform X2 throughout the process Results with Confidence The utility of μPAC column technology is demonstrated for nontargeted monitoring and characterization of HCP impurities originating from recombinant expression systems in production of MAb-based biotherapeutics the columns helped us monitor the presence of HCPs in different steps of a downstream purification process Efficient clearance from harvest (>1,800 protein groups) to final purification (two protein groups) was illustrated corresponding to respective HCP concentrations of 2.0 × 106 ppm (harvest) and 9.9 ppm (purification step 3) Despite the broad dynamic range (1.0 × 1010 – 5.0 × 106 on the MS1 level) over which tryptic peptides are present this approach obtains decent MS/MS spectra for lowabundance peptides That provides confident identification and semiquantification of HCP impurities at concentrations well below 5 ppm Koen Sandra and his team at the Research Institute of Chromatography (RIC) in Belgium for input and contributions and to Professors Gert Desmet and Wim De Malsche of Vrije Universiteit in Brussels Absolute Quantification of Proteins By LCMSE: A Virtue of Parallel MS Acquisition org/10.1074/mcp.m500230-mcp200.2 Wilson MR Clusterin Binds By a Multivalent Mechanism to the Fc and Fab Regions of IgG Acta 1159(3) 1992: 319–326; https:// doi.org/10.1016/0167-4838(92)90062-i is chief operating officer of PharmaFluidics This article will be published in the upcoming January-February 2021 issue of BioProcess International CSL Seqirus signs pandemic preparedness plan with European Commission Ins & Outs: Biopharma players shuffle c-suite ranks American made: Companies continue to emphasize US manufacturing Registered in England & Wales with number 01835199 (ANS – Paris) – Another result of Salesian education on the Paris 2024 Paralympic podiums: Ewoud Vromant a past pupils from the Don Bosco school in Ghent participated in the Paris Paralympics in cycling competitions and has already won two silver medals in the C2 men's time trial and in the C2 men's chase the life of this 40-year-old cyclist changed drastically A tumor necessitated immediate amputation of the right leg A real lightning bolt from the clear sky for a pure-blood sports enthusiast But "there is a solution to each problem" is the spirit with which Vromant has also faced this unexpected obstacle in his life It's hard to think of a sport I've never tried as a boy without hesitation he chose the Don Bosco school in Zwijnaarde even if it was farther from his home than other alternatives He cycled the six kilometres every day to get there And all this sport and his commitment made him a medal collector but sometimes he lights a few candles or says a prayer he has two children who he would surely send to a Salesian school if it were not so far from where he lives; and in education he states that he believes it is important to set a good example Today he says he has a good memory of the Don Bosco school especially of the mandatory sports hour during the lunch break He spent hours and days on football fields and athletics tracks He loved extracurricular activities: cycling trips cycling pilgrimage from Zwijnaarde to Turin and so on Also because they were an opportunity to get to know the teachers in a different way the ones you saw in the courtyard and knew you could always go looking for them His best friends today date back to those times At the age of 22 he dedicated himself to triathlon His dream was to become one of the so-called “Iron Men” But even then his passion for sport did not stop he came into contact with a person who accompanied the runners with prostheses The timing was perfect: he could play sports again But it soon became clear that he wasn't very good at running with a prosthesis The Gold Medal at the Tokyo Olympics passed  by because the jury disqualified him believing that he was not sufficiently on the saddle to add further success to those achieved so far in search of medals: not for revenge on anyone And so far he has already achieved two splendid achievements Source : Don Bosco Aujourd'hui Belgium is internationally known as a proper 'Biotech Valley' in part thanks to the discovery of the TI plasmid in Ghent during the 1970s This breakthrough has contributed significantly to the growth and success of the biotech industry VIB further built on that success with its official establishment in 1995. Over the past 25 years, VIB has been dedicated to nurturing the growth of the biotech industry they have taken a step forward in their mission with a new building in Techlane Ghent Science Park The building is designed to provide more significant support to the burgeoning biotech sector by offering state-of-the-art facilities and resources to its members You can't miss it: 8 stories high next to the E40 "This new building is not only a beacon for Techlane Ghent but also a real milestone for VIB," says Wim Goemaere "Based on 25 years of experience (the first incubator opened in 1999 we’ve considered the infrastructure needs of biotech start-ups We meet Wim on the 8th floor, with a breathtaking view over the vast city of Ghent. He immediately starts talking enthusiastically about the early days of VIB because resolutely chose biotechnology as a spearhead industry for Flanders at the time They did this based on existing strengths: strong researchers at our universities and a few new Risky research conducted within a number of strong university research centres was supported with grants This approach deviated strongly from the project-based classical way of raising funds for research The 'old' methods often made it difficult to make strategic choices and continue to follow them over longer periods." Because this research had to be translated into concrete applications for patients and a dedicated technology transfer team was set up They were tasked with creating economic fabric which they did primarily by investing in our local talent our greatest asset in Flanders is our pool of knowledge It was carefully considered whether it was necessary to apply for patents or whether there was sufficient evidence to start a new company students made an important discovery under the guidance of professors Jeff Schell and Marc Van Montagu They discovered the 'Ti-plasmid' (Tumor-inducing plasmid) which can act as a delivery system to add another piece of DNA to plants allowing for the genetic modification of plants.  These two illustrious names are mentioned in the same breath as Walter Fiers His team decoded the complete genome of a virus for the first time in 1972 comprising a staggering 3569 RNA building blocks in a specific sequence The team took a remarkable ten years to map this out entirely but it resulted in the world's first complete RNA virus genome and firmly put Ghent on the map in the field of Molecular Virology numerous private initiatives were launched This density of accelerators is truly unique in Flanders our start-up incubator supplemented with all these accelerators for growing companies the focus shifted not only to start-ups from 'homegrown' sources (from VIB) but also start-ups from other knowledge centres in Flanders and even foreign companies or research groups settled in our incubator One of the very first users of the incubator was Devgen this company evolved from red biotech (drug development) to green biotech (agro-biotech) there was potential for developing new drugs in collaboration with Janssen Pharmaceutica with research into genetically modified organisms it became the first VIB start-up to go public This is a reasonably exceptional trajectory especially as all of this happened under the leadership of the same Flemish CEO who managed the entire journey from startup to IPO to exit." "Then there's Cropdesign, who enabled BASF to come to Techlane. We mustn’t forget that these biotech companies have attracted great international interest, leading to several multinationals opening branches here. We had the Centre for Plant Systems Biology with Dirk Inzé and formerly Marc Van Montagu which is one of the top three centres in the world All of this has made the green biotech industry here so strong." The following is a long list of company names and founders, from Orionis Biosciences to Exevir and Mark Vaek with Ablynx "But the point I want to make is this: we’ve launched about 37 start-ups This number may not be very impressive to some it should not be forgotten that no major VCs were present at that time VIB took its stories to top VCs abroad to raise financing These were all groups with knowledge and expertise in biotechnology a particular ecosystem has grown from this with several important VCs active in the sector." scientific knowledge must be present because you have no good foundation without know-how The proximity of knowledge institutions also provides the necessary talent pool This also leads to a continuous influx of talented people who can work in the sector and start new projects more than 60 different nationalities work here There must also be sufficient financial resources because this research takes a long time and is capital-intensive it would be best if you also had the appropriate infrastructure to make everything possible in our sector we are blessed with an environment that more than meets all the requirements." At VIB, they believe Ghent needs an additional 1000 m² of incubator space annually. “That’s also the premise of this building: we constructed it with growth in mind you can place equipment that you can turn on in the morning and eventually obtain a read-out of results The latter are located in the core and do not receive natural light “Thus far, two companies have committed: Molecubes and 272 Bio. Molecubes is a spinoff of Ghent University and develops advanced imaging systems for preclinical research. 272 Bio is a British company that has a stable collaboration with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at Ghent University They work with the well-known antibody technology that Ablynx and Confo Therapeutics rely on Word-of-mouth advertising is doing its job and we regularly contact interested parties from various angles we also collaborate closely with the people from FIT to promote our story at the international level and with Tech Transfer from Ghent University and people suspect there’s still room here (laughs).” “What makes our offering so interesting is that we provide a comprehensive service package Start-ups encounter a ‘prêt-à-porter’ here: you come in When you secure funding from investors and find yourself in a shell setting you still need to decide which devices go where… I can assure you that those discussions can take a long time resulting in valuable time lost that could be better spent achieving agreed-upon milestones There are excellent meeting facilities and interactive zones so people are not completely isolated in their laboratory spaces They are not just renting a private section which is certainly necessary for conducting research with discretion The building is designed to facilitate spontaneous interactions among employees from different companies.” Both are looking very hopeful towards the future ‘but you can see the city centre right there (points) which has entirely different economic activities I’m looking forward to more interactions between the different branches a start-up that was selected for our biotope program scaling up their product in the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant.’” we're not just planting a seed for the further growth of the ecosystem,” Jérôme adds “we're immediately sowing an entire field. We’re ready for the future.” Eager to become part of this inspiring biotech ecosystem The team Invest in Ghent is ready to help you start or scale your business in Ghent through our expert local guidance and introduction Nature-lovers in the Ghent (East Flanders) suburb of Zwijnaarde have been forced to construct a second “squirrel bridge” across a busy road after the squirrels that tried to cross the first bridge they had constructed were terrorised by a dominant male squirrel that had claimed the bridge as his own personal territory Barbara and her neighbour on the opposite side of the Heistraat in Zwijnaarde both enjoy the many squirrels that live in and visit their gardens their street is quite busy with many cars driving up and down it at speed After at least 5 squirrels had been run over Barbara’s neighbour contacted Ghent City Council to see if anything could be done After about a year it was decided that a special bridge would be built so that the squirrels could get from garden to garden safely The “squirrel bridge” opened around 6 months ago The bridge is nothing more than two planks of wood linked together with a rope "The planks have been put into the ground in front of both our gardens and a linked with a rope” Since the “bridge open no more squashed squirrels have been found on the road The squirrels can often be seen on the rope that forms the bridge a dominant male squirrel is making life difficult for other squirrels that want to use the bridge The other animals don’t dare cross when he is there and it has now been decided that a second squirrel bridge will be built a few metres away "We are very pleased with this solution Our children enjoy watching the animals running about in our garden” (ANS – Kigali) – On July11,2023 the Provincial Superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco in the Africa of Great Lakes Province who represented the Belgian Embassy in Rwanda were joined by the administration of Don Bosco Muhazi TVET School and students to inaugurate a modern building The building is equipped with all the necessary materials to begin serving students taking Alphabetization and ICT courses The new building was constructed as part of the ACTEC 2022-2026 Program co-financed with the Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD) During the construction works and equipping the building additional support from Don Bosco College Zwijnaarde and Urunana - a Belgian volunteer group - were provided Both the Provincial Superior and the Director of Don Bosco Muhazi expressed their special gratitude to ACTEC Don Bosco College Zwijnaarde and Urunana for their contribution to their realization of this first phase of the Project They also commended Madam Thérèse Watripont and Father Litrić Danko for their effort to revive Don Bosco Muhazi which was almost unknown Since its establishment about 841 students have received certificates from Don Bosco Muhazi TVET School which offers courses in Culinary Arts Tailoring and Literacy and Numeracy programs The computer lab which is part of the inaugurated gift will enable students to develop vital digital skills and enhance their computer literacy preparing them for future careers in the technology-driven world the staff room in the new building will serve as a dedicated space for local ACTEC project coordinator and local Job Service Officer whose work includes connecting students to the job market The inauguration ceremony was a momentous occasion for the Don Bosco Muhazi TVET school community and members of the community gathered to celebrate the milestone and express their gratitude for the immense support received The new school building is a testament to the commitment of the Belgian Government and Don Bosco Zwinaarde towards providing quality education and skills training among the youth It represents a significant step forward in empowering the students of Don Bosco Muhazi TVET school to become successful professionals in their chosen fields it looks forward to utilizing the new facilities to further enhance the learning experience and create a nurturing environment for its students Don Bosco Muhazi TVET school is poised to continue delivering excellent education and equipping its students with the skills necessary for a bright future Belgium - March 2018 - The "Don Bosco Zwijnaarde" and "Don Bosco Sint-Denijs-Westrem" secondary schools in the Gent region recorded a video in which professors volunteers and students sing to raise awareness about the climate Scientific research at schools has recorded the presence of high levels of CO2 "We need to build a better future and we have to start now." professor Xavier Saelens and his team work on new and improved vaccines and medicines to counter flu and corona viruses they’ve been doing their work in a new research facility The new research facility is located in Tech Lane Ghent Science Park It’s not the type of building you see every day: it’s the only one at the Science Park that has been equipped with a BioSafety Level 3 laboratory Researchers use BSL-3 labs to study viruses and bacteria that easily spread among the population – such as flu and corona viruses it’s obvious for everyone that this type of research is essential Xavier Saelens confides that plans for the new research facility had already been in the pipeline when the covid-19 pandemic was still the stuff of science fiction He’s a professor at the department of Biochemistry and Microbiology and heads the Saelens Lab at VIB His research group makes use of the laboratory there was some doubt as to whether a lab like this was really necessary,” he says it was an investment of 2 million euros we were talking about I kept hammering on its fundamental importance together with Nico Callewaert the director of the Center for Medical Biotechnology The unexpected outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 confirmed that this was the right course of action.” Xavier and his colleagues aren’t the only researchers that use the new research facility “There are three biotechnology research groups that do their work in this facility Our neighbors in research facility FSVM I also drop by from time to time.” The research facility FSVM II encompasses 15000 m² and is located in the Tech Lane Ghent Science Park in Zwijnaarde Scientists from VIB-Ghent University Centre for Medical Biotechnology do cutting-edge research there in the spirit of pioneers Walter Fiers FSVM II is the main base of operations for no less than nine biotechnology research groups it also boasts an animalarium and – all the way at the top – a greenhouse The latter is the working area of plant bio(techno)logists Every part of FSVM II was meticulously designed for research sporting world-class infrastructure for proteomics or protein research Its crown jewel is the BioSafety Level 3 laboratory where professor Xavier Saelens and others conduct research into airborne pathogens such as the corona virus “Walter Fiers and Jef Schell have unfortunately passed away,” says Xavier “But Marc Van Montagu still regularly visits.” The research group’s initial plan was to study influenza and Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the new lab postdoctoral researcher and coordinator of the BSL-3 facility at the Saelens Lab recalls the enormous pressure they were under at the onset of that period in time “Corona forced us to focus on SARS-CoV-2-virus immediately Before we could start researching this dangerous virus We couldn’t afford a rush job.” In December 2021 they finally got the green light: the BSL-3 laboratory in research facility FSVM II was fully operational “Our BSL-3 lab is fitted with all the necessary technical equipment to be able to safely work with airborne viruses and bacteria such as SARS-CoV-2 and influenza,” Koen continues “We divide viruses and bacteria into 4 categories the H2N2 subtype of influenza and Mycobacterium tuberculosis Research focusing on them takes place in BioSafety Level 3 labs.” Level 1 viruses and bacteria are the least dangerous “Viruses and bacteria that belong to level 3 are the kinds that can make people seriously ill or for which there exists no treatment The new BSL-3 facility is the only lab of its kind in Ghent that deals with this type of research Xavier: “There’s a similar lab in the University Hospital in Ghent that deals with blood-borne pathogens The Faculty of Veterinary Sciences in Merelbeke also has a BSL-3 facility that accommodates work with large test animals But this is the only place where we conduct research into airborne biological pathogens Xavier Saelens’s team does the groundwork for new and improved vaccines that are later brought to market by pharmaceutical companies Xavier’s team does the groundwork for new and improved vaccines that are later brought to market by pharmaceutical companies The research doesn’t focus on classic vaccines Xavier explains: “A ‘regular’ vaccine causes the human body to create antibodies to defend itself against specific viruses or bacteria But it does take a couple of weeks before they become active we fabricate the protecting antibodies themselves you gain immediate immunity.” This type of vaccination is called ‘passive immunization’ “The antibodies immediately become active and stay in the system for a number of weeks before gradually disappearing again This creates new possibilities to combat corona outbreaks in places such as residential care centres Residents who are at a higher risk of infection are administered the antibodies and become immune immediately we’re testing certain antibodies in the BSL-3 lab that we suspect could be used to combat a broad spectrum of SARS-CoV-2 strains Our final goal: to help those who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from covid.” they continue their experimentation with vaccines to fight the human flu virus or influenza but as soon as just a single component does change they also conduct research into an ‘old’ strain of influenza: the so-called Asian Flu People born after 1968 didn’t come into contact with the Asian Flu anymore and therefore didn’t build up immunity against that strain of flu virus Xavier: “Our hypothesis is that a virus that has disappeared may always return This is why we keep a close watch on these old strains.” The team they continue their experimentation with vaccines to fight the human flu virus or influenza the vaccine requires an update.”(photo: Koen Degroote)  An airborne flu or corona virus escaping from a BSL-3 facility could have very dire consequences “That is why we stick to strict protocols,” Koen assures us The BioSafety Level 3 facility was built as a ‘box-in-a-box’ The lab is located in a zone where the doors can only be opened with specific ID badges the facility also has an entirely autonomous ventilation system to prevent viruses or bacteria from escaping Since we keep the air pressure negative in the lab that means air always flows from outside to inside people in the lab don’t notice this at all “We keep a close eye on the negative air pressure we immediately sound the alarm.” BSL-3 employees wear FFP3 masks It takes some getting used to in the beginning.” They’re not required to wear astronaut suits though we change our regular clothes for two separate layers of work clothes But first we have to pass through airlocks it takes us about a quarter of an hour to get to the lab We always work in ‘laminar flow cabinets’ that suck in air through a HEPA filter (filter with extra-small pores which allows us to handle the viruses in a sterile environment so dangerous viruses and bacteria cannot use them as an escape route.” All employees have prior work experience in a BSL-2 facility we know what it’s like to work in laboratories containing dangerous pathogens (header photo: VIB- Ine Dehandschutter) The technology developed by Professor Thomas De Beer and his team from the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences may play a key role in containing future virus outbreaks ‘Continuous spin freeze-drying’ may facilitate and accelerate the development Do you recognise this Ghent University location One of the many doors that the university offers Maybe you can deduce something from the lion's head Or is it the weathered blue stone that gives it away A corona test that’s as quick and easy as an alcohol breathalyser: it will soon be possible Researchers at imec-MICT-UGent have been involved in creating a user-friendly device that should be ready for use by the summer The Ghent-based biotech startup Those Vegan Cowboys is the first in Belgium to succeed in developing 3 different non-animal cheeses in its laboratory it could still be some time before the cheese is available on the market and can be tasted by the general public Those Vegan Cowboys operates a lab on the technology park in Zwijnaarde (Ghent - East Flanders) Here camembert is ripening but cannot yet be tasted as autorisation from the Euroepan Food Safety Authority is still needed and that procedure could take several years The non-animal cheese became possible after the company succeeded in making synthetic casein Artificial cow DNA is inserted into a so-called microbial host Casein is then grown in tanks thanks to precision fermentation Those Vegan Cowboys is the first company in Belgium to succeed in this tour de force there are about 15 or so businesses making or working on producing animal-free cheese is one of the companies that has made most progress and is already selling small quantities to one pizza restaurant in Los Angeles this cheese is fundamentally no different from traditional Those Vegan Cowboys hope to make the cheese sector more sustainable one kilogram of cheese causes about 21 kilograms of greenhouse gas emissions mainly due to the methane gas that cows produce This makes cheese 3 times more harmful to the climate than pork or chicken livestock farming takes up 22 per cent of the global land area In Belgium and the Netherlands there is the problem of excessive nitrogen production Those Vegan Cowboys is aiming for a cheese whose environmental impact is five times less than that of traditional cheese As the cheese is still in the development phase it still requires a lot of energy and raw materials the challenge will be to scale up production Those Vegan Cowboys are already working with several major industry players These include a producer of frozen pizzas and a manufacturer of cheese slices for fast-food chains There is also an ongoing partnership with Westland Kaas that makes the famous Old Amsterdam brand That is the only partner that can be named for now The new mobility plan of local transport company De Lijn radically overhauls tram lines in Ghent starting January The current network consisting of 3 long lines will be replaced by 4 shorter as well as new routes The new lines run from Flanders Expo to Gentbrugge from Zwijnaarde to Moscou and from the Ghent University Hospital UZ to the downtown the network immediately faces a big challenge: major road works mean that shuttle buses will have to be used right from the start Ghent’s tram network will look completely different Tram 1 will run from Flanders Expo to Gentbrugge Tram 3 from Zwijnaarde to the stop Moscou and Tram 4 from the UZ to the centre The aim is to be able to carry more passengers on the busiest axes De Lijn envisages an increase in passenger numbers of over 10 per cent in the short term the new routes should also stop incidents from causing major and protracted delays This is the 'wished for network' because trams won’t run as De Lijn envisages from the start There are already works at the Coupure and on the busy Veldstraat - Kortrijksepoortstraat axis This means that from the start shuttle buses will have to run for a while on the new tram routes when the works at the Coupure will be finished Work on the Veldstraat-Kortrijksepoortstraat axis will only be completed much later Only then can the new line 1 follow the planned route It is not only tram offerings that are changing in Ghent A lot of bus routes too are undergoing change Some bus numbers and buses and trams will run later The current night bus network will cease to exist As you may have read De Lijn is scrapping many stops throughout Flanders and also in Ghent Regular buses will no longer call at almost 50 stops Passengers will be able to use so-called flexi-buses which can only be done if there is no alternative for the traveller Passengers must also meet several conditions De Lijn provides more explanation on its handy website and will engage with the media to announce all the changes Uiterst rechtse George Simion wint afgetekend eerste ronde presidentsverkiezingen in RoemeniëRuim een derde van de Roemeense kiezers heeft in de eerste ronde van de presidentsverkiezingen op George Simion van het uiterst rechtse AUR gestemd. 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De Standaard laat hen aan het woord. “Er is zo’n zin die je hier maar blijft horen: er zijn geen onschuldige mensen in Gaza.” DS Onderzoekt‘Watermonsters’ is gestart: bekijk hier waar in uw buurt de waterkwaliteit wordt gemeten5.000 burgers trekken dezer dagen naar een waterloop in hun buurt om de waterkwaliteit in kaart te brengen. Ook 110 scholen en alle 180 afdelingen van Natuurpunt meten mee met het grootste burgeronderzoek naar de waterkwaliteit in Vlaanderen en Brussel ooit. De Russische miljardenPremiumDoordat Euroclear zo goed kon samenwerken met Moskou, kan België nu gul zijn voor OekraïneBelgië zal elk jaar een miljard euro schenken aan Oekraïne, beloofde premier De Wever aan Zelensky. Een riskante belofte, want dat geld is afkomstig van de Russische miljarden bij de financiële instelling Euroclear, de speelbal van geopolitiek getouwtrek. JOBAT.BEHoeveel verdien je in telecom, ICT & internet?De sector van telecom, ICT & internet is zeer breed en uiterst divers. Dankzij het Jobat Salariskompas hebben we toch een mooie kijk gekregen op de gemiddelde lonen én extralegale voordelen die er gangbaar zijn. Een overzicht… ZimmoHoe is het om te wonen in Lier? Lier heeft 2 bijnamen: ‘Lierke Plezierke’ en ‘Schoon Lier’. Eigenlijk zegt dat al genoeg. En of het er plezant is: Lierse vlaaien, verschillende Lierse biertjes,.. de inwoners zelf zijn duidelijk erg trots op hun woonplaats. Wij stellen deze stad dan ook graag aan je voor!   uit het hartPremiumWaarom ik lopen haatIn tijden waarin iedereen lijkt te hardlopen, voelt Karlien Beckers haar weerstand met de dag groeien. Gezond, het zal wel, maar is het ook niet een beetje een statussymbool? En ja, misschien is ze gewoon zelf te lui. En dan? PremiumProteïnerijke yoghurts en drankjes zijn een hype, maar hebben ze wel nut?De omzet van proteïnerijke yoghurt, desserts en drankjes steeg volgens marktonderzoeker NielsenIQ in twee jaar tijd met 75 procent. Maar is de hype echt nuttig voor je lichaam of vooral voor de portemonnee van de fabrikant? De helpdeskPremiumIs een dure zonnebril beter voor je ogen dan een goedkope? Met de zomer op komst kan de zonnebril weer op de neus. Bij de opticien kun je zonnebrillen vinden die bijna twintig keer zoveel kosten als het goedkoopste model. Loont het de moeite om daar veel geld aan uit te geven? Lectrr, cartoon van de dagElke dag brengt De Standaard nieuwe cartoons van huiscartoonist Lectrr. recensies Van Suzanne Vega tot Viagra Boys: dit zijn de pop- en jazzalbums van de weekElke week selecteert de cultuurredactie voor u de beste albums uit de wereld van pop, rock, soul en jazz. restaurantPremiumOld Boy in Brussel: de poging om deze plek op te waarderen, valt in duigenDe Old Boy van vroeger, dat is waar onze recensent naar verlangt. In deze gerenoveerde versie schieten de smaken in alle richtingen, behalve in de juiste. BelastingaangiftePremiumVoor het eerst een belastingbrief invullen: zo begin je eraan Voor wie al meermaals een belastingaangifte heeft ingevuld, is het al lang geen zo’n zware klus meer. Maar de eerste keer door de codes ploegen, is toch iets wat veel jongeren afschrikt. Hoe verloopt het hele proces eigenlijk? desalnietteminPremium‘The real housewives of Antwerp’ kunnen nog veel leren van ‘De grannies van Amsterdam’Dat de Antwerpse housewives weinig geven om hun zogenaamde vriendschap, is pijnlijk duidelijk. Helemaal anders is dat bij ‘De grannies van Amsterdam’, die al decennia voor elkaar klaarstaan. Een goede leerschool voor de housewives?