Videos

Out of breath after just eight steps up the stairs? That is the case every day for the 600,000 people in Belgium with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Physiotherapist Astrid Blondeel (KU Leuven) wants to help them using a personalised coaching programme and a smartphone app.

Sofie Claerhout's doctorate was looking for a new way to trace offenders in a murder case on the basis of DNA found at the crime scene. Using DNA kinship analysis, she can map out distant kinships, up to 40 generations apart, on the basis of a DNA sample. This makes it possible to trace the perpetrator much more precisely.

Hearing impairments play an important role in dyslexia. For example, people with dyslexia are less able to hear the subtle sound difference at the start of similar letters, such as the 'b' and the 'p'. By offering children adapted audio stories in nursery school, Shauni Van Herck wants to tackle these hearing problems at an early stage.

How do we prevent power breaks when everyone starts driving electric vehicles? With smart grid pricing! Niels Govaerts (VITO - KU Leuven - EnergyVille) explains how this works.

One in six Belgians is obese and thus runs an increased risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This disease can affect the entire liver, in which case a liver transplant is needed to save the patient. Anneleen Remmerie (Ghent University - VIB) is looking for a way to combat the disease without the need for a new liver.

"Evolution is like a race: the individual who can reproduce the fastest wins the race. But we all know of one race that was not won by the fastest..." Jana Helsen (KU Leuven - VIB) explains how evolution is sometimes a bit like the fable about the tortoise and the hare.

Lots of people dislike these black sweets. But did you know that liquorice candy might well contain an ingredient to help cure wounds? Esther Hoste investigates whether an active compound found in the root of the liquorice plant can heal diabetic wounds 👉 🎥

Organizing education in corona times is quite a challenge for schools. Fortunately, the teacher training colleges and their student teachers come to the rescue via the "Small Children, Big Chances" network. Carolien Frijns (Arteveldehogeschool) explains how they offer help so that all children can receive customized support 💪 👊

On Armistice Day we traditionally commemorate the tens of thousands of fallen soldiers of WWI & WW II. But what happened to the almost 200,000 disabled soldiers and civilians of the world wars? This is what Marisa De Picker (KU Leuven) is researching in her PhD.

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.