422 search results for “this week s discoveries” in the Staff website
-
Master’s student fundraising for research into lost human sense
Can humans sense where north is, using what is known as magnetoreception? This question had master’s student Björn Keyser (Media Technology) so intrigued that he started crowdfunding to be able to study this together with the California Institute of Technology.
-
University concerned about minister’s plans to curb internationalisation
Leiden University is concerned about the plans presented by Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf to limit English-taught courses in higher education. If these plans go forward, the university believes this could have major consequences for our international students and staff.…
-
‘Towards Responsible Publishing’: cOAlition S invites your feedback
Research
-
Leiden Classics: 5 questions on the origin of university democracy
The late 1960s: across Europe, students are demanding the right to more participation within their universities. In 1971 Leiden University was granted an elected University Council. It became quite powerful: the Council even had the right to dismiss the Chairman of the Board.
-
New interactive book helps motivate young people and tackle bullying
How do you deal with bullying? How can you motivate young people? At the NeurolabNL symposium a multidisciplinary research team launched an interactive book for teachers and youth workers. This digital book offers the latest insights and plenty of useful tips and advice. Children’s Ombudsman Margrite…
-
50 jaar MRI: Hoe het LUMC dit betaalbaar maakt
50 years ago Lauterbur published the basic principle of MRI. Sine then MRI has become more expensive. Professor Andrew Webb describes what is needed to make MRI available for everybody.
-
Alexander van Oudenhoven: 'Governance of Sustainability is something I would have wanted to study myself'
Alexander van Oudenhoven is the brand-new education director of the master's in Governance of Sustainability. The study has already entered its fourth year and Van Oudenhoven is very enthused. What makes this a special programme and what are his plans?
-
Reporting from ESOF: ‘How can we use science to solve the next crisis?’
From global warming to the decolonisation of knowledge. At the EuroScience Open Forum (ESOF) in Leiden over 500 speakers from 60 countries have come together to discuss the big themes of our times. Why have the delegates come?
-
Buzzing decline: Dutch landscape is losing insect-pollinated plants
The Netherlands is losing plant species that rely on pollination by insects. Leiden environmental scientist Kaixuan Pan demonstrates this after analysing 87 years of measurements from over 365,000 plots. The news is alarming for our biodiversity and food security. ‘75 per cent of our crops and 90% of…
-
Physicists from Leiden help create world’s smallest Rembrandt
Museum De Lakenhal is displaying the smallest work of art in the world: a 3D-printed statue of Rembrandt van Rijn, made by sculptor Jeroen Spijker and researchers from Leiden University.
-
Eleven master’s students start research into sustainable hospitals
February 8 saw the launch of the Medical Delta ‘Sustainable Hospitals’ Interdisciplinary Thesis Lab. The research projects will touch on different aspects of healthcare. The students hope they will be able to offer practical solutions to make hospitals greener.
- Let's Connect webinars: building a positive work environment together
-
Colloquium Ehrenfestii by Cumrun Vafa
Lecture
-
Colloquium Ehrenfestii by William Bialek
Lecture
-
From research in space to director on earth
After ten years and one day, Leiden Observatory has a new director. As of 1 September, Ignas Snellen will set the course for the astronomical institute. In this interview, you will get to know Ignas. Or at least a little. That is why we gave him five dilemmas and asked the people around him who he really…
-
Many animals, but little biodiversity in children’s picture books
Dutch children’s picture books are full of animals, but mainly mammals are portrayed. Especially pets and exotic animals are popular. A large part of the Dutch fauna is less visible, but biologist Michiel Hooykaas of Leiden University sees plenty of opportunities for a more biodiverse book world.
-
Children's stories as a window to investigate empathy
Researcher Max van Duijn and PhD student Bram van Dijk apply language models to stories told by children to investigate empathy. For this research, they received the Best Paper Award at the Computational Natural Language Learning Conference in Singapore.
- Let’s connect webinars 2023: a positive work environment
-
Help increase your faculty’s NSE response rate
Education
-
Leiden Classics: Leiden University’s first women students
It was not until 1878 that the first female students enrolled at Leiden University, but the discussion on whether women were suited to study was by no means over. 8 March is International Women's Day. BBC correspondente Kim Ghattas will deliver a lecture on 6 March on the struggle by Arabic women for…
-
Executive Board column: Let’s be alert to unacceptable behaviour
This is a difficult time. Above all, for all those directly involved in this horrible case – unacceptable behaviour by a professor and his removal from the University – the case we went public about on 18 October and that has been reported in the media. This is painful and tough for the complainants…
-
‘A country’s immigration narrative really influences the people arriving there’
Immigration and naturalisation policies are an important theme in the upcoming Dutch elections. The Netherlands should be mindful of its immigration narrative, says PhD candidate Hannah Bliersbach, as this greatly influences the relationship between ‘new’ citizens and their new home country.
-
Maak kennis met onze interdisciplinaire programma’s - en wel hierom
Op woensdagmiddag 17 mei vindt een groot evenement plaats, waar alle Leidse onderzoekers kunnen kennismaken met de interdisciplinaire stimuleringsprogramma’s om samenwerkingsmogelijkheden te verkennen. Waarom is dat ook voor jou interessant? We geven vier redenen.
-
Master's student Nicole ter Laak wins KNMP Studentenprijs 2023
Biopharmaceutical sciences master's student Nicole ter Laak has won the KNMP Studentenprijs 2023. She wins the prize for her research project on dosing guidelines of antibiotics in newborn babies with a very low birth weight for gestational age.
-
Wanted: your opinion on Leiden University's staff newsletter
Organisation
-
Research and current affairs: 2022 in six stories
Life returned to something resembling normal after Covid but other crises soon took its place. These great challenges are also being felt at the University and our researchers are working on solutions. The nitrogen crisis, problems with young people’s services and an increasingly urgent climate crisis:…
-
Even a duck can parrot
That a parrot can copycat sounds is nothing new. But vocal learning is not common in animals. Researcher Carel ten Cate of the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) of Leiden University has now discovered a duck species that can imitate sounds. ‘It started with an obscure reference about an Australian musk…
-
Lindsey Burggraaff wins Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award
Data scientist Lindsey Burggraaff has won the second edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award. She receives the prize for her research into bioactive substances in food. ‘Burggraaff's work is situated at a unique intersection of data science, biochemistry and the fields of food and nutrition,’…
-
Student well-being in the spotlight at the EUniWell symposium
‘There’s so much knowledge, research and experience in the field of student well-being. Let’s put this topic on the agenda, work together to promote it, and learn from each other.’ This was the message of the two-day virtual symposium on Good Practices for Student Well-Being.
-
BrAInpower exhibition: tremendous and troubling uses of AI in our daily lives
Care robots, medical treatments, deepfakes and self-driving cars all with the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). The BrAInpower exhibition at Rijksmuseum Boerhaave shows spectacular applications of AI and explains how it can make such huge leaps. Bas Haring, Professor of Public Understanding of Science,…
-
New research project makes the internet even better
How is it that the internet works so well, with billions of users sending millions of gigabytes all together every day? That's because the foundation of the internet is solidly set up. Yet sometimes there are problems on the internet. For example, when certain systems misbehave and disrupt the routing…
-
Promising new technique to treat cancer receives NWO grant
Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin and his team received an NWO grant to examine how blocking a specific enzyme in our body, NNMT, could be helpful in the treatment of some cancers. Trials with mice have been promising, and together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Martin wants to take the next…
-
BEAT-COVID team discovers sugar-coated antibodies that predict disease progression
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers from 15 departments at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) realised they could do more for patients if they joined forces. This is how the BEAT-COVID group has been able to rapidly gain knowledge about COVID-19, the role of the immune system and…
-
Corrugated plastic unveils a new design principle for programmable materials
Martin van Hecke en Anne Meeussen publiceren in het tijdschrift Nature over mechanische metamaterialen. Ze hebben een nieuwe klasse multistabiele materialen ontdekt. Dit is gebaseerd op ribbeltjes plastic.
-
Tackling climate change with the ground beneath our feet
Soil ecologist Emilia Hannula has been awarded a Vidi grant by NWO to examine how soil could become a promising ally in combating climate change and improving biodiversity. ‘Soil creatures might be invisible’, she says, ‘but they play a huge role in creating a healthy environment.’
-
Astronomers see birth cluster of galaxies in early universe
An international team of astronomers has discovered a large reservoir of hot gas in the cluster-in-formation around the Spiderweb Galaxy. Based partly on that hot gas, the astronomers predict that the cluster-in-formation will grow into one of the largest objects in the universe. A step closer to discovering…
-
Leiden researchers join forces against tuberculosis
About one and a half million people worldwide die each year from tuberculosis. For thirty years, therapy with antibiotics has been the same, while it takes far too long and can lead to resistant pathogens. Leiden researchers from four institutes are now joining forces to develop more effective and efficient…
-
Inkomen en afkomst zijn risicofactoren bij kans op hart- en vaatziekten
Nederlanders met lage inkomens lopen tot 1,5 keer meer risico op het krijgen van een hartaanval of beroerte dan rijkere landgenoten. Bij Surinaamse Hindoestanen is dit risico 1,9 keer hoger. Dat blijkt uit onderzoek van het LUMC en het HagaZiekenhuis. Nederlandse artsen kijken tot nu toe niet naar deze…
-
Green light to build revolutionary new experiment at CERN to search for unknown particles
After many years of preparations, CERN has approved a groundbreaking new experiment: the Search for Hidden Particles (SHiP). Physicist Alexey Boyarsky was involved from the start. ‘We know there is physics that’s missing and we aim to find it.’
- minder pagina's publicatie brightspace
-
Sculptures provide more diverse view of University’s history
Three new initiatives will provide a more diverse view of Leiden’s academic history, literally and figuratively: a historical study on the background of students and scientists, a new book about the Academy Building, and two new sculptures of female scientists, Ewine van Dishoek, Professor of Molecular…
-
Open and free peer review? Here's how
Are you looking for a free and transparent way to submit your scientific articles for peer review? Then look no further than Peer Community In (PCI). This platform, which is supported by Leiden University, is a good alternative to publication in traditional peer-reviewed journals.
- Help increase your faculty’s NSE response rate
-
Help increase your faculty’s NSE response rate
Education
-
Leiden University’s intake numbers are stable, also for international students
The number of students enrolled at Leiden University remained stable this year. As at other Dutch universities, the growth in recent years seems to have levelled off. Leiden University is also following the national trend in terms of intake at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. The number of international…
-
Cancelled: Europe Debate
Debate
-
Join the discussion on the university's future direction
What should our education and research look like in 2027? How can we make the university more sustainable and achieve greater impact? The new Strategic Plan will set the direction for the coming years, and the Executive Board wants students and staff to provide as much input as possible. Would you…
-
‘Bringing all these people together – that’s what gives me energy’
Getting to know all his colleagues as fast as possible, and learning about the faculty’s strengths: these will be Jasper Knoester’s first challenges. Jasper became the new Dean of the Faculty of Science on 1 January, and he is optimistic about the corona restrictions. ‘Obviously, this isn’t the start…
-
Leiden University/LUMC to drop cum laude honour for Master’s in Medicine
As of 1 September 2024, the cum laude honour will no longer be awarded for the Master’s in Medicine. The Executive Board recently decided to grant an exemption to the Leiden University/LUMC Faculty of Medicine. This decision is in line with other medicine programmes in the Netherlands.
-
Proposed decision by Minister Kuipers: Children’s heart surgery to end in Leiden
Ernst Kuipers, Minister of Health, Welfare and Sport, announced on 13 February that he plans to remove children’s heart surgery from the Centre for Congenital Heart Defects Amsterdam - Leiden (CAHAL). He wants to concentrate this highly specialised care for children with congenital heart defects in…