Asexual procreation in female wasps leads to an accumulation of genetic mutations, and the shrivelling of their sex organ. Leiden biologist Ken Kraaijeveld published this discovery in Evolution. His research is one of the first experimental studies into the consequences of asexual procreation.

This summer, the Casimir Research School celebrates its first lustrum. To mark the occasion and to commemorate the fact that Hendrik Casimir would be 100 this summer, his widow Josina Casimir-Jonker has endowed the Research School with a fund to support the activities of master's students.

The Covid-19 pandemic has challenged political leaders worldwide, bringing discussion about leadership in times of crisis. In various media outlets, a recurring topic has been the relationship between the gender of a country’s leader and the success of his or her Covid-19 approach. Especially female…

A delegation from the University of Edinburgh recently visited Leiden University to deepen their collaboration. What makes Edinburgh such an attractive partner?

Ionic liquids are important in scientific research because they can apply a lot of charge over a surface. Leiden physicists have now found that the charging process of ionic liquids purely depends on opposite charges attracting each other. Chemical reactions are sometimes involved, but not essential.…

'Every year the courses are different, and there are new things to learn.' The 6th Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics from 18-29 July this year has attracted 120 participants, 90 international and 30 from the Netherlands.

Researchers from Leiden University are working with Ouwehands Zoo to improve our understanding of emotions and intelligence in orangutans. Visitors to the zoo can now watch orangutans as they play with computer touch screens.

Listening to birds and helping science, it is possible. Institute of Biology Leiden (IBL) researchers Karan Odom and Katharina Riebel launched a citizen science project to improve the worldwide documentation of female birdsong.

Call for Papers for the Conference to be held on November 29th and 30th at Leiden University and coordinated by Prof. dr. M.A. (Marcel) Cobussen, involving Keynote speakers Salomé Voegelin, Gascia Ouzounian, Holger Schulze, and Jean-Paul Thibaud.

Science communication is a lot more than writing a column or giving a lecture now and then. The communication itself also has to be firmly based in sound scientific research, is the message of Professor Ionica Smeets in her inaugural lecture.

The Institute for Philosophy has a new Academic Director: on 1 February, James McAllister was succeeded by Douglas Berger. We asked him about his plans.

The Leiden Hortus Botanicus is the oldest botanical garden in the Netherlands. Although perfect for a ramble, it is much more than an open air museum. PhD students carry out their research here and the Hortus makes a serious contribution to biodiversity through the exchange of rare seeds with other…

Middle Eastern Studies, African Studies or International Relations: all examples of studies that are part of Area Studies at the Faculty of Humanities in Leiden. Within Area Studies you study a region and immerse yourself in (complex) subjects of that region, such as cultural uniqueness, conflicts,…

Despite the rain and awful weather, the painting job has been finished within a week. The Van der Waals-state equation is the eighth Leiden wall formula.

Archaeology is also digging with computers. This digital quest to find out how we humans lived in the past is what Karsten Lambers likes doing most. He is the first Professor of Digital and Computational Archaeology in the country. ‘A dream come true.’

If male budgerigars can successfully open a puzzle box with food, they become more attractive to females. Biologist Carel ten Cate and Chinese colleagues publish experimental evidence for this in a paper in Science on 11 January .

On 23 November 2023, the Caribbean Forum, a subgroup of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, joined forces with the EU to launch the Food Security Programme in Guyana. The implementation of this project started in December 2023 and is expected to last for four years.

The Board of Governors of Leiden University has confirmed the appointment of Professor André Gerrits (Institute for History, currently in the field of Russian Politics and History) to the field of International Studies and Global Politics, commencing October 1st 2015.

On Friday the 6th of December, the annual symposium of the IBL was organized at the Buruma theatre (LUMC), Leiden. This year’s theme was “Biological Networks from Molecules to Society”.

In what ways and to which extent are the systems of national administrative law becoming Europeanised? What role do EU legal principles play in this process? Are EU legal principles smoothly absorbed in national law and practice, or do the principles encounter resistance? Which legal principles attract…

Like other big cities, The Hague is facing a severe teacher shortage. A new university teaching degree might help solve this problem. Research has shown that secondary school students would be interested in this option.

The District Court of The Hague announced its judgment on 5 February in the case of SyRI (Systeem Risico Indicatie). Two writers, Privacy rights groups, civil rights lawyers and the largest national labour union had rallied to fight this controversial surveillance system, created and used by the Dutch…

On 25-27 June the Academic Society for Competition Law (ASCOLA) organized its 15th yearly conference discussing the most recent developments in the context of competition law policy.

The 18th-century rediscovery of the three archaic Greek-Doric temples in Paestum in southern Italy turned existing ideas on classical architecture upside down...

For years, Leiden anthropologists are doing fieldwork among the Agta, a hunter-gatherer group of the Northern Philippines. A new government road, which will cut through the Sierra Madre, recently attracted international press attention.

On 8 October, an inspiring session was held at the KOG Building. The session focused on the award-winning book entitled 'The Story of Constitutions' by Professor Wim Voermans, recently published by Cambridge University Press. The event attracted a diverse audience comprising both colleagues and students…

In November 2010, the LEAD Programme organised a public lecture by Dr. Jane Goodall on Leiden University Revisited: Celebration Fifty Years of Gombe Field Research in Tanzania at the Gorlaeus Laboratory of the Faculty of Science, attracting more than 1.100 students and staff.

Within the context of the four national mathematics clusters, NWO has awarded seven proposals for tenure track positions. One of these was on 'Moduli, metrics, models, and arithmetic of Shimura varieties' by Bas Edixhoven from the Leiden Mathematical Institute.

On Tuesday the 29th of November, the SBB Studentboard organized the third SBB Colloquium Night. Max, Guido, Niek, Yiyu and Dennis presented their internships, five topics covering many facets of the Science Based Business courses.

Landen proberen steeds strengere maatregelen te nemen om minder aantrekkelijk te worden voor asielzoekers. Mark Klaassen, universitair docent vreemdelingenrecht, noemt het Europese asielbeleid in de Volkskrant ‘een race naar beneden.’

It can seem like an almost childish mistake, but a surprising number of adults confuse left from right. Neuroscientists are only just starting to know more about directional and navigation and understand why it is so difficult to distinguish left from right . Ineke van der Ham is an expert on navigation.…

On Wednesday the 4th of September, Queen Máxima opened the renovated tropical greenhouse complex of the Leiden Hortus Botanicus. At the occasion Máxima met with IBL-PhD student Mahin Ghorbani from Iran and talked with her about her work on drug discovery from Iranian medicinal plants using zebrafish…

Prof. Iris Wuisman was invited to be a speaker at the inaugural conference of the Partnership, LLP and LLC Academic Forum in Nottingham on 5th April together with David Milman, Geoffrey Morse, Jonathan Hardman, Jason Ellis, Brett Freundenberg and Marco Speranzin.

What languages do you speak? According to Felienne Hermans, ‘Python’ could be an answer to this question. Hermans studies how people learn to program at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS) of Leiden University. In an article of the NewScientist she explains why programming is similar…

Ontwerpers en onderzoekers gaan bij het verzamelen van data vaak uit van mannen als ze mensen bedoelen. Dat is onhandig en onveilig.

‘Broad Implications of Climate Change in East Africa in terms of Human and Animal Futures’

De bevolkingsgroei daalt, de fiscale voordelen voor expats zijn niet aantrekkelijk genoeg en te weinig geschikte arbeidskrachten. Peter Wennink van techreus ASML, is niet blij met het ondernemersklimaat in Nederland. ASML dreigt met een vertrek naar het buitenland.

De Organisatie voor Economische Samenwerking en Ontwikkeling (OESO) komt met een nieuw plan voor de aanpak van belastingontwijking.

Children have the right to play and relax. Games, social media and video platforms are attractive new ways to do that. However, hardly any online games are designed specifically for children, nor do they factor in children's rights.

Frans Stoelinga defended his thesis on 19 November 2020.

The project’s main aim was to build a reconstruction of a prehistoric house plan, without using any metal tools. How effective are tools made of stone, flint, bone, antler and wood? What are the constraints imposed by the various building materials? How much labour do we need and how much knowledge…

Description of Effects of glufosinate-ammonium on off crop vegetation.

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Alexander Kros studies supramolecular systems in a biological environment. The unifying theme between the projects in my lab is specific molecular recognition, i.e. the intermolecular interaction between complementary molecules with high affinity and selectivity. Studying, imitating and dissecting processes…

LUCAS offers education, guidance, and development opportunities to PhD candidates researching the relationships between the arts and society, in fields aligned with one of our three research clusters. We are strongly committed to high-quality, innovative research conducted with integrity. The Institute…

The doors of the new Gorlaeus Building are officially open! With an additional lab wing, new lecture halls and offices, a library, a brasserie, and spaces for student associations, the building offers a vibrant and inspiring environment for research, study, and social interaction. Explore on your…

Science, Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC), Leiden Institute of Physics (LION)

Humanities, Institute for Area Studies