One of the most important puzzles in modern astrophysics is the nature of dark matter.

Promotores: S.F. Portegies Zwart, E. M. Rossi

Pulsars were first discovered in 1967 and since then the population has grown and expanded over several wavelengths.

A century ago, it was unclear whether the stars in the sky were clustered in groups, or widely spread in the universe.

Promotor: K.H. Kuijken

Promotor: Prof.dr. E. F. van Dishoeck

Promotor: Prof.dr. K.H. Kuijken, Co-Promotor: H.Hoekstra

Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Franx, Prof.dr. M. Kriek (Univ. of California at Berkeley)

Promotores: Prof.dr. M. Franx, Prof.dr. P.G. van Dokkum (Yale University)

Galaxies in the local Universe fall into two main categories of spirals and ellipticals. In this Thesis, we explore the structural evolution of galaxies into this bimodal distribution.

Balsaminaceae is a diverse plant family characterized by a huge floral morphological diversity.

The soil-dwelling, filamentous bacteria of the genus Streptomyces are renowned for their production of useful secondary metabolites including antibiotics. The work described in this thesis provides new insights on the role and regulation of antibiotic production and resistance in these bacteria.

Sustainable energy from wind and solar is most readily available near the sea.

The high velocity tail of the total velocity distribution of stars provides essential insight into fundamental properties of the Galaxy.

To gain more insight into the evolutionary development of orchid flowers and fruits, the orchid species Erycina pusilla was studied. The evolutionary origin of the median petaloid sepal, the callus on the labellum, and the stelidia was studied.

Electrocatalysis allows for storing electricity or converting it into chemical bonds, producing chemical building blocks and fuels using renewable resources.

Promotor: Prof.dr. H.J.A. Rottgering

Bicarbonate buffer is largely found in nature due to its ability to regulate pH variations around neutral values. As the pH changes, so does the speciation of the buffer.

Wiskunde en Natuurwetenschappen, Instituut Biologie Leiden (IBL)

Promotores: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Prof.dr. L.B.F.M. Waters (UvA), Prof.dr. C. Dominik (UvA)

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…

This thesis investigates the structural evolution and assembly of galaxies since the first few billions years after the big bang.

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O. van Gaans

Stellar feedback is a crucial ingredient in the evolution of galaxies.

Dark matter is one of the biggest mysteries of the Universe. Its properties cannot be explained with the known laws of physics and elementary particles.

Plants produce an astonishing variety of secondary metabolites (SMs) which are thought to play vital roles in the fitness of plants through ecological interactions.

We investigate the buildup of galaxies from various vantage points. The first two chapters focus on the stellar content of galaxies, especially the distribution of stellar masses at birth and potential variations therein in various galactic environments.

When observing star-forming galaxies, we are not only seeing stellar light, but we also see how this interacts with galactic gas and dust. This thesis contains studies of the stellar, nebular and dust properties of low mass star-forming galaxies.

The thesis is about the study of shell evolution of the Hydrocenidae of the genus Georissa. This thesis started with a general overview on the evolutionary process of animals due to ecological changes.

Promotores: Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield, Prof.dr. B.J. Zwaan (Wageningen Universiteit)

Promotor: Prof.dr. M. Schilthuizen

This thesis aims to enhance our understanding of galaxies by testing theoretical models of galaxy formation against observations, particularly in the cases of extreme systems which have been found to have an excess of baryonic mass in their central regions, in the form of either supermassive black holes…

OB associations are loose groups of young, massive stars. They constitute the last stage of the massive starformation process, and the context in which new stars are formed.

The growing demand of energy indicates that global energy resources in the form of fossil fuels will not be sufficient in the future. In order to solve potential future energy problems development of a sustainable hydrogen economy is highly desirable.

We have examined sequences from the ligand-binding domain of the nicotinic acetyl choline receptor (nAChR) in 148 vertebrate species. We are in interested in this receptor because the α-neurotoxins of many venomous snakes binds to this receptor in its location at the neuromuscular junction in all ve…

Promotores: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Prof.dr. L. Kaper (UvA)

Promotor: Prof.dr. V. Icke, Co-Promotor: T.I. Madura

Promotor: S.M. Verduyn Lunel, Co-promotor: O.W. van Gaans

Promotor: Prof.dr. P.G.L Klinkhamer, Co-promotor: K. Vrieling

Multiple stars, that is two or more stars composing a gravitationally bound system, are common in the universe.

Promotor: H.J.A. Rottgering, Co-Promotor: R.J. van Weeren

Planets are formed in disks of gas and dust around young stars.

Supervisor: S.F. Portegies Zwart Co-Supervisor: A.G.A. Brown

Promotor: Prof.dr. F. den Hollander, G.Maillard

When a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole, it is torn apart by strong tidal forces in a tidal disruption event (TDE).

Circumstellar discs are the reservoirs of gas and dust that surround young stars and have the potential to become planetary systems.

The explosive radiation and diversification of the advanced snakes (superfamily Colubroidea) was associated with changes in all aspects of the shared venom system. Morphological changes included the partitioning of the mixed ancestral glands into two discrete glands devoted for production of venom ormucous…

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. Smets

Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. Smets, Co-Promotor: L.W. Chatrou