Bacteria use antibiotics as a weapon and even produce more antibiotics if there are competing strains nearby. This is a fundamental insight that can help find new antibiotics. Leiden scientists Daniel Rozen and Gilles van Wezel published their research results in the authoritative Proceedings of the…

An organized overview of the current global fungal diversity, that is what Irene Martorelli and colleagues try to achieve with the new MycoDiversity Database (MDDB) she builds in collaboration with Naturalis Biodiversity Center. The new database will make it easier and quicker to observe which fungi…

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…

Higher temperatures are resulting in changes to vegetation and soil in mountain areas throughout the world. An international research team including Leiden ecologist Ellen Cieraad published an article on 25 January in Nature on the disruption to the ecosystem.

With our research and teaching, we help make the world a better place. We join in the academic and public debate, and seek answers to economic and social issues – not just at the local and regional level but at the global one too.

This section shows some of the most relevant articles that are also related to the topic of the EUTAXGOV Chair.

Can zebrafish provide a fast, sensitive in vivo vertebrate model for identifying novel mechanisms of Ewing sarcoma progression and for development of new anticancer compounds in a time- and cost-effective manner?

Leiden University now offers almost 20 Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs). The enthusiasm displayed by participants makes it rewarding to develop and teach such courses, say MOOC lecturers Marlies Reinders and Edwin Bakker. But that is not all, ‘You bring together a global community.’

On 30 October, Armin Cuyvers was invited to give the inaugural lecture of the European Legal Studies Centre of the Universitas Indonesia, Jakarta.

Nineteen new Leiden University MOOCs have started this January. Anyone can take part in these online courses varying from combatting terrorism to kidney transplantation.

Researchers from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) have successfully used stem cell gene therapy to treat a baby with the severe congenital immune disorder SCID. An important milestone: it is the first time stem cell gene therapy of Dutch origin has been administered to a patient, and also…

NWO has awarded eleven Leiden researchers a Vidi grant of 800,000 euros. The research subjects range from Cicero and muscle dystrophy to the archaeology of bogs.

The Institute of Environmental Sciences of the Leiden University has, together with its European partners, presented the new MULTIPLY platform, during a workshop at the European Space Agency (ESA). This platform makes it for the first time possible to combine different data stream’s of ESA’s newest…

The certificate award ceremony of the Honours College took place in the Hooglandse Church in Leiden on Tuesday 21 November. During the ceremony, two students shared their experiences with honours education while Vice-Rector Hester Bijl addressed the students.

As of 1 January 2018 Irma Mosquera will be appointed as Associate Professor at the Institute of Tax Law and Economics of Leiden University.

Physicians and researchers of the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Leiden University are working on therapies for restoring damaged organs such as hearts and kidneys. They are even trying to construct tailor-made organs. Read more on this topic in the new science dossier on Vascular and Regenerative…

What are the patterns and processes of human mobility in the pre-colonial circum-Caribbean as revealed by burial populations and what are the underlying motives and socio-cultural principles on both micro- and macro-scales?

To what extent is the image of the Taino settlements on Hispaniola representative for the whole island, or is it only related to a few large settlements of known caciques?

Bacteria found in soil specialise in the colony by division of labour. Some of the bacteria produce antibiotics, even when it comes at the expense of their individual reproduction success, to defend their colony against competitors. Publication in Science Advances.

Food production in the Netherlands is an economic success but has led to many environmental issues, including nitrogen pollution. Recently, the policy to allow economic growth while reducing nitrogen losses was disapproved by the highest court in the Netherlands, casting the country into a nitrogen…

Using E. coli bacteria to convert a toxic compound in the soil on Mars into oxygen to make life on the planet possible. A team of thirteen Leiden students are taking part in the annual iGEM competition with an entry based on this idea. iGEM is an international competition for students where they use…

Associate Professor of Physical Geography Paul Hudson at Leiden University College was interviewed by TIME Magazine on the Mississippi floods that have been harassing the United States this year.

On 23 September, the Leiden alderman for the Management of Public Space was presented with a Ginkgo Biloba in the Blekerspark. This special 'Peace Tree' was grown from a seed from a tree that survived the atomic bomb that devastated Hiroshima. The Peace Tree is being temporarily housed in Leiden's Hortus…

Increasing resistance and a lack of new antibiotics are a serious problem for public health. Against this background, Gilles van Wezel of the Institute of Biology Leiden is looking for new medicines. Together with former PhD student Changsheng Wu and colleagues he discovered the special antibiotic lugdunomycin,…

Leiden physicist Julia Cramer receives 50 thousand euros in funding for 'Let's talk about quantum', a research project on communication about quantum computing. A project for high school students by education expert Henk Buisman is also included in the NEWA ELSA funding.

In a closed room in the Van Steenis building, hundreds of boxes are waiting under fluorescent lights for someone to come and see them. The jumble of handwritten and printed labels unveils how often the collection has been reorganized, moved and rearranged. Boxes full of potsherds and pottery, human…

The research project of Jos Raaijmakers is nominated for the Huibregtsenprijs 2022. The researcher of NIOO, with a guest appointment at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL), is one of six nominees. On the Evening of Science & Society (Dutch: Avond van Wetenschap & Maatschappij), 10 October 2022, the…

The Vrouw Vennepolder near Oud Ade has been transformed into the Polderlab. Scientists and students from Leiden University, together with farmers and citizens, investigate how to manage peatland in a sustainable and profitable manner. A great opportunity for students to experience how scientific knowledge…

Extinct hominin DNA extracted from >40,000 years old sediment

Following the Beirut explosion, BBC's podcast series The Foodchain explores the chemical that caused the blast: ammonium nitrate. A compound that is widely used to produce fertilizer. Professor of Environmental sustaibability Jan Willem Erisman tells about the effects of nitrogen on the environment.

How do societies move forward with sustainable, effective and efficient management of Earth's water resources?

Archaeologists from Leiden University find what is clearly an earth wall and ditch structure in the woods near Ermelo. They suspect it may be the remains of a Roman military camp, but as yet have no conclusive evidence. Will they be able to solve the puzzle?

With cancer, a person’s body cells grow uncontrollably. Putting together a detailed picture of how this comes about makes it possible to develop efficient therapies. Researchers at the Leiden University Medical Centre (LUMC) and Leiden University are working together to gain a better understanding…

This PhD project develops and applies a GIS procedure to use legacy survey data in settlement pattern analysis. As part of the research by the LERC project (NWO, Leiden University, KNIR), legacy data produced by surveys in central and southern Italy are examined in a comparative framework to investigate…

Science, Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL)

Do Ethiopian wolves change their diet and foraging strategy in the landscape under different land uses? How land use affect Afro-alpine rodent Communities? How important are Afro-alpine natural resources utilisation for local livelihoods? What is the human perception of conflict in the Afro-alpine a…

In ancient times, the steppe in the hinterland of Petra (Jordan) was transformed into a green oasis. This project tries to shed insights in the agricultural, water management and societal processes resulting in this transformation. This will be accomplished by practicing an interdisciplinary research…

The Aesernia Colonial Landscape project investigates ancient settlement patterns and dynamics around modern Isernia in Molise (Italy), the Latin colony of Aesernia (founded 263 BC). It consists of intensive systematic field survey in the territory of the colony, combined with remote sensing and geoprospection…

Analytical tools for environmental design and management in a systems perspective. The combined use of analytical tools.

We depend on nature for so many things: from clean water, wood and food to carbon absorption, water purification and coastal protection, as well as for relaxation, inspiration and identity. Nevertheless, our modern world putting increasing pressure on these ecosystem services. Leiden researchers investigate…

The hinterland of important centres like Petra (Southern Jordan) can provide essential information that contribute to the understanding of their rise, expansion and decline.

Description of 20th century changes in the Dutch flora: Description and interpretation (1999 - 2005)

Subproject of

What is the effect of pesticides, fertilizers or plastic on water quality? And how do wind and rain affect the data? These are just some of the things that Leiden environmental scientists study in the 32 ditches of the Living Lab.

Arts and leisure, Arts and leisure

On March 28, 2023, our esteemed colleague Prof. Harry Wijshoff passed away. He died after a struggle of several months against a serious illness.

The book ‘Geleerde Zorgen: twee eeuwen academische geneeskunde in Leiden’ (‘Learned Care: two centuries of academic medicine in Leiden’) was presented on 16 December to Annetje Ottow (President of the Executive Board of Leiden University) and Pancras Hogendoorn, Dean and member of the Executive Board…

Scientists of Leiden University and Technical University Delft are going to predict how and where defects in sewer systems arise. They are working with light sensitive camera’s, based on new automated multi-sensor inspection with stereo vision and laser range scanning. Their models are going to process…

This year, microbiologist Arthur Ram will start new research on producing useful enzymes in bulk. Ram receives an NWO grant for this project that will find its applications in the industrial biotechnology and food industry.

Join us at the second edition of the Making Matters symposium, which will take place on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 November 2020 at Het Nieuwe Instituut in Rotterdam and online.