153 search results for “cell and” in the Student website
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Can Parkinson's be stopped by unravelling protein fibres? Anne Wentink finds out with a Vidi grant from NWO
In brain diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, proteins clump together to form fibres. ‘Chaperone proteins’ unravel those fibres, but in the test tube biochemist Anne Wentink saw that this can also cause new problems. She is going to find out what happens inside cells to determine what a drug…
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Iprotics Wins the Venture Challenge Spring 2022
The winner of the 2022 Spring edition of the NWO Venture Challenge was announced during the Dutch Biotech Event. The innovative startup Iprotics has developed specific proteasome inhibitors that potentially treat multiple myeloma (MM) without the side-effects known from traditional proteasome inhibi…
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New protein inhibitors against cancer? Unilever Research Prize for Aukje Beers
Aukje Beers combined theory and practice, as well as chemistry, biology, and computer models. In this way, she discovered two protein inhibitors during her master’s project that could contribute to the development of a new cancer drug. For her research, Beers received the Unilever Research Prize on…
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Msc Thesis presentation Georgia Kefala on Thursday 2 February @ 9 am in DM.0.17-PC
Education
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Funding for four Leiden studies in the fight against arthritis
Four researchers from Leiden University will receive funding from arthritis foundation ReumaNederland over the next five years. This should facilitate long-term research into arthritis.
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Targeting the immune system to inhibit atherosclerosis
A new treatment for atherosclerosis showed promising results in isolated cells but proved to be less effective in initial animal tests. Bachelor student Biopharmaceutical Sciences Willemijn van der Heijden aimed to understand why. She investigated whether the formation of a protein layer around the…
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Not wrapping but folding: Bacteria also organise their DNA (but they do it a bit differently)
Some bacteria, it turns out, have proteins much like ours that organise the DNA in their cells. They just do it a bit differently. This is revealed by new research from biochemists at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry and the Max Planck Institute for Biology. The discovery helps us better understand…
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Biological Origami at molecular level: folding a single protein
Human cells are protecting their proteins from unfolding and aggregating. That's what biophysicist Alireza Mashaghi and his team discovered after seven years of in-depth research into the folding mechanisms of proteins. With an unprecedented approach, the team was able to study the folding of a single…
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Algorithms can also learn without examples
In donut-shaped buildings, particle accelerators take super-detailed X-ray images. Yet those images are not good enough to learn how to drive on hydrogen for example. Mathematics PhD student Allard Hendriksen has developed an algorithm that improves the images without having to learn from data from…
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Hoe meer tijd, hoe beter de nier
Donororganen zijn er nooit genoeg. De organen die wel beschikbaar zijn, moeten vliegensvlug getransplanteerd worden. De geneeskunde zet daarom volop in op het langer goedhouden van organen. Marlon de Haan (24) onderzoekt hoe je nieren buiten het lichaam in leven kunt houden.
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Leideners and researchers learn from each other at the Science Market
3 October University has become something of a tradition: a bit of science among the Leidens Ontzet celebrations. During the new and improved edition, the WetenschapsWarenMarkt (Science Market), visitors spoke to researchers about the nitrogen problem, making organs and the city’s connections with A…
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Arteriosclerosis and drug discovery: two young researchers win Krijn Rietveld Award for innovative research
One discovered that arteriosclerosis resembles an autoimmune disease, while the other developed a system to aid in the search for new medications. For these achievements, Marie Depuydt and Jurren de Groot were awarded the Krijn Rietveld Memorial Innovation Award on the evening of Tuesday 4 June.
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Why you should publish negative data
As a bachelor student of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences, Femke Vlaswinkel wrote a research proposal she was allowed to carry out in her master’s BPS. Femke subsequently graduated with honors. Her research was published in the journal Scientific Reports, she won an award from the Dutch Pharmacy Society…
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Better treatment of systemic autoimmune diseases requires close collaboration
Exceptional collaboration between physicians is needed to better understand and treat autoimmune diseases that cause inflammation in various organ systems.
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'We aim to continue innovating technologically, but in a relevant manner'
Professor Amir Zadpoor is developing biomaterials, and engaging in 3D, 4D, and bioprinting. 'Collaboration and regular contact with clinicians serve as a sanity check for all our ideas.'
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Two thesis awards for research on electrochemical reactions
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.
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New professor Luca Giomi creates his own physics of living systems
Swarms of drones, pedestrians or the cells in your body. Those are all examples of active matter: materials whose building blocks can move autonomously. That’s what Luca Giomi studies. Giomi has been appointed Professor of theoretical physics in the area of soft matter and biological physics at the…
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How drugs work better when encapsulated in nanoparticles
Chemist Tobias Bauer discovered ways to improve drugs by encapsulating them. Packages with iron nanoparticles, for example, can stimulate immune cells. Bauer will receive his PhD on 9 June.
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Why stress could be good for you
Acute stress seems to have a surprisingly positive effect on our health. Researcher Erin Faught received an NWO veni grant to find out why that is and how we can use that knowledge to our advantage. For her lab research, she uses a remarkable small animal to learn more about our own stress levels.
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MSc Research presentation Sander Kammeraat on Friday 14 July @14h30
Education
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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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Bioart plays with genetic building blocks
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.
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Special nanoparticles for cancer therapy! Will you help?
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.
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Sibel Bahtiri is one of the new Faces of Science: ‘I want to show how we’re finding alternatives to animal testing’
PhD candidate Sibel Bahtiri is one of the new Faces of Science. In videos and blogs, she will show what life is like as a young researcher.
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Internships, research, fieldwork, summer schools and more
internship, research project, fieldwork, summer school, conference, excursion, field trip, thesis
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These Science students excelled and won a KHMW Young Talent Prize
No fewer than seven Leiden FWN students received a Young Talent Award from the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences on Monday, 29 November. Mark van den Bosch and Karlijn Kruiswijk won a graduation prize, a group of young astronomers won the ET Outreach Award and the other five students each received an…
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Vici grants for seven researchers from Leiden University
From research on stellar winds to sign language: an impressive seven researchers from Leiden University will receive a prestigious Vici grant from the Dutch Research Council (NWO).
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Improving safety assessment of nanoparticles
How safe are the nanoparticles in transparent sunscreen, anti-odour socks and bacteria-resistant plasters? Although microbes are present on all organisms, the tools that estimate the safety of nanomaterials still hardly take them into account. Bregje Brinkmann explored the role of these microbes during…
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‘We cannot abandon coronavirus measures until vaccines are shown to prevent virus transmission too’
All acute care staff at Leiden University Medical Center have received their first and sometimes even their second dose of the coronavirus vaccine. But how long will you be protected after vaccination and what does the genetic material of the virus do in the vaccine? Our virologists Ann Vossen and Leo…
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Students work on bacterium that makes sustainable plastic
A group of biology students are working on a solution to the world’s plastics problem by getting bacteria to make biodegradable plastic.
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A quirky block of rubber as a calculator
PhD candidate Jiangnan Ding explores how you can design a thick slab of rubber in a way that it might act as a mechanical computer bit. This so-called mechanical metamaterial is pushed in a specific way to change its shape. ‘With a very simple material, we might be able to do simple calculations in…
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Promising new technique to treat cancer receives NWO grant
Biological chemist Nathaniel Martin and his team received an NWO grant to examine how blocking a specific enzyme in our body, NNMT, could be helpful in the treatment of some cancers. Trials with mice have been promising, and together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Martin wants to take the next…
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Anne Urai on her Veni subsidy and open science
Neuroscientist Anne Urai has been awarded a Veni subsidy to further develop her ideas over the coming four years on how the brain makes choices. Why did she receive the award? Urai answers five questions about her Veni grant for young researchers.
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NWO-XS grants for two innovative research projects
Two Leiden Science researchers received an NWO-XS grant for their research. Both projects are highly promising, but also high-risk. Macrophages that trap bacteria and data storage made from 2D materials convinced the board of their potential.
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Making the invisible visible with ‘click chemistry’
Sander van Kasteren (Professor of Molecular Immunology) makes the invisible visible. He will explain more in his inaugural lecture.
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How Oncode-PACT is bringing new cancer medicines closer with 325 million in Growth Fund money
How can you ensure that more experimental drugs reach the finish line? At the moment, only one in twenty cancer drugs that are tested on humans makes it to the market. This is an enormous loss for patients and society. With a grant from the National Growth Fund, Oncode-PACT aims to efficiently select…
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€10.6 million for innovative toolboxes to tackle brain cancer
Researchers at the Universities of Amsterdam (Uva) and Leiden together with the Netherlands Cancer Institute and Oncode Institute have received a €10,6 million ERC Synergy Grant to develop innovative therapeutic approaches to target glioblastoma. This is a deadly primary brain tumour for which no curing…
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Artificial intelligence helps in the search for new antibiotics
With the search for new antibiotics becoming increasingly urgent, artificial intelligence offers valuable help. Smart software developed by Leiden PhD candidate Alexander Kloosterman searched genomes of bacteria and found clusters of DNA that code for proteins that have an antibiotic effect. ‘This new…
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Fighting gliobastoma brain tumours with two grants
Few researchers see potential in research on glioblastoma, an incurable brain tumour. Alexander Kros brought together colleagues who are up to the challenge. European research funder ERC recently made 10.6 million euros available, a year earlier NWO provided 3 million euros. ‘In six years, we certainly…
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A lifeline for Leiden research – TB solution a step closer thanks to this Indonesian university
Herman Spaink knows of many substances that may help combat tuberculosis. Lab space to study them safely is very limited in Leiden. A brand-new lab at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Indonesia will soon provide a solution. About time, says Spaink, ‘The disease is on the rise and is becoming less sensitive…
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Vidi grants for eight researchers from Leiden University
Eight scientists from Leiden University have been awarded a grant by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With this Vidi funding, the researchers can set up an innovative line of research and further expand their own research group over the next five years.
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Improving nature’s antibiotic
'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…
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How NeCEN helped develop the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine
The Phase 3 clinical trial results of the promising Covid-19 vaccine of Johnson & Johnson are expected this month. The Dutch electron microscopy facility NeCEN helped develop the company’s vaccine, and they have now published their scientific findings in Nature Communications.
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Meet the professor: ‘Can my sister be prosecuted for stealing my eraser?’
On the university’s birthday, professors teach a class of 10 and 11-year-olds during Meet the Professor. The professors were bombarded with questions.
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In conversation with the head of the rodent facility
Before patients can take a pill, scientists often spend years in the lab developing and testing a candidate drug. That often includes experiments with laboratory animals. As head of the rodent facility, Ilze Bot and her colleagues ensure that these experiments are conducted in an ethically responsible…
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Seven Leiden professors elected new members of KNAW
Seven Leiden professors have been elected as members of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). In total 23 new members will be inaugurated on Monday 13 September.
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‘Ultimately, the goal is to develop antibiotics for tuberculosis with a lower risk of resistance’
Tuberculosis stands as one of the most lethal infectious diseases worldwide. A significant challenge in combatting tuberculosis lies in the emergence of antibiotic resistance triggered by genetic alterations, commonly known as mutations. These mutations can diminish the responsiveness to antibiotics,…
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Scouring the brain for causes of psychiatric illnesses
What happens in the brains of people with psychiatric illnesses? With a €23.23 million gravity grant, scientists from different fields will search for biological causes over the next decade. ‘By joining forces, we hope to improve diagnosis and treatment for patients with these diseases.’
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Unique exhibition translates science into music, images and dance
Leiden researchers from different disciplines look together at complex social problems. What happens when they join forces with artists? The results could be seen on Tuesday 11 June during a unique exhibition. Take a look for yourself:
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From droplets in the freezer to the inception of a potent new antibiotic
What started as an idea during a social gathering led to an unexpected breakthrough in research on resistant bacteria. Biologists and chemists from Leiden developed a new substance that proves to be effective against bacteria resistant to antibiotics. They published their discovery in Nature Chemist…