Researchers from Leiden University have developed a method to predict which sellers will be successful in illegal online marketplaces. This could help the police track down big players on the dark web, the hidden part of the internet.

Two teams of astronomers, including one from Leiden University, have discovered oxygen in the most distant known galaxy, JADES-GS-z14-0. This groundbreaking discovery shows that galaxies could form much faster in the early universe than was previously thought.

That one handy little tool to do a quiz with students: can you use that or will you inadvertently put their privacy at risk? New privacy guidelines offers a solution.

Technology is spreading its tendrils into the classroom. But who is in control?

Education

Hardly anyone in the Netherlands ever watches skeleton racing. But we’ll soon be glued to our TV sets when ‘our’ Kimberley Bos slides down the track at the Olympic Games. All because she stands a good chance of winning a medal. Why do we like winners so much?

The Mindlab theatre and discussion programme will start at the Faculty of Humanities at the end of September. University lecturers Tazuko van Berkel and Sara Polak were moderators at the first session.

Every year in February, ninety students who love making music come together in Someren, a town in the Dutch province of North Brabant. Through rehearsals and festivities over ten days, they transform into the latest version of the Dutch Student Orchestra (NSO), which then performs concerts in the Netherlands…

Eva Michaels talks about the current international security environment, including intelligence issues with Sir John Sawers in an interview in El País.

Wereldwijd worden veel samenwerkingsverbanden met Rusland stopgezet vanwege de oorlog in Oekraïne. Hoe zit dat met de ruimtevaart, waar de Russen ook een groot aandeel in hebben?

Professor Susanna Lindberg has been appointed Scientific Director of the Institute for Philosophy with effect from 1 February. In her new role, she aims to foster connections among people. ‘I want my colleagues to feel good.’

There was a time when student Lelani Antar wanted to go to film school. She ended up studying International Studies, yet she didn’t quite say goodbye to film. For her minor, she and three other students made an essay film.

We already know a lot about genetics and the risk of breast cancer. But much still needs to be done in breast cancer genetics to improve the prognosis and make sure women at high risk aren’t missed. This is what Professor by Special Appointment Marjanka Schmidt will say in her inaugural lecture on 4…

What happens in our bodies when we care for children? And why are some people more caring than others?

The proportion of professors at Leiden University who are female has risen slightly to 32.0%. These are the results of the Women Professors Monitor 2024 released by the Dutch Network of Women Professors (LNVH). This puts Leiden University above the national average of 28.7%.

Social impact is becoming increasingly important for researchers. On Thursday, Nov. 17, the Faculty of Humanities is organizing Engaging Humanities - Exploring Impact: a day all about impact.

The coronavirus pandemic has spelt disaster for some businesses, while others have seen their profits soar. This has led to politicians to consider introducing a ‘corona’ tax where the winners from the pandemic will help the losers get back on their feet.

Biotechnological developments are moving fast. From genetically modified plant varieties we are now moving to cultured meat. These developments require moral interpretation - and they get it in the form of art. Lotte Pet wrote a dissertation about it.

Excessive regulatory burden causes economic harm and can undermine trust in government. Policymakers wishing to ease this should be more mindful of people’s differing responses to rules, says PhD candidate Ritsart Plantenga in his dissertation.

You can hardly avoid it if you want to quickly implement satellite internet. Elon Musk's company Starlink is "all-powerful in space" (Volkskrant). Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant wrote an extensive article on the situation and the possible dangers and alternatives. For this, they interviewed several experts,…

Three Humanities lecturers received the Senior Teaching Qualification (SKO) this year. University lecturer Markus Davidsen is one of them. What does he think makes for good teaching?

Generative AI presents journalists with new options for image use but also raises ethical questions.

Last year, the Faculty of Humanities started organising onboarding afternoons, where new staff members can get to know each other. ‘All new staff members are welcome.’

When we hear the word ‘bird house’, do we process it as a whole or does our brain see it as ‘bird’ and ‘house’? PhD student Jiaqi Wang explored this for speakers of Mandarin Chinese.

Investigations conducted by several Dutch child protection bodies within family situations are inadequate. Due to lack of knowledge, time and money, these investigations are not carried out properly, with major consequences for the families involved.

It is not possible for juvenile courts to properly assess whether it is necessary to place a child in care. This is evident from a fact sheet that has been prepared by legal scholars from Leiden University, commissioned by the Dutch House of Representatives and others.

The Netherlands cannot stop European labour migrants coming here. Nor does The Hague have much influence on the influx of asylum seekers. But experts believe that we should be able to reduce the need for labour migrants by using intelligent economic policies.

Space travel has long since progressed from being just about rockets, travelling to the moon, and Russia and America. The Netherlands has its own Space Agency and one of its important tasks is collecting and making available increasingly advanced satellite data.

Angry politicians, angry journalists: the initiative of Forum for Democracy politician Gideon van Meijeren during which he secretly filmed a reporter portraying them as a ‘sewer rat’, caused a lot of anger. Where does all this commotion come from? Wouter Hins: ‘Calling a journalist a "sewer rat" is…

An article by assistant professor Caspar Jacobs has been included in the prestigious Philosophers’ Annual, which compiles the ten best philosophy articles each year. In ‘Comparativist Theories or Conspiracy Theories?’, he addresses the question of whether objects have fundamental properties.

Proving a quantum computer to be quicker than a normal one is one step closer. After a breakthrough in speeding up classical algorithms, researchers Vedran Dunjko and Casper Gyurik showed that only one quantum algorithm could beat its classical counterpart. They discuss their discovery in Quanta Mag…

When Petra Sijpesteijn became a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, she was the only Dutch member with an appointment at a Dutch university. Two years later, she is also the only Dutch member of the Austrian Academy and officially joined the British Academy on 7 October.

Researchers from Leiden have developed a promising TB vaccine that users can self-administer via a special patch. This could be beneficial for countries with limited health services, says PhD candidate Malene Neustrup.

Organisation

Updated walking instructions, and refreshed texts and questions. After six years, the Leiden math trail has been revamped. From high school students to mathematicians: everyone can walk the route to their heart's content again.

The waiting lists in youth care are alarmingly long. This has been confirmed again by a study carried out by a Dutch foundation The Forgotten Child.

Hackers have got their hands on data from the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB). Lockbit, a collective of cybercriminals, is after the money. What now?

Australia wants to introduce a law that makes it possible to demand the identity of anonymous internet trolls. Is this be conceivable in the Netherlands?

Houdt de rechtbank tijdens een echtscheiding wel voldoende rekening met de ervaringen van een kind? Onderzoek van Villa Pinedo toont aan dat kinderen vaak vrezen het verkeerde te zeggen tegen rechters. Hoogleraar jeugdrecht Mariëlle Bruning praatte erover met NRC.

At least 27 migrants died on 24 November after their boat capsized in the Channel between France and England.

Ukrainian refugees are being allowed to work in the Netherlands straight away. So Why do other refugees sometimes have to wait years before they can work?

Marokko zegt het contact met de Duitse regering op. Volgens Marokkaanse media is ministeries en andere overheidsinstanties per brief gevraagd direct de samenwerking op te schorten met de Duitse ambassade in Marokko.

Children aged between 12 and 17 years can decide themselves whether they want to be vaccinated or not. Experts say that children are capable of taking a well-considered decision.

Due to an exception in the law, domestic workers employed by private persons cannot automatially benefit from social security schemes. Home help Carol Kollmann did not agree with this and took her case to court.

Dutch Central Bank President Klaas Knot wants to wind down the European Central Bank’s crisis bond-buying programme this year because the economic outlook is looking increasingly positive.

Shell Nigeria is liable for damages from oil spills in Nigeria. The Hague Court of Appeals gave this ruling in a case that was brought by four Nigerian farmers.

Recently more than five hundred workers at metal companies in Dutch cities Zwolle and Kampen went on strike. Their aim is better pay and the workers have now been on strike for twelve weeks. Just how effective is striking in collective bargaining?

For years, the Dutch National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism (NCTV) has collected and shared privacy-sensitive information about citizens. Experts say this is in breach of the law.

The Health Council of the Netherlands has published an advisory report entitled ‘Ethische en juridische overwegingen Covid-19’ (Covid-19: ethical and legal considerations). According to the Council, businesses and organisations may request a vaccination certificate, but can only do so under strict c…