Videos

Gontran Sonet explains why it is important for the Museum of Natural Sciences to have large collections of specimens. They are paramount to gain better understanding of our fascinating planet.

Amar Van Laar (Universiteit Gent) wil ervoor zorgen dat wij straks allemaal -zonder schuldgevoel- van onze lekkere Belgische chocolade kunnen blijven smullen. Hij zoekt daarvoor naar zogenaamde zeldzame suikers: natuurlijke suikers die gezonder zijn dat de veelgebruikte 'tafelsuiker'.

Were Neandertals able to breakdance? We bet you never thought of that question before, but that you're dying to know the answer by now. Well, Tara Chapman virtually (re)constructs skeletons of Neandertals and fuses them to movement of modern human to find out how they could have moved about.

Why do some people get sick more easily than others? This is often due to differences in our immune systems. Nicolas De Neuter (UAntwerp) hopes to understand these differences, in order to develop better and more efficient personalized immune therapies.

Cesspits, you undoubtedly prefer to leave them closed. But that's not the case with 'plant archeologist' Lien Speleers. For her, cesspools offer treasures of information that help her to reconstruct the history of Brussels.

According to the World Health Organization, antibiotic-resistant superbacteria will kill 10 million people worldwide every year by 2050. Bjorn Criel and his colleagues at Ghent University want to put a stop to this. They're counting on special allies: bacteriophages.

"If we think in circles, we start producing and consuming differently. In his research, Nicholas Vijverman (Vlerick Business School - University of Ghent) studies how we can engage everyone - from government, producer to consumer - in the circular economy. ♻️

Ever heard of tidal marshes? These are areas that are regularly inundated by the tide. They protect us from floods and ensure better water quality in our rivers. How does that work? Niels van Putte (UAntwerpen) tells you all about in this pitch! (Warning: this video is 'flooded' with faint puns).

Did you know that your supermarket has a 'psychic' on the payroll? Well not exactly, but they have a forecaster, someone in charge of predicting future sales so your supermarket doesn't run out of stock. A very challenging task. Luckily the forecaster can count on software for help. Shari De Baets looks at how forecasters and computers can work together to make sure their predictions are accurate and customers are served and satisfied.

Mizanur Rahman (Universiteit Gent) is trying to help pregnant women by developing a vaccine against the dangerous Toxoplasma Gondii parasite.

Recycling plastic is kind of like eating spaghetti. With this analogy Christian Taplan introduces us into the world of plastic recycling. Christian is working on a new and very promising type of recyclable plastic materials, called 'vitrimers'.

Not every leader is a manager, and not every manager is a leader. This is a very simple truth that anyone will agree with. If not synonymous to "manager", then what exactly makes someone a "leader"? And what happens when we have no manager at all, and all we are left with is informal leadership?