Societal impact

Research from the Living Lab is important for society. For example, scientists from the Living Lab discovered that the pesticide thiacloprid is up to 2,500 times more harmful to insects than was thought on the basis of regular lab research. Partly because of this discovery, the European Commission decided to ban the pesticide.

When the Living Lab went public with their remarkable discovery in May 2019, it seemed to be just too late: the European approval authorities had finished re-evaluating the drug and decided not to include the study. After much media attention and a plea to the CTgB - the responsible review body in the Netherlands - the results did reach the European Commission. In early 2020, Europe imposed a ban on the drug.