Videos

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased awareness about the importance of indoor ventilation. But measuring indoor air quality and ventilation rates often requires eco-unfriendly substances or complex and expensive equipment. Luckily, Sarah Lima Paralovo (Universiteit Gent - VITO) is developing a simple method to measure ventilation rates.

Did you know that being born with low birthweight (< 2.5 kg), increases the risk of a heart attack when you're 50 or older? Rossella Alfano (Uhasselt) examined 500 neonates and found out that babies with low birth weight have less HDL cholesterol, commonly known as 'good cholesterol'.

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 👉 🎥

In patients with Alzheimer's, microglia, the immune cells that protect our brains, suddenly start damaging the brain themselves by eating synapses. Ben Rombaut is trying to find out why this happens. In this way, he wants to help ensure that in our old age we can all stay on our toes.

People who had chickenpox as a child seem to be better protected against herpes zoster, better known as zona or shingles, at a later age. Using mathematic modeling, James Wambua (Hasselt University) is therefore investigating whether it is advisable to vaccinate children in Belgium against this childhood disease.

As if developing a cancer drug is not difficult enough, you still have to successfully get that medicine to the tumor. Tim Bomberna (Ghent University) explains how computer simulations show us the way.

Immune cells serve to protect us. In multiple sclerosis, however, some immune cells just turn against the body and damage the nervous system. Sam Vanherle (Hasselt University) wants to detect these 'bad guys' in patients' blood and get them back on the right track. 💉

Did you know that there are already more than 15 medications for multiple sclerosis? Yet the more than 1 million progressive MS patients do not benefit from them, because these drugs only work in the early stages of the disease. Assia Tiane wants to help unravel the disease in order to improve the quality of life of progressive MS patients.

Cracking codes, it's a thing in escape rooms. But it is also what Bénedith Oben tries, albeit in the laboratory. In this way, she hopes to find the key to better understand the development of multiple myeloma, a common blood cancer.

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.