522 search results for “light pollution” in the Public website
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Celebrating the International Day of Light in the Old Observatory
On 16 May the first International Day of Light was celebrated all around the globe. Initiated by UNESCO, organisations in 87 different countries set up a total of more than 600 events to embrace the vital role of light and related technologies in science. In the Old Observatory in Leiden visitors could…
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Ultra-thin material absorbs all the light
It appears to be a paradox: ultra-thin material that absorbs all the incident light. Nonetheless, it does exist. Two Leiden researchers report on their research in ‘Applied Physics Letters’. The article is among the Top 20 of the most downloaded articles of this reputable journal in May.
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Can humans observe a single particle of light? (And what does that say about our brain?)
Hoping to learn something about the human brain, Leiden researchers are creating a setup to shoot single photons, particles of light, into someone’s eye. ‘The eye is a passageway to the brain.’
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Anjali Pandit
Science
a.pandit@chem.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 4198
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Oana Georgiana Rus-Oswald
Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen
o.g.rus@fsw.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 2727
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Capturing polarised light in the search for alien plants
A new way to decipher the light from distant worlds could give us unmistakable evidence of extraterrestrial photosynthesis, and maybe alien plants, finds astronomy author Colin Stuart in the New Scientist. In his article, he describes the work of the group led by Leiden astronomer Rob van Holstein.…
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Tracers that light up tumours help surgeons
How do surgeons avoid causing nerve damage or leaving cancerous cells behind? An interdisciplinary research group at the LUMC hopes to improve operations and make them less invasive with the aid imaging techniques. They are working with medical companies to make these techniques widely available.
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A celebration of light, peace and the night sky
The International Day of Light (IDL) celebrates the ubiquitous role light has in our lives. From Argentina to South Africa, Japan and Pakistan, several events have taken place across all continents on May 16. The date is a token for people around the globe to connect with the importance of light in…
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Physicists image individual molecules by watching them absorb light
Molecules are extremely hard to see in visible light, especially without using fluorescence. Leiden physicists have now made their optical technique sensitive enough to image the molecules of their interest in all sizes. Publication in Nanoletters.
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Einstein’s light dances and spins in Leiden
The documentary Einstein’s Light by director Nickolas Barris shows in a dazzling manner what scientific breakthroughs resulted from the special friendship between Albert Einstein and the Leiden physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz. The documentary premiered at the Leiden International Film Festival on 2…
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Chemotherapy without side effects? It’s possible, with light
Nausea, neurologic pain and hair loss: some of the severe side effects of chemotherapy. Not necessary, biochemist Liyan Zhang showed. Together with Leiden biologists and others, she achieved great results with a drug that is only active in combination with light. Zhang will defend her PhD on 4 July.
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This is how physicists use light to build complex structures
Petr Steindl works on quantum dots in microcavities for his PhD research. He manipulates single-photons to create complex structures of light. Applications could include quantum communication and gates for quantum computers.
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Light particles lined up one after the other
In Leiden, light particles march into Wolfgang Löffler’s experiments one by one. His research focuses on acquiring the fundamental knowledge needed to develop quantum computers and networks.
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Shedding light on the dark side of the universe
It must be there. We just cannot see it: mysterious dark matter and dark energy in the universe. Henk Hoekstra is one of the many cosmologists who would love to know what exactly these substances consist of. He has received a European research grant of 1.3 euro million to find out.
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Light and transparent: grand opening of the revamped third floor
The ‘New Way of Working’ has become a reality at Leiden Law School with light, transparent and flexible workspaces, Rector Carel Stolker said at the grand opening of the revamped third floor of the Kamerlingh Onnes Gebouw.
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New light on innate plant immunity
Plants are able to resist a pathogen’s attack by a dual innate immune system. The relationship between the two pathways was not clear, but it turns out that they mutually potentiate each other, as assistant professor Pingtao Ding (Institute of Biology Leiden) and colleagues (The Sainsbury Laboratory,…
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Bacteria growing on light and air: a revolution for biotechnology?
Research to experiment with bacteria that grow like plants has been granted the NWO XS grant. These bacteria use light and carbon dioxide to grow, and will be designed especially for use in the biotechnological field. Tijn Delzenne and his supervisor Dennis Claessen can spend 50.000 euros on the exp…
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Scattering and absorption in 2D optics
Scattering of light in the presence of nano-structured materials, i.e. with features in the order of the wavelength of the light or smaller, reveals details of how light interacts with matter at the nanoscale.
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SKY HIGH: Vertical farming a revolution in plant production
As a new vision on food production, the feasibility study on LED light to grow crops with the biological- and chemical evaluation of final products.
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Testing of a malaria vaccine gets the green light
Researchers at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) and Radboud university medical center have been given the green light to deliberately infect volunteers with malaria in order to test a highly promising vaccine on them.
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European collaboration shines a light on enzyme discovery for industry
A European consortium has provided a disruptive technological breakthrough to allow the discovery and characterization of novel enzymes for industrial biotechnology. The technology will open the way to more efficient industrial processes such as in the biofuel, animal feed and paper and pulp industr…
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Space mission for gravitational waves gets green light
The European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the proposal for gravitational wave detector LISA. The launch for the space detector is planned in 2034. ‘A dream that comes true,’ says astronomer Elena Maria Rossi.
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Projects
Current clients
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Biodiversity
In Leiden University's Vision on Sustainability 2030, biodiversity (biological diversity) is an important focus in its teaching and research and on its campuses.
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Making Environmental Regulation Work for the People
The project’s overall goal is to improve Indonesia’s environmental legal framework and its implementation by strengthening the regulatory capacity of the government, and by enhancing the capacity of CSOs and scholars to hold the government accountable for its regulatory performance.
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Seeing the Romans - and ourselves - in a different light
Globalisation means becoming globalised, a process in which material culture plays a crucial role. This is what Miguel John Versluys, the new Professor of Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology, teaches. He bases his teaching on research into the origin and growth of the Roman Empire from the 3rd…
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Research into grave goods sheds new light on traditional roles
New archaeological research into grave goods and skeletal material from the oldest grave field in the Netherlands shows that male-female roles 7,000 words ago were less traditional than was thought. The research was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers led by Archol, the National Museum…
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How do you make citizen science successful?
Mapping out the problem of plastic pollution requires a lot of data over a large area. That's why scientists are increasingly turning to volunteers for help, also known as citizen science. But what are the challenges for a researcher when he or she involves the public in research in this way? Four Leiden…
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Italy’s green light to ship boat migrants to Albania
Italian PM Meloni’s election promise to limit the number of boat migrants entering the country looks like being fulfilled with help from Albania. A deal was recently approved that provides for two reception centres for asylum seekers in Albania. Dr Mark Klaassen, an expert in immigration law, questioned…
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Sylvestre Bonnet
Science
bonnet@chem.leidenuniv.nl | +31 71 527 4260
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Zebrafish embryos and larvae as a complementary model for behavioural research
Promotor: Prof.dr. M.K. Richardson
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Green Light from the Advisory Board Legal Technologies program
Technological developments are rapidly advancing. The Leiden Legal Technologies Program was on the agenda of the Advisory Committee at their second meeting held on 15 October. The decision to start the program in January 2021 was taken unanimously. It was the official moment to announce the completion…
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Green light for master's programme Governance of Sustainability
In September 2019, the first students will start the new master's programme Governance of Sustainability. The programme has received an official accreditation from the Accreditation Organisation of The Netherlands and Flanders.
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Sylvestre Bonnet receives an ERC grant for light-activated chemotherapy
Chemist Sylvestre Bonnet has received a Proof of Concept grant from the European Research Council (ERC). With the grant of 150,000 euros, Bonnet will investigate whether chemotherapy that is activated by light can be used against eye cancer.
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Exhibition at the KOG: 'Plastic Justice – A creative take on plastic and law'
From 3 to 13 December you can see the exhibition Plastic Justice at the Kamerlingh Onnes Building. Esther Kentin, coördinator of the Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic, saw the exhibition at the Plastic Health Summit and initiated a collaboration with the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.
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First edition of photo magazine Writing with Light Magazine OpenAccess available
Writing with Light Magazine. Issue no.1 is now available for download as a open access pdf/interactive edition or purchase as limited-run print edition. The magazine builds on our prior work with the journals Cultural Anthropology and Visual Anthropology Review and the editorial collective consists…
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What to focus on for a clean environment?
The earth has more than 7 billion inhabitants, all of whom leave behind traces of pollution. However, not all forms of pollution have the same harmful effect. Leiden scientists help determine where we should put our priorities.
- Institute of Urban Environment
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Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic
The Leiden Advocacy Project on Plastic (LAPP) is a pro bono initiative concerning legal questions on plastics and is founded to address and research the legal issues related to plastic pollution.
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Machine learning-based NO2 estimation from seagoing ships using TROPOMI/S5P satellite data
The marine shipping industry is one of the strongest emitters of nitrogen oxides (NOx), a pollutant detrimental to ecology and human health. Over the last 20 years, the pollution produced by power plants, the industry sector, and cars has been decreasing.
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Leiden archaeologist investigates washed up plastics with National Geographic grant
Roberto Arciero is part of RESPIRE project (Research Educational and Storytelling Project in Italian Remote Ecosystem), an international and interdisciplinary research team led by Martina Capriotti (University of Camerino) that received the National Geographic Meridian grant. Among the different topics,…
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Arabic papyri shed new light on origins of Islam
Research on papyri has provided new insights into the history of the origins of Islam. Petra Sijpesteijns’s book,'Shaping a Muslim State', is based on these ancient Arabic letters and documents. Her new research on a Viennese collection of untranslated papyri is expected to produce more discoveries.
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Fighting cancer with light (and a drug that self-assembles into nanoparticles)
Chemotherapy that does not harm the body, but effectively fights cancer cells: that is the goal of chemist Sylvestre Bonnet and his team. During his PhD research, chemist Xuequan Zhou brought that goal a little closer. He developed molecules that, upon injection in the bloodstream, self-assemble into…
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A close view of a light-stress sensor in photosynthesis
Plants use sunlight to perform photosynthesis, but with too much light they have to dim their activity and protect their cells against photo damage. The protein PsbS acts as a light-stress sensor and plays a key role in this process. Article in Nature’s Scientific Reports.
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Thierry Rohmer received Ernst Award for elucidating the light-switch of plants
PhD student Thierry Rohmer received the Ernst Award 2009 of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker (GDCh) for his publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the USA on the structure-function relation of the photoreceptor phytochrome. The prize was presented at the Annual Discussion…
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Air Quality in the Picture
In the summer of 2023, interested parties set out to map air quality in Leiden. Using a technique by British artist Robin Price, they made the invisible visible to start the conversation about the importance of good air quality.
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Interactions of nutrients and pesticides and their effects on aquatic macrofauna
Can we distinguish the effects of pesticides from other abiotic and biotic factors that occur in the field? And how do these factors interact with pesticides?
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Dust cloud from two colliding ice planets dims light of parent star
For the first time, an international group of astronomers have seen the heat glow of two ice giant planets colliding. They could also observe the resultant dust cloud move in front of the parent star several years later. Led by Leiden astronomer Matthew Kenworthy, they monitored the star's brightness…
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Students make podcasts about micro- and bioplastics
Four Master's students Science Communication & Society made two podcasts on the theme Plastic for the end project of their study programme. With the podcasts, they helped the Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) to draw attention to plastic pollution. And that was harder than it seemed. 'Be sure to test…
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Combining art and science in the recovery of Ukraine
How wonderful would it be to use art, technology and science in Ukraine's recovery? Young Ukrainians currently residing in Poland get guidance to develop creative programmes and activities that can later be implemented. Leiden astronomers Pedro Russo and Kateryna Frantseva cooperate in the project.