Smarter construction, cleaner energy and greener cities: Last week, we welcomed a high-level delegation at CML. A visit that marks 20 years of Sino-Dutch collaboration on themes that matter.

Leiden researchers can now visualise the connections between brain cells. They do so using a microscopy technique in which Leiden physicists excel. This breakthrough could significantly advance the human quest to understand brain functions.

Physicists at Leiden University are developing smart chips that can be programmed with light. These chips are more energy-efficient than traditional chips because they do not require a constant power supply. For this research, they will receive funding in the coming years.

AI helps us to understand our Universe better, and that role is set to grow. Therefore, ASTRON and Leiden University are establishing a new research field together. Professor by special appointment Joeri van Leeuwen will develop astrophysics-informed AI, and then use it to uncover new astronomy.

Collaborating and learning from other fields – that is what bioinformatician Hannah Augustijn enjoys most about doing research. During her PhD at Leiden University, she developed new ways to search within bacteria for the antibiotics of the future.

Four consortia within the Perspectief programme that include Leiden researchers have received funding to start their research projects. These projects focus on (further) developing technological innovations, with societal and economic impact at their core.

Ten Leiden students have received a prize from the Royal Holland Society of Sciences and Humanities (KHMW). They were nominated by their degree programme.

Maurijn van der Zee searches for insecticides that protect crops without harming wildlife or leaving residues in our food. His GREENSHIELD project received funding from the NWO Open Technology Programme.

Steel production is likely to take up a large portion of our future carbon budget. Capturing CO₂ from coal-based production won’t solve the problem. Technologies that rely on renewables are more effective, but not enough to get to net zero.

Smarter construction, cleaner energy and greener cities: This week, we welcomed a high-level delegation at CML. A visit that marks 20 years of Sino-Dutch collaboration on themes that matter.

How do fats and enzymes in the brain contribute to multiple sclerosis? In his PhD research, Daan van der Vliet combined chemistry and neuroscience to gain new insights into how brain disorders develop.

In early 2026, two new programme directors will begin their roles at FWN. Joost Broekens will take charge of the bachelor’s programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (DSAI), while Sander van Kasteren will become programme director of the MSc in Life Science and Technology (LST).

A massive cryostat, a highly advanced freezer that keeps the sensitive components extremely cold, has arrived in Leiden from Zurich. The device is the largest component of METIS, one of the first instruments for ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT), currently under construction in Chile.

How do opinions form and change in large groups of people? That's not just a sociological question, it's a mathematical one. PhD candidate Federico Capannoli studied opinion dynamics. He defended his thesis on November 19.

Sustainable biotechnology, new insights into genome evolution and combining forces in mathematics. The NWO has awarded grants to these three innovative Leiden research projects in the ENW-M Open Competition.

More CO2 in the atmosphere is making food crops more calorific, less nutritious and potentially more toxic. If we do not intervene, this could cause malnutrition, even in population groups that currently have enough to eat. These are the findings of Leiden research.

Martijn Manson became programme director for the Master’s in Pharmacy this month. He is a pharmacist as well as a lecturer and researcher at the LACDR (Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research). ‘LUMC and LACDR share the responsibility for training the pharmacists of the future.’