Videos

Worldwide, some 235 million people suffer from asthma. Drugs such as a quick-relief inhaler can help to suppress their symptoms. But they can't cure asthma. Fien Gysens hopes that her research will contribute to finding a cure for asthma!

Each of us has lost a precious plant to aphids or other insects before. Unfortunately, most insecticides to combat these creatures are harmful to the environment. That's why Tessa Acar is committed to the development of a new and better weapon: bacteria that can fight insects.

In 2006 Marine biologist Anton Van de Putte went on a 3-month- expedition to Antarctica. Unfortunately, he only managed to collect 400 samples, which were often no bigger than this little fish. Thanks to a simple but brilliant idea, he now has more than 2 million samples at his disposal...

In order to provide the growing world population with sufficient protein, Reindert Devlamynck (University of Ghent) focuses on duckweed. In addition to ducks, he also wants people to eat this tasty little plant and is setting a good example for himself 🍽

When you swallow seawater, you actually ingest thousands of particles (mud, clay, phytoplankton, ...) that are barely visible for the naked eye. Michael Fettweis enlightens you about this universe of particles in a sip of seawater.

Mice that follow a low-calorie diet appear to be protected against the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Charysse Vandendriessche is investigating why this is the case to gather more insight in the underlying disease mechanism. This information could into the future contribute to the development of a treatment against this devastating disease.

Do you know where these worms live? Well, they actually live in the intestines of humans. A quarter of the world population is infected with these soil-transmitted helminths. Sara Roose is developing a new diagnostic test to help fight human worm infections.

Once upon a time there were two types of cephalopods: the nautiluses and the ammonites. Although the ammonites were much better adapted, they became extinct. And the nautiluses? They're still swimming around today. Stijn Goolaerts studies fossils of these fascinating creatures and draws a wise lesson for mankind from the sad fate of the ammonites.

Fertilization is crucial in agriculture, but over-fertilization causes environmental pollution and all-rich algae growth in our watercourses. Wouldn't it be great if plants and crops could grow well with less fertilizer? That's what Astrid Gadeyne wants to achieve in her PhD.

Katrien Van de Vijver is a physical anthropologist: by studying skeletons and bones from the Middle Ages, she tries to reconstruct the story of the past. See what she can learn from this

Frederik Engelen is working on vaccines for cattle. This way, he wants to ensure that beef does not become contaminated with a dangerous variant of the e-coli bacterium.

Not all mothers can breastfeed, which is a pity, because breastfeeding contains important molecules for the baby. But what if we add these molecules to powdered milk? That is what Anke Goormans is working on to help mothers and their babies.