Leiden Science

New project explores how engineers and AI can truly work together What if AI doesn’t just support engineers, but actually works alongside them? A large consortium, including Leiden University, gets 3.7 million euros. They will explore novel synergies between enginee...

What if AI doesn’t just support engineers, but actually works alongside them? A large consortium, including Leiden University, gets 3.7 million euros. They will explore novel synergies between engineers and AI, in industrial engineering design areas such as automotive engineering.
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Professor argues: ‘Let nature take its course’ Give organisms like plants and animals the freedom to move, interact and meet their own needs, and they will thrive on their own, says Professor Geert de Snoo. Our interference often ends up doing mor...

Give organisms like plants and animals the freedom to move, interact and meet their own needs, and they will thrive on their own, says Professor Geert de Snoo. Our interference often ends up doing more harm than good. Read more:

For city dwellers, even 15 minutes in nature can improve mental health 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 heal...

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. Read more:

Lessons from Nobel Laureates: curiosity, risk-taking and personal conversations What do you do when you get the chance to meet Nobel Prize winners in your field? You say ‘yes’, of course! Two young chemists from Leiden had the opportunity to attend the Nobel Laureate Meeting in L...

What do you do when you get the chance to meet Nobel Prize winners in your field? You say ‘yes’, of course! Two young chemists from Leiden had the opportunity to attend the Nobel Laureate Meeting in Lindau, Germany. They share what the experience was like.

Astronomers and surgeons join forces in the operating theatre Astronomers and surgeons from Leiden are collaborating with industry to develop an optical instrument that delivers faster, more accurate imaging of tumour tissue and abnormal blood flow during surger...

Astronomers and surgeons from Leiden are collaborating with industry to develop an optical instrument that delivers faster, more accurate imaging of tumour tissue and abnormal blood flow during surgery. The underlying technology comes from research into detecting exoplanets.

Large double planets without a star don’t actually exist Large pairs of planets thought to orbit each other without a star, do not exist after all. That conclude Leiden researchers, after extensive computer modelling and simulations. What the double dots se...

Large pairs of planets thought to orbit each other without a star, do not exist after all. That conclude Simon Portegies Zwart and Erwan Hochart, after extensive computer modelling and simulations. What the double dots seen by the James Webb Space Telescope are, remains a mystery.

This platform is making machine learning more transparent and accessible What began as a PhD project has grown into a website with 120,000 unique visitors each year. With the platform OpenML, researcher Jan van Rijn is contributing to open science, aiming to make machine l...

What began as a PhD project has grown into a website with 120,000 unique visitors each year. With the platform OpenML, researcher @janvanrijn.bsky.social is contributing to open science, aiming to make machine learning more transparent, accessible, and fair.

A material that gets shorter when you pull it (and why that’s useful) When you stretch an elastic band, it gets longer. But imagine a material that actually becomes shorter when you pull on it. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Yet that’s exactly what physicists from Leiden U...

When you stretch an elastic band, it gets longer. But imagine a material that actually becomes shorter when you pull on it. Sounds strange, doesn’t it? Yet that’s exactly what physicists from Leiden University, AMOLF, and ARCNL have managed to create.
@leidenphysics.bsky.social

5 Veni grants for Leiden Science! Congratulations to Leindert Boogaard, Qinyu Chen, Guadalupe Cañas Herrera, Dirk van der Hoeven, and Jana Volaric with your Veni grant from NWO.
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/news/2025...

For the first time, astronomers witness the dawn of a new solar system International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star beyond the Sun. Using the ALMA telescope, in which the European Southern Observatory ...

International researchers have, for the first time, pinpointed the moment when planets began to form around a star. This finding marks the first time a planetary system has been identified at such an early stage in its formation and opens a window to the past of our own Solar System.

This is how astronomers found out how three stars were ejected from star cluster R136 Astronomers led by Simon Portegies Zwart used simulations to reconstruct how three stars were ejected from the star cluster R136, 60,000 years ago. The analysis reveals that five stars were involved i...

Astronomers led by Simon Portegies Zwart used simulations to reconstruct how three stars were ejected from the star cluster R136, 60,000 years ago. The analysis reveals that five stars were involved in the event in the Tarantula Nebula.

European Proof of Concept grants for two Leiden researchers Two Leiden researchers have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants. These grants, each worth EUR 150,000, will help the grantees in their efforts to bridge the gap from basic science to real-life ap...

@sebastianpomplun.bsky.social and Hermen Overkleeft have been awarded ERC Proof of Concept grants. These grants, each worth EUR 150,000, will help the grantees in their efforts to bridge the gap from basic science to real-life applications.

How quantum is your quantum computer? Can you prove whether a large quantum system truly behaves according to the weird and wonderful rules of quantum mechanics — or if it just looks like it does? In a groundbreaking study, physicists fro...

Can you prove whether a large quantum system truly behaves according to the weird and wonderful rules of quantum mechanics — or if it just looks like it does? In a groundbreaking study, physicists from Leiden, Beijing and Hangzhou found the answer to this question.

Leiden scientists join national effort to advance nanomedicine A Dutch consortium has received €6.7 million to accelerate the development of nanomedicines together with patients. Researchers from Leiden University play a key role in the project.

The Dutch consortium NanoMedNL has received €6.7 million to accelerate the development of nanomedicines together with patients. Researchers from Leiden University play a key role in the project.

These students are showing how the Groene Hart can become a little greener Should we be growing rice and building materials instead of grass for cows? From invasive crayfish to cultural heritage and groundwater levels: ten graduating students explored the future of the Groen...

Should we be growing rice and building materials instead of grass for cows? From invasive crayfish to cultural heritage and groundwater levels: ten graduating students explored the future of the Groene Hart, the rural region just outside the cities of Delft, Rotterdam and Leiden where they study.

Newly discovered enzyme could play crucial role in bacterial breakdown of plastics Leiden researchers have discovered an enzyme that helps bacteria feed on everyday plastics. This common enzyme could play a crucial role in future research and eventually in addressing the global plas...

Leiden researchers have discovered an enzyme that helps bacteria feed on everyday plastics. This common enzyme could play a crucial role in future research and eventually in addressing the global plastic crisis. The study was published in Nature Communications.

Binary star reveals: planet formation doesn’t always happen in sync A team of international researchers led by Tomas Stolker in the Netherlands has imaged a young gas giant exoplanet near a 12-million-year-old star. The planet is orbiting a star at which planet format...

A team of international researchers led by Tomas Stolker from Leiden University has imaged a young gas giant exoplanet near a 12-million-year-old star. The planet is orbiting a star at which planet formation has finished, while the same-aged companion star still has a planet-forming disk.

Luijten appointed as Professor of Human-Relevant Risk Assessment of Chemical Substances As of 1 July, toxicologist Mirjam Luijten from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) starts as professor by special appointment at the Leiden Academic Centre for Dr...

As of 1 July, toxicologist Mirjam Luijten from the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) starts as professor by special appointment at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR).

René Kleijn joins UN panel on resource use How can we manage our natural resources more sustainably? That’s the key question behind the United Nations’ International Resource Panel (IRP). The panel recently welcomed a new member: René Kleijn, ...

How can we manage our natural resources more sustainably? That’s the key question behind the United Nations’ International Resource Panel. The panel recently welcomed a new member: René Kleijn, Professor of Industrial Ecology at Leiden University. We asked him three questions about his new role.

Personalised medicine? Then you’ll need to look beyond genetics Why does a medicine work well for one person, but cause side effects in another? Research by Laura de Jong shows that it’s not just our DNA that matters – other medicines and illnesses can also affect...

Why does a medicine work well for one person, but cause side effects in another? Research by Laura de Jong shows that it’s not just our DNA that matters – other medicines and illnesses can also affect how our bodies respond.

Supermassive black holes: how do you study something that is invisible? How are supermassive black holes born? That is the question astronomer Elena Maria Rossi is trying to answer. But how do you investigate something you cannot see?

How are supermassive black holes born? That is the question astronomer Elena Maria Rossi is trying to answer. But how do you investigate something you cannot see?

Leiden physicists search for ultralight dark matter using a magnetically levitated particle Is it possible to measure subtle oscillations caused by dark matter moving through the earth? A Dutch-American physicist team found a new route to the possible first measurement of dark matter. They s...

Is it possible to measure subtle oscillations caused by dark matter moving through the earth? A Dutch American physicist team found a new route to the possible first measurement of dark matter. They suspended a microscopic magnet inside a superconducting enclosure, cooled to near absolute zero.

Video labs and narratives of future conflicts: two lecturers receive a Comenius Grant Lecturers Marjo de Graauw and Malte Riemann have both received a Comenius Teaching Fellowship.

Lecturers Marjo de Graauw and Malte Riemann have both received a Comenius Teaching Fellowship. The €50,000 grant will enable them and their project teams to carry out an educational innovation project within their teaching at Leiden University.

Anniversary edition of the Leiden Science Run raises record sum for vulnerable children Smiling faces, sweltering heat and a record-breaking donation – that was the Leiden Science Run 2025. On Saturday 21 June, the Leiden Bio Science Park turned bright orange as enthusiastic runners comp...

Smiling faces, sweltering heat and a record-breaking donation – that was the Leiden Science Run 2025. On Saturday 21 June, the Leiden Bio Science Park turned bright orange as enthusiastic runners completed 4.5 kilometres to support research for vulnerable children.

Rubin Observatory reveals first images: with key contributions from Leiden A time-lapse of the universe in more detail than ever before: that’s the aim of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will unveil its first images of the night sky on 23 June. Research...

A time-lapse of the universe in more detail than ever before: that’s the aim of the NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, which will unveil its first images of the night sky on 23 June. Researchers at Leiden Observatory have played a major role in making it all possible:

New assumption-free statistics offer a better choice for many research studies PhD candidate Daniël Gomon has developed statistical methods that could significantly improve research in fields like medicine and demography. ‘Mathematicians don’t like unrealistic assumptions,’ he s...

PhD candidate Daniël Gomon has developed statistical methods that could significantly improve research in fields like medicine and demography. ‘Mathematicians don’t like unrealistic assumptions,’ he says.

#ScienceWonders by Stichting Rino: 500 primary school children learned about #Astronomy, #DrugDevelopment, and #Technology. The grand finale was the spectacular RINO Experiment Battle! This is how kids get excited about science 🎉. @unileiden.bsky.social @leidenscience.bsky.social

Astronomers analyse huge, hot filament of missing normal matter A European team of astronomers, led by Leiden-based researcher Konstantinos Migkas, has uncovered a large filament — a long, thread-like structure — of hot gas connecting four clusters of galaxies. Th...

A European team of astronomers, led by Leiden-based researcher Konstantinos Migkas, has uncovered a large filament of hot gas connecting four clusters of galaxies. This filament is made up of what scientists call the warm-hot intergalactic medium. Read more ⬇️

Bug in open-source code has been floating around for 15 years: ‘This shows how complex security really is’ Researchers at LIACS have found a vulnerability in open-source code that’s been used around the world for over 15 years. They’ve also developed an AI-based tool to fix the problem automatically. ‘You ...

Researchers at LIACS have found a vulnerability in open-source code that’s been used around the world for over 15 years. They’ve also developed an AI-based tool to fix the problem automatically. ‘You really can’t afford to lean back.’

Inês Justo welcomes a full lecture hall to the #LED3Symposium, which was afterwards officially opened by the dean of @leidenscience.bsky.social, Jasper Knoester. He highlights the importance of interdisciplinary interactions, like fostered by LED3, for world-leading science.
#ChemBio #ChemSky