As we are working very hard to make our University more green, it is of upmost importance that you join us in our battle and start increasing the local biodiversity from your own house! Every bit will help, it is beneficial for you own mental health and most importantly it is fun! We have created this…

Soil is a home for an unbelievable diversity and abundance of microbial life that is essential for supporting life on our planet.

Arts and culture, Stekjesmarkt

Arts and culture, Stekjesmarkt

STM scanning experiments on poorly conducting materials are challenging, and can cause a distortion effect. A new model corrects for this effect, allowing physicists to better study materials in their quest to understand unconventional superconductivity. Publication in Physical Review B as Editor’s…

Increasing the efficiency of gene targeting (GT) as a genome editing tool in plants has been an important goal in plant biotechnology.

And its application in deciphering hominin diets in palaeolithic eurasia

The Leiden University Green Office has some great news: you can now make the most environmentally-friendly search engine - Ecosia - your default on a public LU computer!

Which plants in the Mediterranean garden were already known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and how were they utilized?

We aim to unravel the molecular mechanisms involved in the transformation of eukaryotic cells by Agrobacterium.

The Hortus botanicus Leiden connects science with the public. Through our research, we explore how people experience and appreciate nature while addressing key societal challenges.

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas

We investigate the processes underlying the patterns. We aim to explain biodiversity by investigating the distribution, function, development, and evolution of body forms, as well as physiological and behavioural variety among species. We collaborate with those specialized in describing, archiving,…

This thesis focuses on the design and synthesis of activity-based probes and inhibitors targeting enzymes involved in the degradation of specific plant glycans.

One of the main research focuses of the Hortus botanicus Leiden is to study how the current biodiversity we see today, has originated, changed, and developed over time. The Hortus wants to study the relationship between species in specific focal taxa and see how they have diverged over time.

Mathematical and computational analysis of the dynamics of polar transport of the plant hormone auxin.

The Basics and Applications to Plant Sciences will be held physical. See below for more information.

Even if you have a healthy lifestyle, there's a lot to experience and learn during the Healthy University Week, from 26 to 30 October. Health psychologist Andrea Evers is enthusiastic about the week ahead. She tells us about the programme and gives us a taste of her own talk on what the placebo effect…

Plants could be regarded as small chemical factories, which produce chemical substances via photosynthesis. If we can imitate photosynthesis in an artificial system, we can make clean fuels and materials out of sunlight and CO2. Huub de Groot is very close to designing a system of this kind.

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a major cereal crop that millions of subsistence farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on. However, the scourging impact of the root parasitic weed Striga (Striga hermonthica, a.k.a. “witch-weed”) has remained a major constraint hampering the productivity of sorghum in…

In the Schouwburgstraat, LUGO is currently redesigning the back-garden in order to increase biodiversity and make it a more beautiful space. Throughout October 2023 until March 2024, we will be making changes to the garden with our team of volunteers.

Plastic pollution is a major environmental issue. Although regulation is being adopted, plastic pollution is still increasing. Effective and strict enforcement is key and NGOs and civilians can be instrumental in this.

Evolutionary and ecological interactions affect species on genetic and phenotypic levels. This theme aims to understand these processes at multiple levels: from molecules to genomes to populations and to communities. Our research focuses on evolutionary responses to anthropogenic change, the role of…

Metamaterials have properties that depend on their shape and architecture. Researchers at AMOLF, Leiden University and Tel Aviv University have found a new way of designing these metamaterials and their properties by deliberately incorporating small errors. They publish their results today in Nature…

In meta-analysis, heterogeneity often exists between studies. In such cases, it is essential to investigate the sources of heterogeneity and understand the relationship between effect size and study characteristics (i.e., moderators).

This year, Leiden University celebrates its 444th birthday – and when you’re giving a party, you need great music! Neuropsychologist Rebecca Schaefer agrees. She has been fascinated by music since she was a child, and now she studies how music can make us happy, give us energy or calm us down.

Natural vanilla flavor is one of the most important in the world. However, the cost of this flavor is expensive. Production of this flavor by alternative methods, could reduce the cost.

The rapidly increasing commercial application of metallic nanoparticles within products will inevitably enhance the amount of NPs being released into soil.

Promotor: P. J. J. Hooykaas, Co-promotor: R. Offringa

Mycorrhizas are symbiotic associations between soil fungi and most plant species.

Promotor: P.J.J. Hooykaas, Co-Promotor: E.J. van der Zaal

A part of the steel construction of the former Gorlaeus high-rise forms the basis of a new green bike park which is part of the redevelopment of the Faculty of Science.

PhD at Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Department, University of Malaga - Spain

The thesis is about how auxin and AGC kinases regulate male fertility. The main AGC kinases studied in this thesis is PDK1, PDK2 and AGC1.5, AGC1.7.

Researchers from the Institute of Environmental Sciences (CML) identified six top priorities where environmental interventions can make the most difference. By doing so, they hope to help researchers and policymakers make the most out of the limited, available resources to protect people and the pla…

‘Solar panels, toothpaste and sport socks. What do these things have in common?’ Martina Vijver, professor of ecotoxicology begins her TEDx-talk. Watch her online lecture if you want to learn more about the effects of nano-particles on our environment and health.

Abstracts can be submitted only if you are registered for the conference, including the required payment.

Living systems scale from unicellular microbes to complex multispecies communities that constantly change over time. Within the theme Development & Disease, we enhance our fundamental understanding of development and homeostasis of living cells and systems. We analyze the normal situation and how stresses…

Leiden has one of the most petrified inner-cities of The Netherlands. This is not beneficial for the biodiversity crisis and Leiden University, with a significant number of buildings within the Singels, should be more proactive on this matter. Currently, LUGO is taking steps with internal departments…

Leiden has one of the most petrified inner-cities of The Netherlands. This is not beneficial for the biodiversity crisis and Leiden University, with a significant number of buildings within the Singels, should be more proactive on this matter. Currently, LUGO is taking steps with internal departments…

Medicines can work even if they have no active ingredient. The first international scientific conference on placebos will take place in Leiden from 2 to 4 April. Placebo researcher Andrea Evers, who is also chairing the conference, answers some pressing questions.

It is becoming increasingly clear that the placebo effect has a great influence on medical treatment. An international, interdisciplinary team of researchers led by Professor of Health Psychology Andrea Evers from Leiden University has now written a first set of guidelines on how to apply the placebo…

Health psychologist Aleksandrina Skvortsova has made clever use of the Pavlov effect to link the ‘cuddle’ hormone oxytocin with the placebo effect. This effect can alter the level of oxytocin in the body, making it possible for people to reduce the amount of medicine they need while still feeling good.…

PhD candidate Dennis Wander searches for the best of both worlds. That is to say: a cancer drug that is effective and also has minimal side effects. To this end, he makes new molecules inspired by two existing medicines. And not without result: ‘We have created a new variant that is very promising.’…

Two Leiden research projects that focus on increasing the biodiversity of Dutch production systems for food and ornamental horticulture have started thanks to funding from the Dutch Research Council's KIC research programme.

This thesis has shed light on some of the ways in which the local electrolyte composition can differ from the bulk and how these changes in the local reaction environment can determine the activity and/or selectivity of two important electrocatalytic reactions, namely, electrochemical CO2 reduction…