Funded by NWO, 'Futuring Heritage: Conservation, Community and Contestation in the Eastern Himalayas' explores how environmental conservation initiatives in the Eastern Himalayas intersect with the cultural expectations of ‘indigenous’ ethno-linguistic minorities. Focusing on human–more than human relationships…

Your local city park may be improving your health, according to a new paper led by Leiden environmental scientist Roy Remme. In Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Remme and his colleagues describe how access to nature increases people’s physical activity—and therefore overall health—in…

This book surveys a distinct human phenomenon in the history of the ancient Near East: individuals who were born males but, under various social and historical circumstances, their masculine identity was considered ambiguous. They bore specific titles and were engaged in cult or palace administration.…

Wouter Moerland is on a two-year secondment as ecology adviser at the Municipality of Leiden. This biology alumnus talks animatedly about his work. ‘We’re working hard to increase nature’s chances in town.’

Lions in West and Central Africa form a unique group, only distantly related to lions in East and Southern Africa. Biologists at Leiden University confirm this in an article published in Scientific Reports.

Research on flora and fauna with attention for economic interests and partnership with the local population. This is all bundled in a cooperation programme of the Anton de Kom University of Suriname and Leiden University. Working together on the basis of equality is key. ‘A thorny challenge, but one…

In the scientific television programme Atlas, social psychologist and former Cultural Anthropology PhD student Stacey MacDonald talks about her research on Bonaire. She shows how to align different parties to make conservation projects succeed.

Researchers of eLaw, the Center for Law and Digital Technologies at Leiden University, published their research in Nature Machine Intelligence. The publication, written by Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, Pranav Khanna, Hadassah Drukarch, and Bart Custers, focuses on the legal and regulatory implications of…

With his photo of a fish trapped in a rubber glove, external PhD candidate Auke-Florian Hiemstra has made it to the shortlist for the People’s Choice Award in the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition. The photo shows the impact of Covid litter on wildlife.

'What nature made isn’t necessarily an optimized medicine to use in the human body,’ says Professor of Biological Chemistry Nathaniel Martin. That’s why a group of Leiden researchers is making a chemistry-based improved version of the frequently used antibiotic vancomycin. They received an NWO NACTAR…

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.

On Monday-Wednesday 10-12 June 2019, Jeroen Wolbers, Wout Broekema and Sanneke Kuipers represented the Institute of Security and Global Affairs (ISGA) at the fourth edition of the Northern European Conference on Emergency and Disaster Studies (NEEDS).

Mining for natural resources harms the environment. But we desperately need them, for both the development of countries and the transition to a sustainable energy system. Professor of Sustainable Resource Use Ester van der Voet researches how we can reduce the environmental impact of natural resources…

ENVIRHUS (Environmental and Rural History of Urbanized Societies) organiseert op 17 februari 2023 (14u-17u) de workshop ‘The Natural World‘.

Nature published an article on the new wall formulas in the Leiden city center. On November 22nd, Leiden University celebrated the opening of three new wall formulas. A total of six formulas are now painted on walls across the historic center.

Have you had a busy week at work? If so, it’s better to take a walk in a natural environment than to go shopping in the city.

Green spaces boost mental health—especially in busy cities. A new study from Leiden and Stanford University reveals how nature benefits urban well-being and offers low-cost ways to make city life healthier for everyone.

The changing status of anatomical collections from the early modern period to date.

The illegal use of hand grenades has generated a lot of public interest over the last few years but very little is known about the nature and extent of these incidents. This research project is trying to fill that gap.

The main question addressed in this thesis is how we can best conceive the contrast between a priori and empirical truths.

This book investigates the effects of brain lesions in the left hemisphere, specifically Broca's area, on the production and perception of vowels, of word tones and of the linguistic use of sentence melody.

The Animated Image addresses the entire range of contexts in which images were described by Roman authors as being animated, as well as the accounts that Roman writers produced to explain the animation of inanimate matter.

Starting from Husserl’s somewhat controversial claim about the immortality of the constituting subjectivity, this thesis uses the limit-case of death in order to present a phenomenological exploration of the notion of subjectivity and its relationship to nature. It also offers a second-order discussion…

Although bacteria are usually invisible to the naked eye, they are the silent force behind many processes in our daily lives.

Environmental organisation Greenpeace wants to see a drastic reduction in nitrogen deposition on the Netherlands’ most vulnerable nature conservation areas. This would extend beyond the nitrogen targets that the Dutch government is currently striving to meet. Rogier Kegge, Assistant Professor of Constitutional…

Biodiversity and healthy ecosystems continue to decline in Europe, which has serious consequences for human welfare. These are findings of a report that was formally approved by delegates from 127 governments during a UN plenary in Medellin, Colombia. Leiden researcher Alexander van Oudenhoven was one…

Professor Geert de Snoo, Dean of the Faculty of Science at Leiden University, has been appointed Director of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW) with effect from 1 November 2019. He will stand down from his role as Dean of the Faculty of Science with effect from 1 September. De Snoo will…

What is the impact of humans on nature? In Science an article appeared in which researchers try to give an answer to that question. Biogeographer and postdoc at LUCL Sietze Norder is one of its authors.

In March, the Honours Academy will be launching two new Master Honours Classes. In these classes, students with a curious mind will have the opportunity to do research into the relationship between humans and nature or to work on an innovation for the healthcare sector. ‘This will allow students from…

LEAP is a peer-reviewed journal founded in 2021 by a team of junior and senior scholars of Leiden University as part of a Faculty-broad Master course. Each year the journal has a new editorial board and a new theme. Series editors Astrid van Weyenberg and Nanne Timmer guide this process and are assisted…

Animal species that are dear to us in the Netherlands often spend a large part or all of their lifecycle in other parts of the world. But their habitats worldwide are under increasing pressure, are often inadequately protected and much poorer than the global average. ‘If we truly care about these animals,…

Tobias Müller, post-doctoral researcher in the field of Terrorism and Political Violence at ISGA, writes how together, religious groups and scientists can be a powerful force for a liveable planet.

The plant hormone auxin plays a central role in the growth and development of plants. Auxin acts in a concentration dependent manner and polar cell-to-cell transport of this hormone determines its distribution in the tissues of plants. This polar auxin transport is mediated by several families of auxin…

Large carnivore population is globally declining as a result of the fragmentation of habitat, large prey depletion and retaliatory killing by pastoralists.

The role of culture and diverse knowledge systems needs to be recognized when assessing nature’s contributions to people, a new policy forum paper in Science states. Alexander van Oudenhoven and thirty global experts present a new approach that will increase the effectiveness and legitimacy of policies…

The Data Science Research Programme at Leiden University combines data science with PhD projects in a wide range of disciplines. The programme has been running for over two years, and is producing the first astonishing results. A number of PhD candidates talk about their experiences and research bel…