Videos

Plants capture CO2 and, through photosynthesis, convert it into green leaves. Over the past 30 years, the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere has thus led to a widespread increase in the number of green leaves around the world. But recently, there has been a shift: the increase in the number of green leaves is slowing down even though CO2 levels are still rising. Vaidehi Narsingh (Imec - UAntwerp) explains why she is determined to find out what is happening.

Imagine if cars, windows, or even walls would be able to generate power? New, flexible, and ultra-thin perovskite solar cells could make this a reality, but there's a catch. Perovskite solar cells have a limited lifetime as they degrade under light and heat. Imec-researcher Wenya Song is looking to improve the lifespan of perovskite solar cells.

Snoring can be very annoying for your bed partner, but it can also seriously disrupt your own sleep as a snorer. Because did you know that snoring is sometimes accompanied by periods in which you literally stop breathing - sometimes even for minutes at a time? That is the case with obstructive sleep apnea. Marijke Dieltjens wants to restore peace and quiet in the bedroom by helping people who suffer from this with a small, personalized mouth brace. She explains how this works in this video.

When you think of animals with horns, you probably think of cows, goats, and rhinos. But did you know that many species of snakes have horns too? While this has been under the eye of researchers for a long time, it's still unclear why some snakes have horns. What do you think they're for? Federico Banfi sheds some light on current hypotheses. He hopes to find answers in his Ph.D. research.  

"What if I told you that the way you spend your money, reveals aspects of your mental health, such as anxiety or depression. We can make this connection thanks to Artificial Intelligence." Yanou Ramon (UAntwerp - FWO) explains how to make AI rule(s) in this video, as to offer treatment to people who need it most. 

Every three seconds, someone in the world is diagnosed with dementia. But what causes it? Dementia can be caused by diseases such as Alzheimer's & Parkinson's. The only way to find out the exact cause is by studying the brain tissue of a patient after his death 🧠  Yaël Hirschberg hopes to develop a method of identifying this earlier so that a patient can receive targeted care even before the first symptoms of dementia appear. Watch her explain how  

"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.

Hard sciences, such as physics, understand very well how the material world works and have contributed to enormous technological progress. But the social sciences, such as economics or sociology, do not seem to understand as well how the social world - human society - works. Thus, we apparently do not know how to build a peaceful and prosperous society worldwide. Michael Bauwens (UAntwerpen) tries to find out which fundamental assumptions researchers should use to do social science.

Radiation can save the lives of people with head and neck cancer. Unfortunately, many patients develop swallowing disorders as a result of the treatment, which makes it impossible for them to eat solid food. Leen Van den Steen (UAntwerpen - UZA) wants to help them. How? With tongue strength training.

Biologist Sébastjen Schoenaers (UAntwerpen) watches his son Ferre grow rapidly. Yet Ferre grows 150 times slower than an ordinary corn leaf 🌱 We still don't understand how plants do this. Sébastjen zooms in on the plant up to molecular level to figure out how it really grows 🔬 This can help us grow plants better and faster.

Heart failure patients have a lot of trouble with physical exertion. They can barely even walk the dog. To improve their condition, they can follow training programs in the hospital. But more than half of the patients hardly benefit from them. Cardiologist in training Isabel Witvrouwen (UAntwerpen - University Hospital Antwerp) is trying to find out why.

In Belgium and the Netherlands, more than 1,000 people suffer from DFNA9, a condition that causes hereditary hearing loss and balance disorders. DFNA9 is due to an error in the DNA of the ear. Dorien Verdoodt (UAntwerp) is conducting research into a new therapy based on the revolutionary Crispr genetic technique. In this way, she hopes to be able to cure hereditary hearing loss in the future with a syringe in the ear.