Videos

Every year, the Belgian police have the equivalent of some 3,600 officers absent due to sick leave. "That's as if there wasn't an officer in Antwerp and Ghent for a year," explains criminologist Celien De Stercke (UGent). Why is it that absence rates in the police have been higher than in other sectors for years? By looking at the sick absences from 2019, De Stercke got a better understanding of which groups within the police are especially absent for long periods and what factors play a role.

As an occupational therapist, how do you ensure that older people can continue to live independently and safely at home for as long as possible? That they can continue to drive their own car? Or that they can use public transport when that is no longer possible? To better support occupational therapists working with older people living at home, Leen Bouckaert & her colleagues drew up a clinical guideline. In it, they pour the latest scientific insights on elderly care into concrete recommendations for occupational therapists.

Do you think we will be able to stop CO2 emissions by 2050? Because that's what we need to do to fight climate change. Worldwide, an estimated one million researchers are currently working on solutions for climate change. At Hasselt University, Talieh Rajabloo is mapping state-of-the-art climate research & technologies that can help energy-intensive industries such as the petrochemical and metal sectors reduce their CO2 emissions.

Did you know that the earth is continuously monitored to detect clandestine nuclear weapons testing? Unfortunately, hospitals and other civilian installations throw a spanner in the works. These also emit radioactive xenon gas in very small & harmless quantities, but this turns out to be enough to disturb the detection. Christophe Gueibe explores how to help solve this problem so that we can better detect clandestine nuclear weapons tests.

Daniely Reis Santos is a plant lover. She especially loves plants' ability to engage in photosynthesis: capturing CO2 from the air and converting it into sugar using the sun's energy. In her doctorate, she is determined to do the same: use solar energy to convert CO2 into useful products through a process called photo electrocatalysis. But in order to do so, there are some challenges she must tackle.

Societal enterprises, working on alleviating societal issues such as poverty, exclusion, and pollution, face many challenges. "They are often unrecognized, unsupported, and undervalued", says Stefan Chichevaliev (VUB). He is investigating how the current business environment affects the day-to-day operation of social enterprises. His goal is to identify what is needed to help these enterprises meet these challenges, to the benefit of the most vulnerable.

Have you ever heard of Boyan Slat? At the age of 18, he founded The Ocean Cleanup, an environmental enterprise developing and scaling technologies to rid the oceans of plastic. Environmental entrepreneurs such as Slat and their eco-innovations are the cornerstone of the transition to a more sustainable world. But how can we help them make a bigger impact? That's what Georgios Outsios is determined to find out.

When you think of mistletoe, you probably think of the Christmas kissing tradition and ancient druids, while the word parasite may not come to mind. Yet mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows on the branches of numerous tree species, from which it draws water and nutrients. This can lead to serious damage to this host tree. Still, we should not hastily remove mistletoe from these trees, says Luiza Teixeira-Costa. Watch her explain the positive side of this 'enemy with benefits'. 

Artificial feeding, such as parenteral nutrition -food that is injected directly into the bloodstream- is crucial for critically ill patients. It keeps them alive, but unfortunately, it can cause significant liver damage in the long run. To prevent liver injury, Milos Mihajlovic and his colleagues are developing an advanced human liver model in a dish to better understand how food injection leads to liver damage.

In the last decade, wildfires peaked at record numbers in different countries across the world. These fires destroy houses and burn down forests, but they also have other important 'unseen' effects. "Smoke from wildfires leads to high air pollution, which is associated with short and long-term risks, such as respiratory and cardiac diseases", as Leonidas Leiva explains. He's working on new materials to recognize, capture and neutralize these contaminants.

Did you know that we can build bridges out of concrete with a 3D printer? Yet, this promising technology still faces challenges before it can reach its full potential and be widely used in construction. VUB researcher Yanjuan Chen explains what these challenges are and how she's working to help overcome them.

How long will a patient live after his or her cancer diagnosis? And how long will a marriage between a new couple last? To make predictions of this so-called 'survival time', the time until an event occurs, researchers use statistical methods to analyze lifetime data. But what if you have incomplete data? Can you still make accurate predictions? That's what Worku Ewnetu is working on. Watch the video to find out more.