Promotor: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Co-Promotor: G.J. Herczeg

How can mega sand nourishments, such as the Sand Motor, be designed and managed for optimal ecosystem services provision ?

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.…

Promotors: Prof.dr. P.G.L. Klinkhamer, Prof.dr. P.M. Brakefield

Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a gram-negative plant pathogen belonging to the family Rhizobiaceae, is the causative agent of crown gall disease, which can affect many plant species including agronomically important ones.

How to improve the method in quantifying the combined effects of metal-based chemicals?

Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) is a promising method for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and simultaneously generating energy. Yet this method is controversial, as it may require a great deal of land and water. Researchers at Leiden University have now proposed a…

The name ‘Jambi flora’ refers to fossil plants found as part of a rock formation from the Early Permian (296 million years old), located in the Jambi Province of Sumatra, Indonesia.

Uncover novel antimicrobials with prospective health benefits for sea turtles.

From 1550 onwards, a great interest in the natural world developed across Europe. This interest was not only stimulated by a growing knowledge of local flora and fauna, but also by the import of numerous exotic animal and plant species. Think, for instance, of researches and collectors like Gessner…

Freshwater is an important resource, but at a great risk of species decline due to habitat loss, pollution and over-exploitation, and invasive alien species.

This thesis aims to investigate the effect of tripartite interaction between microbial inoculants, the plant, and herbivore insects on the rhizosphere microbiome and volatilome. We investigated the rhizosphere microbiome and volatilome of tomato plants exposed to insect herbivory and/or inoculated with…

As we are working very hard to make our University more green, it is of upmost importance that you join us in our battle and start increasing the local biodiversity from your own house! Every bit will help, it is beneficial for you own mental health and most importantly it is fun! We have created this…

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…

Can we use indigenous microbial rice communities to reduce methane production in agricultural settings?

Supervisor: P.J.J. Hooykaas

Plants not only sense when they are touched, but they can also adapt to it. For example, by strengthening or defending themselves. But how do plants do this? The Green TE (Green Tissue Engineering) consortium has been granted a Gravitation grant of almost 23 million euros to investigate exactly this…

Leiden and Austrian researchers have succeeded in further uncovering how a plant cell passes on the growth hormone auxin in a directional manner to the next cell. Three proteins that cling together in a bunch appear to be essential for this important transport process. ‘This discovery solves a crucial…

The Dutch cabinet formation – a process that has now been underway for five months – is at a standstill for the time being. Formation discussion leaders Elbert Dijkgraaf and Richard van Zwol are due to publish their report in mid-May. Wim Voermans, Professor of Constitutional Law, updates listeners…

Dr. Kirsten Leiss and Prof. Peter Klinkhamer received 900.000 euro’s from “Stichting Toegepaste Wetenschappen (STW)” and the company “Rijk Zwaan” to develop plants that are resistant to thrips, a major agricultural pest all over the world.

The strange tropical plants belonging to the Corsiaceae family first emerged millions of years ago on the supercontinent of Gondwana. That is what Leiden University researcher Constantijn Mennes concludes in an article in the Journal of Biogeography.

National Meat Free Week (Nationale Week Zonder Vlees, 7–13 March) is an initiative to reduce meat consumption. Assistant professor Paul Behrens is studying what impact a change in our food consumption would have on the world. What, according to him, are the main reasons to switch to a (mainly) plant-based…

Promotor: Prof.dr. A.G.G.M. Tielens, Prof.dr. C. Dominik (UvA)

In 2005, the LEAD Programme organised and coordinated the International Exhibition on ‘Jamu: Medicinal Plants for Health and Conservation in Indonesia’ in collaboration with Universitas Padjadjaran (UNPAD) in Bandung, Indonesia, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania (MAICH) in Chania, Crete,…

How do the starchy botanical foodways reflect upon previous archaeological understandings in the northern and circum-Caribbean?

Many hot, rocky planets outside of our own solar system started out as large, gaseous Neptunes. This is what astronomers at Leiden University contend in a recent online publication.

The work presented in this thesis is based on ALMA surveys of protoplanetary disks in three star-forming regions: Lupus, OMC-2, and NGC 2024.

The Belgian elections are over. Now it is up to the formateur to form a cabinet, but that is difficult. Fauke Deceuninck, program leader of Politics and Governance at the Center for Professional Learning, explains to Speechmakers why that is.

Diverse types of exoplanets such as gas giants on close-in orbits (hot Jupiters) and young massive giants on wide orbits (super Jupiters), with no analogs in the Solar System, pose challenges but also opportunities to our understanding of planet formation and evolution.

Promotores: Prof.dr. E.F. van Dishoeck, Prof.dr. C.P. Dullemond

Almost 100 billion tons of CO₂ could be pulled out of the atmosphere by the end of the century. That is, if high-income countries switch to a plant-based diet. The double carbon profit of returning farmland to its natural state would equal about 14 years’ worth of agricultural emissions, researchers…

Pieter Omtzigt, leader of the ‘Nieuw Sociaal Contract’ (‘New Social Contract’) party, has withdrawn from talks to form a new Dutch government. Government finances are a divisive issue, and Ronald Plasterk’s decision to withhold documents on government finances seems to have particularly broken trust.…

LED3 is the combined effort of three excellent institutes of Leiden University. Through joined hands, we are able to give rise to a more effective early drug discovery pipeline. Let us briefly introduce the three institutes.

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…

Paul Behrens and his team have won the Frontiers Planet Prize of half a million euros for their research into the effects of switching to a plant-based diet.

Professors Jos Raaijmakers (NIOO) and Gilles Van Wezel (IBL) received an STW Perspectief- grant of €3 million from the Dutch Technology Foundation and several supporting companies.

After decades of intensive farming, the peatland area is under pressure. Researchers, farmers and policymakers work together in the Polderlab to identify future-proof types of agriculture. ‘It’s unbelievable how quickly the system bounces back without intensive fertilisation.’

The sustainable production of hydrogen could potentially be made more efficient by adding a cleverly chosen salt to the process. Researchers at the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), in collaboration with physicists at the University of Twente, have discovered that the type of salt present in the…

In every parliamentary system, people vote on political parties during an election instead of a president. It is very unlikely that one party gets the majority of the parliament. Therefore, a government is formed by negotiations between parties. In Belgium, this process is far more complicated than…

Circumstellar discs are the reservoirs of gas and dust that surround young stars and have the potential to become planetary systems.

During the Leiden Science Family Day, you can take part in various workshops. You can also watch various demonstrations. Where will you go?

Our education programmes span the entire spectrum of Animal Sciences, Evolution, Biodiversity and Conservation, Microbial Biotechnology and Plant Sciences.