In his new book 'Flooding and Management of Large Fluvial Lowlands', Paul Hudson Associate Professor of Physical Geography at Leiden University College in The Hague, examines human impacts on lowlands rivers. The past twenty years the pressure on large fluvial lowlands has increased tremendously because…

Is polder rice a feasible circular alternative for cows on peatland? A pilot experiment started this week. On May 22nd, researchers from Leiden University and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) planted roughly 3,000 rice plants on the Polderlab near Leiden. The researchers want to test rice as a…

A consortium of research infrastructures focused on water quality has received €4.18 million in funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). This grant will support the transformation of outdoor laboratories at Leiden University, NIOO-KNAW, Radboud University, and Wageningen University & Research…

Using biomethane to produce ammonia, a crucial chemical in agriculture, could drastically reduce the climate impact of the process. In a study published in One Earth, researcher Robert Istrate shows it’s even possible to make ammonia production net-zero or carbon negative.

Paco Barona Gomez is the newest associate professor at the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL). The Mexican researcher is fascinated by the evolution of natural products: compounds made by microbes, but also plants and animals. ‘It’s like we investigate chemical dark matter.’

Industrial sites are built for safety, but are they prepared for security breaches? As concerns grow over threats to national security, these sites are a target. The Securdomino project built a tool to prevent malicious attacks and rethinks how we define security.

Leiden University has taken seventh place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities. Almost 1,000 universities from all over the world participate in the ranking.

Dutch mosquitos are more resilient to saltwater than previously thought. Environmental scientist Sam Boerlijst discovered this during his PhD research at the Hortus botanicus. This knowledge is crucial for understanding how mosquito-borne disease transmission might change in the future.

To inhibit proteins that contribute to the growth of aggressive cancer cells, that’s the plan of Professor Bob van de Water and his team. They will receive over 700,000 euros from the KWF Dutch Cancer Society for their research. Researcher Maaike Vreeswijk and pathologist Danielle Cohen are affiliated…

At the start of the year a lot of journals publish lists of their most cited papers of the previous year. Three papers published by Leiden archaeologists were ranked in the top 10 of the Journal of Archaeological Science: reports.

More severe droughts that will also last longer: this will primarily be a problem for irrigated croplands, as discovered by environmental scientist Qi Chen. Mixed forests with a variety of plant species will be the least vulnerable. Chen compared the effects of drought on different ecosystems across…

The fastest chemical reaction in the universe takes place inside our eyes.

2,240 plant extracts from 1,299 different plant species of Dutch origin. That’s the collection of the Dutch Extract Library, which has recently been transferred to the Institute of Biology Leiden. To plant biologist and contact person for this library Pingtao Ding this is a true treasury. ‘To bring…

Cookware handles, electrical plugs, brake pads. Unlike other plastics, these ‘thermosets’ cannot simply be melted down and reshaped, making them difficult to recycle. Chemist Roxanne Kieltyka and her team are now exploring a way to make these materials recyclable, potentially transforming the way we…

How do atoms and molecules end up forming planets? That's what astrochemist Julia Santos studied during her PhD. She discovered the dominant process behind the formation of methanol in space – a finding that surprised the entire field.

LUC students research the Geul river’s restoration, combining sediment studies, biodiversity assessments, and policy insights for global environmental challenges

Understanding the proces of electrochemical reactions is essential to improve the technology for the energy transition. Fuel cell cars, for example use hydrogen produced from the electrolysis of water. Mariana Monteiro did fundamental research on the process and won two prizes with her thesis.

From monitoring pollution to tracking rainfall, citizen science comes in different shapes and sizes. But at its heart, it’s about the relationships between citizens, policymakers and researchers.

Foreign investments in the Dutch East Indies during the colonial period could have been of more benefit to the Indonesian economy. Foreign investments in the Dutch East Indies during the colonial period could have been of more benefit to the Indonesian economy. But the complicated relationship between…

Various countries are planning new missions to the Moon. Not just for prestige and science, but also to extract raw materials.

Several media published articles on the latest research from a team including Thijs Bosker, Associate Professor Environmental Sciences, last week. The research has shown that whales in the vicinity of Auckland New Zeeland consume three million microplastics a day.

Dutch greenhouse horticulture is a world leader when it comes to innovative capacity and sustainability, but ‘the challenges are great in terms of energy, water, environment and biodiversity,’ says Peter van Bodegom, coordinator of AgriFood at the Centre for Sustainability of the Leiden, Delft, Erasmus…

A lot of green, corners to sit in and paths to stroll along. These were the wishes for the restyling of the garden of the Huizinga building. After some forty years, it was time to give the garden a facelift. The result is a welcoming, green garden with sunny spots and shaded nooks.

Today, ESA’s Gaia mission releases its new treasure trove of data about our home galaxy. Astronomers, led by the Leiden astronomer Anthony Brown, describe strange ‘starquakes’, stellar DNA, asymmetric motions and other fascinating insights in this most detailed Milky Way survey to date.

Three Leiden professors have recently been awarded the most prestigious scientific accolade in the Netherlands: Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Marc Koper have been awarded a Spinoza Prize and Judi Mesman a Stevin Prize. They received their prizes on 13 October.

Regardless of whether you work at a desk or in a lab, all workplaces have their risks. As your employer, the University aims to create a healthy workplace and to limit possible health risks. Here you will find the main risks and measures that we take to reduce them.

Course, Summer School

The Dutch Research Council (NWO) has awarded Vidi grants to 14 Leiden researchers. This grant of a maximum of 850,000 euros will enable them to start a new research group and develop their own line of research over the next five years.

Astronomers have found complex organic ice outside the Milky Way for the first time. The discovery shows that the building blocks of life could arise early in the universe - and under a variety of conditions, said Leiden astronomer Will Rocha.

Developing a better treatment for patients with head and neck cancer, that is what Binanox, The 2022 iGEM Leiden team, want to achieve. They hope to raise at least 10,000 euros for this cause. Support their crowdfunding campaign today.

Nerve pain is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. It is therefore one of the biggest reasons for cancer patients to stop treatment early. Darcy Reynolds worked on new drug candidates against this pain during her bachelor's thesis. She developed a new series of molecules that increase…

An international team of astronomers led by Ardjan Sturm of the Observatory has made the first two-dimensional inventory of ice in a planet-forming disk of dust and gas surrounding a young star. The researches, including Melissa McClure, used the James Webb Space Telescope and publish their findings…

With a single sample of water or soil, researches can analyse the DNA of everything that is living in that environment. During her research, PhD candidate Beilun Zhao discovered a way to analyse not only the kind of species, but also the age of the species in a water sample. The method showed its first…

A huge shiny aluminium object stands in the middle of the Polderlab in Oud Ade. Are the researchers trying to make contact with extraterrestrial life? Certainly not; they are using the ’Moon landers’ to measure whether innovative forms of agriculture reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fleur van Duin works…

The Houthis are attacking ships in the Red Sea. Rerouting via South Africa is expensive, whereas the Arctic route only takes a week. Once a no-go zone, this route might be a more realistic option. Mind the nuclear submarines, though…

Although there is considerable evidence that nature in the city is beneficial to both people and animals, we still do not have an overall picture of those benefits. To rectify that, a Leiden PhD candidate and a student – armed with a cargo bike – are using The Hague as a life-size laboratory.

De Universiteit Leiden staat op de twaalfde plek in de UI Green Metric, een wereldwijde duurzaamheidsranglijst voor universiteiten.

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Leiden University has taken 14th place in the UI Green Metric, a global sustainability ranking for universities.

Assistant Professor Space Law Tanja Masson-Zwaan appeared as a guest on the Radio Weetlust programme of local Leiden radio station Sleutelstad FM. She talked about, among other things, who does the moon actually belong to and why we all would like to go there so badly.

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From 16 to 20 June 2025, the Institute of Security and Global Affairs of Leiden University hosted the annual Summer School The European Union, the United Nations and Global Governance in The Hague. The programme brought together recent graduates, PhD students, and young professionals from a variety…

A team of researchers from Young Academy and the Huygens ING/NL Lab has brought a three-century-old fragrance to life based on a recipe by Constantijn Huygens. The fragrance makes the past more tangible and can help people experience history differently.

Since May, Assistant professor BioTherapeutics Lu Su works in our faculty. Although she is still young, she already worked in many different fields and co-operated on two publications in big scientific journals. How did she become so successful and what motivates her to keep researching the possibilities…

How can we supply the growing world population with sustainable energy? At Laurens College in Rotterdam, Prof. Marc Koper speaks with the students about the crucial role of chemistry in the energy transition. Guest classes like this are a good way for school students to learn about the academic world,…