Osteoarchaeologist Rachel Schats investigates traces of illnesses and disorders in human skeletons. Her search for malaria in the Low Countries' middle ages is central in an article in the Dutch version of National Geographic Magazine of February 2020.

Geoglyphs decorate the ground near the town of Boha, India, and add up a total distance of about 30 miles. They were discovered by Carlo and Yohann Oetheimer. Our Assistant Professor Karsten Lambers was asked to respond by Vice.

CWTS is proud to be one of the founding organisations of the Initiative for Open Abstracts. This initiative calls on scholarly publishers to make their abstracts available in an open infrastructure, and specifically to deposit them with Crossref.

The Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Award this year goes to musician, conductor and composer Reinbert de Leeuw, because of his great merit for contemporary music within The Netherlands and abroad.

Scientists have long assumed Neanderthals simply lost the evolutionary race against humans. But their disappearance may be a bit more complex. In Discover Magazine, Gerrit Dusseldorp sheds light on this illusive question.

On 3 March 2024, the Swiss electorate decided in a sensational referendum in favour of an increase in the state old-age pension.

In this video, Joseph S. Nye Jr. discusses the new challenges faced by public diplomacy practitioners in the modern global information environment.

Brand-new professor Gerard van Westen works at the intersection of artificial intelligence and drug development. For the new chair in Artificial Intelligence and Medicinal Chemistry, he uses computer models to make drug development more efficient. Our ultimate goal is a virtual human which allows you…

Despite the reduced accessibility as a result of the protests of the farmers in The Hague, around 30 directors, scientists, students and civil servants met on 16 October for the Public Leadership Challenge

University lecturer Casper Wits wrote an opinion piece on the ongoing diplomatic tensions between the European Union and China for POLITICO. In this article, he argues that 'rather than shrinking from the fight, the EU must develop a China policy that prioritizes progressive values and human rights.…

Saskia Gras, PhD graduate from the Dual PhD Center, presents her book on Wednesday 6 June:

Research by Assistant Professor Willemijn Waal has gained attention from various media outlets. Waal investigates, among other things, whether the Greek alphabet might be older than previously thought.

Chinese State-backed entities have taken tiny stakes in parts of two Alibaba subsidiaries that oversee a video platform and web browser. Professor Rogier Creemers argues on CNBC this move is part of a larger plan for tech regulation.

The molecule calix[4]pyrrole, synthesised in the group of associate professor Sander Wezenberg at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry, has been voted ‘Molecule of the Year’ by the readers of C2W Mens & Molecule. Wezenberg received the award from editor Daniël Linzel.

Leiden PhD candidate and vet Luc Janssens discovered that a dog found at the start of the last century in a grave dating back 14,000 years had been sick for a long time and had been cared for. He and Thijs van Kolfschoten were interviewed by National Geographic about this discovery.

In February 2015, Al Shabaab produced a video in which it calls for an attack on malls in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

The Food Citizens? team has contributed in the special issue of the ICA journal. The semi-scientific journal of the study association Itiwana of Leiden University's Institute of Cultural Anthropology.

The Leiden University Centre for Linguistics has been badly affected by the corona crisis: the research in the four labs and the fieldwork has come to a standstill. What are the implications?

Archaeologist Bjørn Peare Barthold suspected farmers in a doctorless 19th century Dutch village may have been self-medicating to manage pain and disease. By examining the skeletons' dental calculus this hypothesis could be tested. Science Magazine interviewed him about this new technique.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe provided commentary in several media outlets on the situation in Venezuela.

A new study sugggests that through informal networks, Mesopotamian merchants established a standardized system of weights that later spread across Europe, enabling trade across the continent. The advance effectively formed the first known common Eurasian market more than 3000 years ago. “This is…

Assistant professor Andrew Shield was interviewd by Norway's largest printed newspaper, Aftenposten about sex and dating apps.

Cultural Anthropologist Jasmijn Rana argues in the opinion piece ''Black', 'white', or 'of colour' is not about purity' in the Leiden University Weekly Mare to use uneasiness about being reduced to skin colour and gender to fight racism.

Archaeologist Dr Gerrit Dusseldorp's research project was covered by a South African newspaper. Dusseldorp and his team investigate the evolution of human behaviour through artefacts dug up in South African caves.

Dr. Eduard Schmidt interviewed a hundred government managers from different ministries who had to perform cuts in own budget to various extents, under the Balkenende, Rutte I and II cabinets. Dr. Schmidt had one central research question: how do public managers in the Dutch government handle austerity…

Barend Barentsen, Professor Labour Law, talked about the local public transportation strikes in the Netherlands with Omroep Gelderland.

The White House has recently released its national security strategy. University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains in The Conversation what we can learn from the document.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe explains on France 24 how alleged fraud in Minnesota is being used by Trump as an argument to target Somalis.

University Lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe commented on the BBC regarding Donald Trump’s plans to exclude South Africa from the G20.

Assistant professor Rogier Creemers comments on CNN on the launch of the new artificial intelligence tool Sundance 2.0.

French newspaper Libération has interviewed university lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe about the war in Iran.

Professor Wolff discusses the EU migration policy on Global Europe.

University lecturer Andrew Gawthorpe comments on France24 on controversial USA ambassadors in Europe, all appointed by Trump.

Back in 2020, Dr Maikel Kuijpers started to write for The Correspondent. His articles offered readers a unique long-term insight into the materials that shape our world, from concrete to glass and plastics. His innovative approach piqued the interest of a literary agent, and he was invited to write…

Over the past year, twelve articles by Leiden humanities scholars have been published on The Conversation, an English-language platform that translates science-related news for a broad audience. Read their articles here!

Neanderthals were able to outwit straight-tusked elephants, the largest land mammals of the past few million years. Leiden professor Wil Roebroeks has published an article about this together with his German colleague Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser in the Science Advances journal.

Today marks the launch of the LDE Bachelor Honours Programme Sustainability. Students from Leiden University, TU Delft and Erasmus University will work together on concrete sustainability issues of organisations. Interest in the new programme turned out to be overwhelming. Two lecturers involved share…

The Dutch universities are conducting a joint campaign to promote open access: free access to academic and scientific publications. Many Leiden researchers support open access. Given that it involves a shift in the financing from the reader to the author, they point out the need for effective agreements…

How are you doing in these strange and unprecedented times? This is the question we are asking our colleagues in this series of articles. This time we asked Erick van Zuylen, the University beadle. 'This year, I haven't been leading the PhD committee into and out of the chamber, wielding my beadle's…

Digital journalism is transforming the way in which information and communication technologies are used by media workers. With this change journalist practices, norms and values are also being reshaped. This is the conclusion of Tomás Dodds PhD research.

After completing one bachelor’s and two master’s programmes at Leiden University, alumnus in Philosophical Perspectives on Politics and the Economy Matthieu Agustoni finished his student life with a bang: he got his master's thesis published in a prestigious journal.

Two things are needed to produce fuel from sunlight: an antenna that harvests light, and a light-driven catalyst. The most efficient antennae contain bacteria. An international team headed by Huub de Groot imitated them and discovered how they function.

Authors: Michèle Bos and Jan Melissen

In the ‘Educatips’ column, psychology lecturers share their most important insights on teaching. This month: Anouk van der Weiden, together with a team of colleagues and students, developed a module on critical reading, application, and writing. 'Students often think: who am I to criticise a published…

Many of the big challenges of the 21st century (climate change, international migration, financial instability, socio-economic inequality) find their origins in the organisation of the global economy. Any solution to the world’s big challenges therefore requires forceful policy interventions at the…

We carry a profound responsibility for our research animals and strive to provide them with the best possible quality of life. In our studies, we make every effort to avoid and minimise discomfort for the animals. Below, you can learn more about how this is put into practice.

Evidence and Care-work in a home visiting program to promote maternal sensitivity and parental reflective functioning in Alexandra township, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Are you dealing with an educational challenge or would like to explore innovation opportunities? We actively ideate, design, prototype, build, test real-world solutions to transform theoretical ideas into tangible solutions to enhance the educational landscape for the benefit of your students.

In the overview below you can find the LUC Newsletters that were send out during block 4 in semester 2 of academic year 2019 - 2020.