Insights

Clear thinking about nitrogen and water

Perspectives from our scientists and partners on the science of nitrogen, the tools that measure it, and how better data changes decisions in aquaculture, aquatic ecosystems and wastewater.

Science explained
Field lessons
Data and decisions

Gabriela Almeida, co-founder of Nitrogen Sensing Solutions

Interview

Lab-grade from one drop: Specio's plan for North America

Specio Analytics is the North American home of the electrochemical sensing technology developed by Nitrogen Sensing Solutions (NS2) in Portugal. We sat down with NS2 co-founder Gabriela Almeida to talk about why North America, why now, and why the technology needed a brand of its own.

Gabriela Almeida · October 15, 2026 · 4 min read

Aerial view of a river winding through green and golden farmland.

Science & technology

From color charts to electrochemical sensors: 50 years of field nitrogen testing

Field nitrogen testing went from chemistry you perform, to instruments you deploy, to sensors you can hold. Here is what changed, and what it means for the people who manage water.

Specio team · October 2026

A calm lake at golden hour.

Policy & regulation

Who has to measure nitrogen? A plain-English guide to US water rules

Fish farms, lakes and treatment plants face very different nitrogen rules. Understanding them explains why and how each one measures.

Specio team · October 2026

Opinion

The Water Challenges of the 21st Century

Technological innovation, sustainability, resilience and shared policy

Gabriela Almeida · July 2025

Interview

From Scientist to Entrepreneur

How two decades of lab research became a water-monitoring company — founded at 50

Gabriela Almeida · February 24, 2025

Opinion

Water Digitalization in the Age of AI

Why sensors, data and machine learning are becoming the new infrastructure of water management

Gabriela Almeida · December 2024 (TBC)

In the press

Nitrogen Sensing Solutions: A Leiria Startup Working for a Sustainable Future

Award-winning water-analysis technology for sustainable aquaculture, aimed at a global market

Gabriela Almeida · December 5, 2024

Recognition

Transforming Aquaculture with Advanced Water-Quality Monitoring

Why Applied Technology Review named Nitrogen Sensing Solutions a Top Sensor Tech Company in Europe for 2024

Gabriela Almeida · 2024

Interview

Nitrogen Sensing Solutions: The Startup Changing How Aquatic Ecosystems Are Managed

Gabriela and Marise Almeida on selective on-site nitrogen testing for aquaculture and agriculture

Gabriela Almeida · c. 2023 (TBC)

Research

A Nearly Reagent-Free Point-of-Care Nitrite Test

Measuring nitrite in open air, unaffected by oxygen or cyanide

Gabriela Almeida · February 22, 2019

Research

Tungsten Oxide Nanoparticles for Nitrite Sensing

A low-cost metal-oxide alternative to carbon electrodes for enzyme-based detection

Gabriela Almeida · September 10, 2015

Research

Disposable Point-of-Care Tests for Nitrite

Moving enzyme-based nitrite sensing from the lab bench to a printed, single-use strip

Gabriela Almeida · April 27, 2015

Research

Mediator-Free Nitrite Detection

Trapping a nitrite-reducing enzyme in silica glass so it talks directly to the electrode

Gabriela Almeida · February 6, 2010

Research

Sensing Nitrite with an Enzyme, a Polymer and a Mediator

An early voltammetric study that set the foundations for enzyme-based nitrite detection

Gabriela Almeida · November 13, 2006