Videos

Getting out of bed in the morning is quite a feat, and not just on Monday mornings. It requires a series of complex motor actions, which we perform without thinking, on automatic pilot. In patients with Parkinson's disease, these automatic actions are disturbed. Something goes wrong in the brain so that they suddenly have to think about every action. Mahyar Firouzi (VUB) is investigating whether brain stimulation can help to improve automatic action in Parkinson's patients.

Millions of people worldwide suffer from 'invisible' diseases such as chronic widespread pain and chronic fatigue syndrome, which makes patients feel ill for days or even weeks after a small effort, such as washing their hair. Jolien Hendrix (VUB - KU Leuven) tries to understand these diseases by looking at epigenetics. Epi what?! Well, you can see this as DNA paperclips as Jolien explains vividly in this video!

Someone who suffers a stroke often has to learn to walk again. Unfortunately, such rehabilitation - walking for hours on a treadmill - is often very boring and therefore difficult to maintain. "Let's make this more challenging", says Emma De Keersmaecker (VUB - FWO). She has patients complete their rehabilitation in a virtual environment using VR glasses, for example on Mars among aliens. "Walking on a treadmill will never have to be boring again!"

The next generation of airplanes will be able to feel when they suffer damage, thanks to a nervous system of glass fibers. Engineer Sidney Goossens (VUB) is developing this technology to make airplanes safer & eco-friendlier. Watch the video to find out how he moves forth.

"The cemetery was the place where Jewish life was concentrated at the end. It was the place where people went to sunbathe, children had to play, ..." Literature scholar Annelies Augustyns (VUB - UAntwerp - FWO) studied German-Jewish diaries from WWII for her PhD. These offer a glimpse into the "everyday" life of Jews in the Third Reich.

Diamonds are not only a girl's best friend (M. Monroe), but they're also an engineer's best friend (A. Mallik). Awadesh Mallik (Universiteit Hasselt - imec) explains why that is and how engineers grow diamonds in the lab. 👨🏽‍🔬 💎

To protect your data in the cloud, you can encrypt it to make it impossible for others to see. But, if you want to edit your data, for example, put a filter on a picture, you first have to remove the encryption. Cryptographers such as Charlotte Bontee are developing new techniques to keep your data safe at all times.

To have a conversation and interact in a meaningful way, you have to be constantly aware of what has already been said. You have to remember the recent past. But how does that work? How does our brain create a memory? That's what Lies Deceuninck (Imec - KU Leuven) is researching.

Have you ever tried to look at something, but it was too small to see? Well, scientists improving your smartphone are facing this issue on a daily basis. Jonathan Op de Beeck (imec - KU Leuven) explains how they are able to 'see' the invisible.

What if we could offer heart surgeons true 3D-representations of their patient's heart instead of having them rely on 2D imaging such as CT scans for complex surgery? Anabel De Proft (imec - KU Leuven) is working on technology to project such 'holograms'.

Solar panels are very interesting to invest in, but which technology should you choose? How many panels should you install? And what is the return on investment? Gofran Chowdhury is developing a "crystal ball" to help you decide on the optimal solar technology for your home.

Can you imagine a future where you could travel from Liverpool to London in a fully electric flying taxi in one hour? Andre Pitillas (Imec & Ku Leuven) is working on the 'batteries of the future' that will help make this happen.