Videos

How would you feel if you were always labeled as "non-Dutch-speaking", even though you often use Dutch throughout the day? Graziela Dekeyser (KU Leuven) is doing research on emotions in multilingualism.

When we say Paris, you probably have a vivid image of the city, and think of the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramid of the Louvre - even if you've never been there. "We remember cities and are fascinated by them, even before we visit them - through photography." But what image do you have of the lesser-known 'Little Paris', the city of Bucharest?

What if you only had 15 months to live? Hard to imagine, right? Yet every day, around 1,000 people worldwide hear this news. The verdict: glioblastoma, a malignant brain tumor. Yet a small group of patients manages to survive for more than 10 years with such a brain tumor. Brecht Decraene wants to finds out why.

You might think that slavery is something from the past, but it's not. Even today over 40 million people are being exploited through prostitution, forced labor or organ trade globally. There is a lot of research on human trafficking, but little attention is paid to the experiences of victims afterward. Through interviews, Victoria Wozniak-Cole is giving them a voice. She hopes to better understand the negative treatment they get and help break the stigma they face.

Our memory does not work like a video camera. We can remember details or entire events that we never actually experienced. This phenomenon is called 'false memories' and it can be problematic in court, where the decision of whether someone is guilty or not can rely entirely on memory evidence. Charlotte Bücken researches if memory for negative events can be compromised by false denials.

Meet Karimi Solomon, a researcher at KU Leuven - FWO. Karimi studies the aroma of apples. Does that mean he sniffs apples all day long? Not exactly. Watch the video to hear Karimi explain why & how he studies the aroma of apples.

Did you know that the sea can penetrate our lands and water resources unnoticed? Today, we find that saltwater in our polders, up to several kilometers inland. This salt water can make agricultural land and water supplies unusable. To find out exactly how far inland and how deep the saltwater problem reaches, Wouter Deleersnyder and his colleagues use a helicopter, a giant metal detector, and their knowledge of physics & geology. How all of this works, is explained by Wouter in this video.

Why do cancer patients relapse despite receiving treatment? This is often due to dormant cancer cells. These cells lie dormant in the body and manage to escape treatment, for example, chemotherapy. Can substances from camel and llama blood provide a breakthrough?

What to do when you want to charge your car and the only source of energy you have are solar panels, but the sun is not shining? In her research Brida Mbuwir (VITO - Energyville) is looking for ways to solve this mismatch between green electricity generation and electricity consumption in large buildings. Listen to her explain how in this video.

In Belgium, we grow a lot of potatoes. Unfortunately, potato plants are very susceptible to diseases. To prevent the spread of diseases, farmers spray their entire potato field with pesticides. Ruben Van De Vijver (ILVO) wants to use drones and artificial intelligence to spray only sick plants. Find out more in the video.

Saving good microbes from starvation. That is the aim of the research carried out by Marina Perdigao Elisiario (VITO - TU Delft). This is necessary because the microbes she works with can help us in the fight against climate change. They are very good at converting greenhouse gases such as CO2 and carbon monoxide into biofuels. Unfortunately, with the current techniques, they die of starvation too often and too quickly. Marina is working on a new technique to overcome this.

The production of renewable energy has increased significantly in recent years. But the sun doesn't always shine as brightly, nor does the wind always blow. Fortunately, we can exchange electricity between different countries. This way, Germany can benefit from the Spanish sun and Spain from the German wind. But international trade unfortunately isn't that straightforward... Michiel Kenis (VITO - KU Leuven - EnergyVille) explains why and what he is trying to do about it in this video.