Videos

"Human trafficking is, simply put, a trade in persons. People are the commodity and it's one of the fastest-growing forms of illegal trade in the world." Sarah Adeyinka's research focuses on the wellbeing of victims of human trafficking: what experiences did they have along the way? Where are they now? And how did they cope and still cope with these experiences of trauma? 

Imagine working from home while watching the kids. Not an easy feat, right? You constantly have to switch your attention from one task to the other. But can we get people to switch easier between tasks? That's what psychologist Leslie Held wants to find out.

Do you also just love coffee? A lot of good coffee comes from Kivu and Ituri, regions in eastern Congo where fierce fighting has raged for years between rebel groups and the state. How do coffee farmers manage to produce and sell coffee despite this difficult situation? Cooperatives play an important role in this, explains Wannes Slosse. 

Research shows police spend only 60% of all patrol time in crime hotspots. Philipp M. Dau (UGent) uses data to analyze both police and crime hotspots. These new insights could help police departments more efficiently, guide officers while being on patrol and make our cities a safer place. 

What if your life were in danger every time you took the stairs or drove a car? This applies to epilepsy patients: an epileptic seizure on the stairs or behind the wheel could have a very bad outcome. That is why Jana Desloovere (UGent) is working on new and more effective treatment. In this way she hopes that in the future people with epilepsy can drive a car or climb the stairs without worries.

Did you know that besides basic physical needs, such as sleeping and eating, you also have basic psychological needs? You will not die immediately if these psychological needs are not fulfilled, but it can make you very unhappy. Daphne van den Boogaard explains what these needs are and how you can train to manage your own happiness.

In 2012, scientists found interesting bacteria in the mud of the North Sea. Further investigation showed that these bacteria conduct electricity, just like power cables. But how exactly do these bacteria do this? And does this offer potential for more clean electronics? This is what Koen Wouters (UHasselt) and his colleagues are investigating.

"As researchers, we are not lucky enough to have the budget to crash hundreds of vehicles to test a new technology." So how can researchers test whether a new tiny semiconductor is safe to use in electric vehicles? For this, Sajib Chakraborty (VUB) developed a digital twin. A what? Watch the video to find out more.

Of the 100 potential drugs that companies develop, only a small fraction make it to your medicine cabinet. The majority are rejected after disappointing cell and animal tests. Stijn Dilissen (Uhasselt) is working on a method to find out more quickly and cheaply whether a drug will work or not.

In a heart attack, certain heart cells are damaged and they will never recover. So a patient is forever left with a scar on his heart, which will reduce the heart's pumping power. Could stem cells be the solution? Lize Evens (Hasselt University) explains it to you in this video.

What if you could help someone with dementia by giving them a big, old hug? Might sound crazy, but neuroscientist Philippos Koulousakis (UHasselt) explains why he looks at oxytocin, aka 'the hugging hormone', to boost the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Cancer patients often become heart patients. This is because chemotherapy affects not only cancer cells but also healthy cells, such as the heart muscle cells. In order to prevent heart damage after chemotherapy, we first need to know what factors increase the risk of heart damage. And that is what Sibren Haesen (Uhasselt) has made his mission. With his Ph.D., he wants to help ensure that today's cancer patients do not become tomorrow's heart patients.