1,062 search results for “biological come” in the Public website
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The Mystery of the Pointy Droplets
A certain type of oil droplets changes shape when cooled and shrunk: from spherical through icosahedral to flat hexagonal. Two competing theories couldn't fully explain this, but now, a Physical Review Letter by Ireth García-Aguilar and Luca Giomi solves the mystery.
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Teaching synthetic molecules how to communicate
Although Sander Wezenberg just started working in Leiden in March this year, he already managed to win a Vidi grant from NWO. Inspired by nature, Wezenberg wants to bring synthetic molecules to life and teach them to communicate. But who exactly is Wezenberg and what drives him?
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Shaping proteins to understand chaperone-related diseases
Alireza Mashaghi and his research team have created a new framework to understand shapes of proteins and DNA. With this framework, many diseases can be understood better.
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Cities have a direct influence on evolution
A global biological study has provided the most direct evidence to date that humans, and specifically cities, are the drivers of evolutionary change on Earth. Leiden University, Naturalis and the Municipality of Leiden worked on and helped fund the study.
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Halting protein degradation may contribute to new cancer treatment
Chemist Gerjan de Bruin has designed a method of slowing down the degradation process of proteins in cells. This may contribute to new cancer medicines with fewer side-effects. PhD defence on 1 June.
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Vegetarian, healthy and sustainable: Pure catering
In some university restaurants and cafés, you can already order them and, come January, you can enjoy them everywhere: the Pure products. Sustainable, healthy and/or vegetarian. The beautiful lime green, also the colour of the plates and bowls, is the vibrant symbol of these products. And Pure is even…
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Are modern humans simply bad at smoking?
Scientist looked for the genetic footprint of fire use in our genes, but found that our prehistoric cousins - the Neanderthals - and even the great apes seem better at dealing with the toxins in smoke than modern humans.
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Vici grants for 7 Leiden researchers
Seven Leiden researchers have been awarded a prestigious Vici grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).
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Cosmic recipe discovered for making glycerol
A team of laboratory astrophysicists from Leiden University managed to make glycerol under conditions comparable to those in dark interstellar clouds. They allowed carbon monoxide ice to react with hydrogen atoms at minus 250 degrees Celsius. The researchers publish their findings in the Astrophysical…
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Partnering with businesses to scale up metabolism research
Predicting whether someone will fall ill and which treatment will benefit them most: that is the aim of the techniques that Professor of Analytical Biosciences Thomas Hankemeier and his research group are developing at Leiden University. In order to scale up and further develop this technology, he works…
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Antibiotic resistance: an economic problem universities could help to solve
Antibiotic resistance is an economic problem. Pharmaceutical companies cannot earn much from antibiotic research, so they do not invest in it. This makes it important that universities do so, says Ned Buijs.
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Four bold Faculty of Science researchers receive NWO XS grants
Four scientists from the Faculty of Science will receive a grant of up to 50,000 euros in the Open Competition Domain Science - XS from science financier NWO. This category emphatically strives to encourage curiosity-driven and bold research involving a relatively quick analysis of a promising idea.…
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The wide spectrum of research at Leiden
To give a better idea of the research at Leiden University, a new website has been launched that lists the University’s institutes together with the disciplines that they cover. But the institutes also work together intensively.
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NWA grant for research into iron nanoparticles in the brain
Physicists Lucia Bossoni and Martina Huber have been awarded an NWA Ideeëngenerator-grant for research into iron nanoparticles in the brain. These nanoparticles may be linked to air pollution and Alzheimer's disease.
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Graphene sensors detect HIV DNA
Leiden and Jülich researchers discovered an elegant and simple approach to improve the sensitivity of graphene biosensors. These so-called ‘next generation graphene electronic biochemical sensor devices’ are able to detect very low amounts of HIV DNA thanks to their very low electronic noise.
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New funding for advanced microscopy using gold nanorods
A consortium of researchers from the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION), the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), and the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) received a FOM program grant to develop a novel way of studying individual proteins inside a cell using gold nanorods.
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Smallest-ever Leiden University logo
The logo of Leiden University, with letters as small as a bacterium. Researchers from LUMC and the Institute of Biology have created the smallest logo of our university ever produced. It is a piece of fun with a serious real-world application: the new microscope with which the logo was made allows scientists…
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Are bacteriophages the new antibiotics?
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, may be used as an alternative treatment option when antibiotics fail. Leiden researchers have studied the structure and function of a novel bacteriophage that could be used to treat one of the WHO bacterial strains of concern where new treatments are urgently…
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Biology student Sander van Zon: ‘We can still learn so much more about lichens’
Lichens enthusiast Sander van Zon was eager to use his knowledge for his internship. He wrote an excellent thesis on lichens’ biodiversity in the city, of which his first scientific publication will appear soon. With it, he is nominated for the Leiden Science Young Talent Award 2022.
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Clever variant of antibiotic bypasses resistance in bacteria
Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin is going to test an alternative antibiotic that can combat common resistant bacteria such as MRSA. For this purpose, he will receive 350,000 euros from the NWO's NACTAR programme. ‘We want to know how safe and effective our antibiotic is in a realistic situation.’
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'Just wait until your mother gets home’
Fathers and mothers bring children up differently. Mothers are more likely to correct children for bad behaviour, for example. This is one of the findings of PhD research by Liesbeth Hallers-Haalboom. PhD defence 7 October.
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Studium Generale series on complex networks kicked off
‘It has never been so easy to set up a Studium Generale series.’ With these words Tilman Grünewald thanked speaker Frank den Hollander, who kicked off the Studium Generale series on complex networks on Monday 20 February.
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Diagnosing patients with the help of statistical physics
Doctors are there to diagnose and treat people. But sometimes a diagnosis can’t be made or doctors differ in opinion. Luckily, Alireza Mashaghi Tabari and his research team have developed a new framework to solve medical diagnostic problems. This framework can also be applied to many other research…
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Impact of triggers on bipolar disorder less than expected
Stressful events and a lack of support from the environment are both consequences and causes of mood swings in people with a bipolar disorder. This is the finding of PhD research by Leiden clinical psychologist Manja Koenders. PhD defence 7 April.
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ERC Advanced Grants for four Leiden researchers
From a new generation of antibiotics and more-effective vaccines to a map of dark matter and new light on Hindu traditions. Four researchers from Leiden University have received a prestigious €2.5m ERC Advanced Grant to develop their research.
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A bequest to the university: a gift for the future
Have you considered including the Leiden University Fund in your will?
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Hooray! This extremely sensitive microscope survived its relocation
Moving an electron microscope of 2000 kg is a delicate challenge. The highly sensitive instrument needed to be moved to a new measurement hall, but even a tiny bump could damage it. After a few nerve-racking weeks of preparing the move and reinstalment, the researchers finally have a verdict: the instrument…
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Institute of Biology Leiden assessed as excellent
An external visitation committee gave the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) an outstanding assessment. In terms of research quality and relevance to society, the IBL gets the highest score: excellent. The increase with five new female professors also receives praise from the committee.
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Leiden physicists detect single nanoparticles in motion
It's pretty hard to spot a single 5 nanometer particle. Leiden physicists pulled it off by turning a 120 nm gold rod into a detector.
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Drug Delivery to the Brain
This book describes the different approaches for drug delivery to the brain with an emphasis on the physiology of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the governing principles and concepts for drug delivery across the BBB
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How ‘sleeping’ microorganisms can determine the fate of a population
Microorganisms that temporarily ‘go to sleep’ play an important role in the evolution and survival of a population. Mathematician Shubhamoy Nandan conducted research on the effect of this characteristic called ‘dormancy’ in a novel mathematical model.
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Prize for production of sustainable rose smell
Sustainable rose smell that can be produced on a large scale. Tobias Fecker made this into a possibility during his master's thesis, which was a collaboration between the IBL and the TU Delft. He wins the fourth edition of the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award.
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New database reveals plants' secret relationships with fungi
Leiden researchers have compiled information collected by scientists over the past 120 years into a database of plant-fungal interactions. This important biological data is now freely available for researchers and nature conservationists. Publication in New Phytologist.
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How cells talk by pulling on a fibre network
Mechanics play a larger role in blood vessel formation, and other developmental biology, than previously thought. Cells appear to respond to mechanical signals, such as pressure. Through the extracellular matrix, a network of fibrous proteins, cells can supposedly exchange those mechanical signals over…
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The Golden Dawn verdict and the inescapable element of language
On 7 October, a court in Athens, Greece, convicted leaders of the far-right Golden Dawn party as directing a criminal organization. Marina Terkourafi, professor of Sociolinguistics, discusses the landmark ruling for the Leiden International Studies Blog.
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Measuring species traits for biodiversity policy goals
An international team including Peter van Bodegom shows how trait variability can be incorporated in Essential Biodiversity Variables to allow monitoring how organisms respond to global change. They published their results in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.
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The ecological footprint of European colonization at the doorway to the Americas
Historical figures such as Columbus have returned to the centre of public debate. Much remains to be discovered about his legacy and current impact on our society. A new study shows the ecological footprint that the arrival of Europeans left in the Caribbean islands.
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2 new Veni-grants: investigating malaria in the Middle Ages and coinage in Rome
Two researchers at the Faculty of Archaeology have received a Veni award from the Netherlands Organisation for Academic Research (NWO). This award offers promising young researchers the opportunity to further develop their ideas for a period of three years.
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Two starter grants for grotius centre reseachers: h2olaw & colab
We are delighted to announce two new exciting research projects at the Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies! Dr Misha Plagis and Dr Hilde Woker have each received a starter grant for their collaborative research projects. Dr Hilde Woker and Dr Jason Rudall have received funding for their project…
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Why are plants not black?
All kinds of reasons have been put forward for why plants apparently fail to make maximum use of the available light. None of these reasons can explain why after two billion years of evolution they are not black, like industrial photovoltaic solar cells. Are we missing something?
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Master student Maddalena Centanni awarded with Arenberg-Coimbra Group Prize
Former masterstudent Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences Maddalena Centanni will be awarded the 2020 Arenberg Coimbra Prize for Erasmus Students. Centanni spent her six month Erasmus exchange at Uppsala Universiy in Sweden where she looked for ways to improve anti-cancer drug dosing.
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Can we live longer? Leiden physicist makes discovery in protective layer in genes
With the aid of physics and a minuscule magnet, researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA. Telomeres are sometimes seen as the key to living longer. They protect genes from damage but get a bit shorter each time a cell divides. If they become too short, the cell dies. The new discovery…
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Neanderthals could tolerate smoke
The idea that modern humans displaced Neanderthals because they were better protected against toxic smoke components is now under fire. An earlier study that put forward this suggestion has now been refuted by genetic research by scientists from Leiden and Wageningen. This new research was published…
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MIGRADROME: new study on the impact of vessel sound pollution on fish behaviour
Fishes rely heavily on sound to find their way during migration or dispersal. Many species are affected by noise pollution. Hans Slabbekoorn from the Institute of Biology Leiden received a HORIZON2020 grant of 500,000 euros to study the impact of sound conditions on movement decisions of fishes.
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Truth-finding in courts under threat from propduction pressure
As a result of production pressure, judicial powers focus more on efficiency and less on making sure they get to the truth. Professor of Criminology Jan de Keijser believes that establishing the truth in court cases is under threat. Inaugural lecture 7 November.
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Cod behave differently in noisy environment
Underwater noise from seismic surveys affects the behaviour of Atlantic cod. These are the results of research by Leiden biologists in collaboration with colleagues from Belgium. During such surveys the fish are less active than usual and their circadian rhythm is disrupted; soon after exposure they…
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New measuring method facilitates drug research
Leiden chemical biologists led by Dr Mario van der Stelt have developed a method to facilitate the search for new drugs. This method has allowed them to take an important first step in the development of a drug against obesity.
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Dutch youth unfamiliar with native animal species
For the first time research has been done on species literacy in the Netherlands. Children in primary schools know about 1 in 3 native animal species. Publication in Biological Conservation.
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Seven Leiden researchers win €1.5m Vici grant
Seven Leiden researchers have each been awarded a Vici grant by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). This will enable them to form a research group and develop their own innovative line of research.
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Small molecule prevents tumour cells from spreading
Leiden chemists, together with colleagues at the University of York (UK) and Technion (Israel) have discovered a small, sugar-like molecule that maintains the integrity of tissue around a tumour during cancer. This molecule prevents tumour cells from spreading from the primary cancer site to colonise…