News
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Making sustainable biotechnology a reality: joined forces aim to improve biocatalysts 24 April 2024
Everything biobased: Plastic, medicine and fuel. It seems like a futuristic utopia. But for how long? A collaboration of researchers now proposes an ...
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How fungi are helping us be more sustainable 05 February 2024
Fungi don’t just grow as mould on your bread but can also be used to produce building materials, mushroom leather and meat substitutes. Professor of F...
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Status update in the evolutionary race between humans and resistant bacteria: two steps forward for us 17 January 2024
A patent for what may be a potent, new antibiotic. And: a clear overview of promising approaches to overcome a crucial resistance tactic employed by b...
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Microbiome ecology professor Ákos Kovács' new job feels like coming home 09 October 2023
‘Working in Leiden is a dream come true.’ Ákos Kovács studied in his birth country Hungary and worked in Germany, Denmark and Groningen. As professor ...
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Inspired teaching without the administrative hassle 12 June 2023
In his inaugural lecture Professor of Molecular Microbiology Dennis Claessen will explain how lecturer enthusiasm can be contagious. And how as a prog...
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What Darwin couldn’t see: Expedition to uncover invisible life in Galápagos 22 March 2023
An international research team is to search for invisible life in the Galápagos Islands. The diversity of bacteria and other microscopic organisms may...
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Are bacteriophages the new antibiotics? 16 December 2022
Bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria, may be used as an alternative treatment option when antibiotics fail. Leiden researchers have studied th...
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‘But how many bacteria live on my hands, then?’ Micro-day in photos 01 November 2022
From 22 to 24 October, researchers of the MARBLES-project informed museum visitors about microbes: bacteria and fungi that live all around us. The eve...
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PhD Graduate Van Groesen: ‘Nothing is too crazy to try.’ 26 October 2022
In a world where bacteria are increasingly resistant to antibiotics, Emma van Groesen set out to find a solution. This month she obtained her PhD, aft...
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Bacteria without cell wall gobble up DNA from environment 20 September 2022
A bacterium hiding from the immune system and picking up bits of DNA from its environment. The result: gaining new traits, such as better protection...
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A unique defence: Bacteria lose cell wall in the presence of virus 08 June 2022
Bacteria temporarily live without their cell wall if dangerous viruses are near. A remarkable feature, as the cell wall is a sturdy barrier against th...
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Collaborating bacteria sacrifice themselves for the greater good 07 June 2022
Like ants, termites and bees, some bacteria work together as a multicellular group. There is a strict division of labour in such colonies, to make the...
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Researchers tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria 06 May 2022
When a bacterium becomes more resistant to one antibiotic, it sometimes becomes more sensitive to another. To better understand this interaction, rese...
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Combating antibiotic resistance together 24 March 2022
Antibiotic resistance is a common problem among patients. The European Project TIPAT trains pharmacologists, microbiologists and immunologists of six ...
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Dangerous microbes in lower level safety lab? A new technique could make it possible 18 January 2022
Researchers need to work in specialized environments when they work with dangerous bacteria and viruses. These microbes spread easily, so only in labs...