Search - Leiden University

From Steno to Snickers: the Anthropocene through the eyes of a coot News - 8 May 2025
What looked like an ordinary coot’s nest turned out to be a five-star location with a remarkable backstory. Beneath a jetty on the Rokin in Amsterdam, biologist Auke-Florian Hiemstra discovered a true time capsule — complete with face masks from the COVID era and a Mars wrapper dating back to the 1994…

From a child in the orchard to director of the botanical garden News - 3 September 2025
At the age of six, Barbara Gravendeel already knew what she wanted to be: a biologist. The seed was planted in the garden of her childhood home: an old orchard surrounded by a large hedge. Since 1 May, she has been the scientific director (prefect) of the Hortus botanicus in Leiden, and all the pieces…

A message from the Executive Board following the occupation of the Academy Building Announcement - 28 November 2025
Organisation

From droplets in the freezer to the inception of a potent new antibiotic News - 19 June 2024
What started as an idea during a social gathering led to an unexpected breakthrough in research on resistant bacteria. Biologists and chemists from Leiden developed a new substance that proves to be effective against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. They published their discovery in Nature Chemist…

From forming embryo to cancer metastasis: the significance of collective cell movement News - 21 September 2023
Luca Giomi has the first results of his ERC consolidator grant. He discovered that epithelial cells move collectively but in different ways, depending on the scale you look at. It is hexatic at small scales, and becomes nematic at larger scales: it is a multiscale order. This collective movement of…

‘The questions and ideas from students also make me a better researcher’ News - 7 December 2023
‘Yamila Miguel brings along immense enthusiasm that sparks over to the students in the lectures,’ her students say about her. ‘She inspires us as scientists-to-be.’ The astronomer teaches master’s students with great passion and interactivity about exoplanets. She has been nominated for the faculty…

From growth to well-being: EU should look beyond the economy News - 25 July 2024
In a paper, researchers suggest how the next European Commission can develop an alternative policy model that centres people’s well-being.

From bachelor student to entrepreneur: card game about elementary particles an unexpected hit News - 15 June 2023
bachelorstudent Serafine Beugelink ontwikkelt kaartspel over elementaire deeltjes en deeltjesfysica. Ze zet succescol haar eigen bedrijf op.

Talk and debate: how do we prevent science from harming the environment? News - 14 December 2021
Sustainability researchers can play an important role in the energy transition. But what if their partners are not (yet) sustainable and science itself has adverse effects? This is the subject of an online talk by researcher Thomas Franssen on 16 December with a discussion afterwards. ‘Clean energy…

From lone genius to cocreator: how AI is changing the role of composers News - 26 November 2025
Who is the real creator when a musician uses AI? This was the burning question for Adam Lukawski, himself a composer. During a fascinating premiere at Amare, The Hague’s cultural hub, he demonstrated what cocreation sounds like.

End of year message from the Executive Board for staff and students News - 21 December 2023
With the holidays just around the corner in this dark month of December, when we light candles as a symbol of warmth and hope, we would like to take a moment to reflect on this past year. We have accomplished a great deal together but the year has been difficult at times.

Planet-forming discs around young low-mass star differs fundamentally from one around sun-like star News - 7 June 2024
Using the James Webb Space Telescope, an international team of researchers, including Leiden Professor of Molecular Astrophysics Ewine van Dishoeck, has discovered a palette of hydrocarbons in a planet-forming disc around a young, low-mass star. The results confirm that discs around very lightweight…

From liquid to solid: revolutionary technique uncovers disease-related changes in tiny droplets within our cells News - 13 February 2025
Understanding the behaviour of tiny droplets in our cells could aid the search for new treatments. A team of Leiden researchers has developed a groundbreaking method to study how these droplets transition from liquid to solid. This change plays a role in various diseases, including neurodegenerative…

Painting removed from wall in spontaneous action: ‘We are going to discuss this and reach a decision’ News - 15 November 2022
During a meeting at the University on 10 November, staff spontaneously removed a painting by artist Rein Dool from the wall in one of the meeting rooms in the Academy Building, reversed it and placed it on the floor. A tongue-in-cheek action with a serious undertone. This has led to a lot of commotion…