The Academy of Finland has on 9th of June nominated eleven new Academy Professors for the years 2010-2014. Persons appointed to the position of Academy Professor shall have demonstrated their skills as high-calibre researchers, and they are expected to promote the advancement of science within their field.

Cutin and suberin are lipid-derived insoluble polyesters that serve as structural components of the outer barriers of plants. Significant amounts of cutin are present in different agricultural and food raw materials such as cereals, berries, fruits and vegetables and their processing by-products, whereas the bark of cork oak and birch are rich in suberin. These polymers are estimated to be the third most abundant natural polymers after cellulose and lignin.

Along traditional culture based methods more rapid methods for detection of viability of microbes are needed. Several fluorescent stains are on the market e.g. for indication of metabolic activity and viability of microbes or for the measurement of integrity of cell membranes. Applications include assessment of viability of beneficial microbes as well as revealing the mode of action of antimicrobial agents against harmful bacteria. Fluorescence of the fluorochromes can be detected with various methods, e.g. epifluorescence microscope, flow cytometer or fluorescence microplate reader.

Enrichment of processed foods with health promoting fatty acids (e.g. omega-3) would be a convenient way of ensuring their sufficient intake at population level. The challenge lies in the low oxidative stability of omega-3. VTT's Research Scientist Riitta Partanen, M. Sc. (Tech.), investigated in her doctoral thesis the importance of water in the preservation of omega-3 fatty acids containing triglycerides in food matrices. The results of this research could be exploited in the development of foods containing oxygen-sensitive bioactive compounds.