Monday 11 March 2024
What Tinder can learn from Orang-utans
Behavioural biologist Tom Roth does research on orang-utans’ partner choice. This is useful for zoos, but also for developers of dating apps. ‘It’s just like with people: just because you’re genetically compatible doesn’t mean you find each other attractive.’
Wednesday 12 April 2023
How children find food in the Congolese jungle
Why do humans have such large brains? To answer that question, two biologists travelled to the Republic of Congo to see how children gather food in the jungle. ‘It’s impossible to survive on your own.’
Monday 12 December 2022
Tagging along with the climate activists of Extinction Rebellion
As part of her research, PhD candidate Amarins Jansma tagged along with the climate activists of Extinction Rebellion. ‘They’re incredibly empathetic.’
Thursday 30 June 2022
Automatic citation? No, thank you
It sounds very convenient: thanks to citation software, scientists can automatically cite their sources. But you should not rely on algorithms, warns sociologist Serge Horbach.
Thursday 7 April 2022
Are your doctors listening to you? Well, they should!
The voice of patients should be heard when discussing treatments with doctors, according to Arwen Pieterse.
Thursday 10 March 2022
Your online fears are being watched
The internet has opened the door to an abundance of new criminal activities. Fear of crime researcher Jelle Brands studies what makes us afraid of online crimes and how this information could be used.
Wednesday 23 February 2022
Environmental conservation to boost your reputation
Getting people to be more environment-friendly can be tough, but a new study seems to show that some might be more willing if it offers them the chance to belong to a community.
Monday 24 January 2022
The art of observing cells without disturbing them
New methods to labels cells hold potential for the future of medicine, by allowing us to observe bacteria and other “dark” biomolecules in a new light.
Thursday 11 March 2021
This professor laid the foundation for the corona vaccine
His ground-breaking work allowed biologist Lex van der Eb to create an immortal cell that forms the backbone of the new corona vaccine. His secret? ‘Doing fundamental research. That’s the source of all major breakthroughs.’
Tuesday 16 February 2021
Student discovers poetic women who took matters into their own hands
Dutch language student Evi Dijcks (20) accidentally discovered an all-female 18th century poetry society. A remarkable find and very rare for the time. ‘It took a while before I realised what I had stumbled upon.’
Monday 1 February 2021
Don't panic! The comforting lessons from a sinking ship
Using witness statements, crisis research Andrea Bartolucci was able to reconstruct the disaster aboard the cruise liner Costa Concordia. His conclusions are promising: victims often cooperate and mass panic is rare.
Thursday 14 January 2021
Dream job on offer: gaming for science
Archaeologist Angus Mol is going to use livestreams explore the historical context of games like Assassin's Creed and Civilization. The good news: he's hiring students to help.