New online! Implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation requires a shift from restoration targets to restoration landscapes

First release: ''EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks'' | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... Led by Dimitry Wintermantel: we demonstrate that it will amplify rather than resolve shortcomings of current environmental risk assessment, with major risks to human health and the environment.

EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks

More efficient environmental risk assessment and stronger protection are achievable

science.org

www.uni-due.de/2026-06-19-f.... Paper in Science zum Gesetzesvorhaben der EU im Bereich des Pflanzenschutzes

Together with many colleagues, we analyse the plans of the EU with respect to pesticides and plant protection products. Just out: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

EU Omnibus proposal increases pesticide risks

More efficient environmental risk assessment and stronger protection are achievable

science.org

Thrilled to join as Associate Editor under the lead of Beate Escher for the new journal ES&T Toxicology. Now open for submissions. pubs.acs.org/journal/aeta...

Radiobeitrag in dem ich unser Positionspapier zu den Plänen der EU Kommission erläutert habe. www.deutschlandfunk.de/leopoldina-k...

Leopoldina kritisiert EU: Positionspapier zum Pflanzenschutz, Intv. Ralf Schäfer

deutschlandfunk.de

Zusammen mit Kolleginnen und Kollegen von UFZ, RWTH, Senckenberg und @mrillig.bsky.social u.a. haben wir für die Leopoldina einen Policy Brief zu den Plänen der EU Kommission im Bereich der Regulierung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln geschrieben. www.leopoldina.org/newsroom/nac...

Fokuspapier zu Pflanzenschutzwirkstoffen: Zulassungsverfahren nicht zulasten von Gesundheit und Umwelt lockern

Für sichere Erträge in der Landwirtschaft leisten Pflanzenschutzmittel einen wichtigen Beitrag. Ihre Wirkstoffe können jedoch als Schadstoffe die Umwelt belasten oder die Gesundheit des Menschen beein...

leopoldina.org

New review on how pesticide exposure and effects match with the intention of European pesticide regulation. We show that both exposure and effects exceed regulatory thresholds. doi.org/10.1016/j.co...

Looking forward to assist in launching ES&T toxicology: pubs.acs.org/journal/aeta...

Paul Ozoh gave a nice talk on the predictability of pesticide authorization from simple tests. #SETAC2026

W/ several colleagues we wrote a rebuttal to the supposedly "critical review" of Schriever et al 2025 in IEAM, where they argue that the current regulatory system for PPPs is largely working well regarding environmental protection (criticising earlier work of us). ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Ecotoxicology lab at @setac.bsky.social #Maastricht 2026 - nice conference with exciting discussions.

Nice session today on One Health that we were organizing #SETAC2026 #OneHealth

Visit our poster today @setac.bsky.social Meeting in Maastricht. Hanh Nguyễn discusses the relevance of pesticides as mixtures in streams. She ran extensive analyses to see whether the #KGM (Liess et al 2021 Wat Res) results hold under different assumptions.

We are at #SETAC2026 - visit our poster 56 or our talks @11:50 on biodiversity loss (room 0.15) and @12:45 on transcriptomics (room 2.2). And thanks for interesting discussions on our talks yesterday!

In response to comments (mainly from industry) on the German #KGM study—reporting a strong association between estimated pesticide toxicity and declines in vulnerable insects—we reanalysed the data using alternative analytical decisions. Preprint available here: ecoevorxiv.org/repository/v...

Nice commentary on our recent work: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... Somehow reparation for the rejection at first submission of the paper ;-)

Why Biodiversity Loss Matters More in a Stressful World

Click on the article title to read more.

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

A large-scale analysis of U.S. water quality data published last year in Science revealed that most toxic chemicals remain poorly characterized or undetected in routine monitoring. https://scim.ag/4alqHdl #WorldWaterDay

Limitations of chemical monitoring hinder aquatic risk evaluations on the macroscale

Macroscale evaluations of chemical monitoring data require the integration of chemical, spatial, and temporal dimensions. Here, we linked 64 million US surface water monitoring records (1900 chemicals...

scim.ag

Der Wissenschaftliche Beirat zum Nationalen Aktionsplan Pflanzenschutz warnt: Die von der EU-Kommission geplanten Vereinfachungen bei der Pflanzenschutzmittelregulierung könnten erhebliche Risiken für Mensch und Umwelt mit sich bringen. www.uni-due.de/2026-03-12-g...

How should you report results from thermal tolerance experiments? We have developed a reporting guideline. Very nice work by Helena Bayat. doi.org/10.1016/j.jt...

Dr. Daniel Hering, #UDE -Professor für #AquatischeÖkologie, ist für den renommierten #FrontiersPlanetPrize nominiert worden – als einer von 3 Forschenden in 🇩🇪! Wer den mit insgesamt 3 Mio. US-Dollar dotierten Preis erhalten wird, entscheidet eine internationale Jury. 🤞 www.uni-due.de/2026-01-27-d...

A study found that a widely used insecticide, chlorpyrifos, speeds up aging in a common lake fish by shortening the protective caps on its chromosomes, and leads to its premature death. https://scim.ag/49Hp7jU

In fish, low doses of common pesticide speed aging and death

Polluted lakes and lab experiments highlight harms of chronic exposure to chlorpyrifos

scim.ag

The Molecular Toxicology Group at the Helmholtz Centre of Environmental Research (UFZ) is looking for a creative and ambitious PhD candidate to use novel approaches to remove persistent PFAS from living organisms.🧬🐟🧪📈 Read more 👉 rptu.de/s/xphztf Application closing: 16.01.2026

How to evaluate the relative risks of pesticides and identify lower risk alternatives? This question in light of the EU COM Omnibus suggestions to lower environmental protection. Within the #EU PARC project we developed a benchmark concept and discuss its implications doi.org/10.1016/j.en...

#Exposome research comes of age: After 20 years, the field of #exposomics is poised to reveal the complex, interacting drivers of #disease. A PNAS News Feature: https://ow.ly/9QOg50XPn5J #exposure #pesticides #pollution #wildfires #biobank #genomics #PublicHealth

An analysis of U.S. water quality data reveals that most toxic chemicals remain poorly characterized or undetected in routine monitoring. The findings in Science suggest that the true scale of chemical risk to biodiversity and ecosystems may be significantly underestimated. https://scim.ag/4alqHdl

Limitations of chemical monitoring hinder aquatic risk evaluations on the macroscale

Macroscale evaluations of chemical monitoring data require the integration of chemical, spatial, and temporal dimensions. Here, we linked 64 million US surface water monitoring records (1900 chemicals...

scim.ag

Our new paper shows that even over decades protected areas have offered little improvements of freshwater biodiversity. We suggest avenues for improvement. Fantastic study lead by P. Haase and J. Sinclair. #OA rdcu.be/eU5jm presse.senckenberg.de/en/pressemel...

Our December issue is now live: www.nature.com/natecolevol/... Featuring research on 🧪 🦏 rhinocerotid dispersal in the mid-Cenozoic 🐟 biodiversity responses to freshwater stressors 🦋 evolution of butterfly eyespots Cover shows a Korean seahorse, from Meyer et al. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New paper out on how stressor numbers influence biodiversity - ecosystem function relationships in freshwater ecosystems. We considered four measures of ecosystem function and found that the positive BEF relationship becomes stronger as the number of stressors increases. OA @ doi.org/10.1111/gcb....

Effects of Biodiversity Loss on Freshwater Ecosystem Functions Increase With the Number of Stressors

The paper reports results of a meta-analysis addressing the effect of multiple stressors on the relationship between biodiversity and four measures of ecosystem function in freshwater ecosystems. We ...

doi.org

New study on the spatial dimension of multiple stressors. Gemma Burgazzi (iDiv) did a great job in running this mesocosm experiment. Effects of single stressors cascaded along the network, with stronger downstream effects. Thanks to all contributors! @leeselab.bsky.social doi.org/10.1002/ecog...