Neanderthals at Pech-de-l'Azé I in South Western France had a striking use for manganese dioxide 50,000 years ago.

Jacques J. M. van Gent (8 June 1932 - 26 March 2021) was director of Leiden University Library from 1983 to 1993. He was librarian in a time of transition and, as director, was able to benefit from the new library building on the Witte Singel. Van Gent was a very different kind of manager from his predecessor,…

In a new Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities white paper, researchers and practitioners start the conversation that society desperately needs to have. ‘We’ve outsourced the visionary thinking to tech companies.’

Raw materials should no longer be excavated from mines, but reused from sources that are already present, such as unused underground electricity cables and discarded ships. At least, that is necessary for a circular economy. A new report explores where these resources are located and how we can use…

The Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies at Princeton University annually offers a limited number of Visiting Research Fellowships for scholars in the humanities or the social sciences worldwide, who wish to spend time in residence at Princeton pursuing independent research projects, free of teaching…

Two Vidi subsidies for Faculty of Archaeology.

The master programme was officially opened by H.E. Kees Klompenhouwer – the Ambassador of the Netherlands to the Czech Republic. During his lecture, entitled “Traveling through Europe’s darkness and daylight – A geopolitical Odyssey”, Ambassador Klompenhouwer shared valuable insights on the history…

The Roosevelt Chair in New Diplomatic History is sponsored by the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS) in Middelburg, and the new position further strengthens the connection between the RIAS and Leiden.

From September 1, 2017, the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies (RIAS) will be awarding several four-year scholarships to complete a PhD in American History / American Studies.

Physicist, former D66 party leader and author, mainly of children’s books, Jan Terlouw, gives three to four readings a week. Even at the age of 86 he is tireless in communicating his message: ‘We need to regain trust in one another, and we have to seek fraternity.’

History lecturer Giles Scott-Smith is enthusiastic about the new pitch-to-peer programme (P2P), for which students have to make an original, creative assignment and evaluate one another’s work. This is part five in a series of articles about lecturers and innovation in teaching and learning.

PhD candidate Marc Baggelaar of the Leiden Institute of Chemistry (LIC) graduated cum laude on Thursday 6 April. His thesis on the endocannabinoid system in the brain is very comprehensive and of high quality, according to the jury. ‘A very talented young scientist, that definitely belongs to the top…

On Thursday 10 January a number of prizes were presented to researchers and students.

Who authored the best theses in Leiden University's Political Science BSc programmes?

International Women's Day (8 March) saw the announcement of the first Leiden Top 50: fifty Leiden women who have made a difference over the past year through their activities. Many of the women in the list are affiliated with our University.

At the end of December, the concluding lecture of the Bachelor Honours Class 'Policy and Politics: struggling to combat social inequalities' took place. Students, under the guidance of former minister Jet Bussemaker, tackled the question of what inequality actually is.

Face masks and gloves designed to protect us are, in fact, dangerous for the animals around us. Scientists from Leiden warn that throughout the world, on land and in the water, animals are ingesting corona waste, or getting entangled in it. The two biologists are asking for everybody’s help to better…

A therapeutic vaccine against HPV-16 (type 16 human papillomavirus) improves the survival rate in cervical cancer patients. A new study by ISA Pharmaceuticals B.V. (a Leiden-based biotechnology company) and the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) shows that this vaccine produces a more robust response…

Research on Asian plants is his life's work. Now a crown is added to that: a plant from the coffee family bearing his name. Paul Kessler is LUF professor of botanical gardens and botany of South East Asia and Scientific Director of the Hortus botanicus. 'Completely unexpectedly, you get to see the results…

The large-scale project NanoInformatics will assess the risks associated with nanoparticles. The project will be funded by the EU with 6.8 million euros and was launched at the beginning of this year. Three scientists from Leiden are involved. 'For the first time, this project combines the various experts…

Leiden University has written an advisory report at the request of the Ministry of Justice and Security on a legislative bill to improve legal protection in youth protection. The report acknowledges the improvements that the proposed legislation would bring, but also provides criticism.

Ramsey Albers wins Political Science Master’s Thesis Prize 2022

A significant percentage of children who have spent a period in youth care institutions or foster homes since 1945 received inadequate protection from physical, psychological and sexual violence. Interventions by supervisory authorities in cases involving violence were inadequate.

The nominees for the Prof. Dr. J.Th.J. van den Berg-prijs 2022 and the IRO Thesis Prize 2022. Who wrote the best bachelor thesis in Political Science?

A film and quiz at the Old Observatory, a film whose ending you decide or a political satire in The Hague. These are some of the options at Science & Cinema, the 444 edition, a special programme during LIFF, the Leiden International Film Festival.

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a major problem worldwide. Molecular biologist Changsheng Wu explored innovative methods of developing new antibiotics more simply and more easily. He also discovered a new type of antibiotic.

Maria Boletsi has received a fellowship from the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) within the framework of the Theme Group Project The Politics of (De)familiarization: The Common and the Strange in Contemporary Europe.

In March 2019, the Institute for Public Administration launched the MOOC Population Health Governance, in collaboration with the LUMC at Leiden University. The MOOC was one of the first modules to became available at the Coursera platform, as part of the ongoing development of the new Master’s programme…

Leiden University celebrates its 444th anniversary in 2019, and a special age requires a special logo. The logo for the celebration was designed by Clara Lezla, a student at the Royal Academy of Art The Hague.

The film Blade Runner as part of the law curriculum? It’s not that weird to Maartje van der Woude, Professor of Law and Society, and Frans-Willem Korsten, Professor of Literature, Culture and Law. ‘The film raises a fundamental question: what’s a human and what’s not?’ From the next academic year onwards,…

Teachers viewed multicultural classes with VR glasses and discussed that for the study 'Culturally responsive teaching in multicultural classes'.

Prof. Giles Scott-Smith has made the first History MOOC (Massive Online Open-Access Course) produced by Leiden University. The MOOC 'The Rooseveltian Century', which covers the influence of Theodore, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt through the 20th century, is now online at Coursera. The successful MOOC…

No fewer than 194 students received their bachelor's diplomas in International Studies on Friday 26 August.

Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) has spent the past five years coordinating an international study of genetic mutations and breast cancer risks. The results will make it easier to determine which genes increase the risk of breast cancer and to what extent. The researchers published their results…

A research team from Leiden University, in cooperation with Bureau Boekhoorn Sociaal-Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek en Advies (BBSO), is to evaluate Dutch counterterrorism legislation.

Are you looking for some listening material for the upcoming long weekend? Staff members and alumni of the Faculty of Humanities have been creating various podcasts over the last few months. A selection is shown here:

The Faculty of Archaeology used to be involved in several excavations in Syria, before the outbreak of civil war made travel to the region impossible. One of these excavations is the one of tell Hammam al-Turkman, which started in 1981. Student Ruben Hartman, together with archaeologist Dr Diederik…

For decades, unmarried girls and women in the Netherlands were forced to give up their newborn children. The impact was profound and persists to this day for the mothers, fathers, relinquished children, and the adoptive families in which they were raised.

In an innovative study, Radboudumc and LUMC jointly tested a candidate vaccine based on a genetically weakened malaria parasite. The results of this clinical trial, published in Science Translational Medicine, show that the vaccine is safe and elicits a defense response against a malaria infection.

Neanderthals used careful techniques to hunt their prey at close range. This is the conclusion of an international team of archaeologists, including researchers, in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. Publication 25 June.

During her master's thesis, Nashanty Brunken (24) worked in a team with five other women. With this female team, they discovered the largest molecule so far identified in a disc. 'I have learned so much and because we are all women, it is incredibly empowering. It's very cool to see how far we've come…

Postdoc and linguist Evelyn Bosma receives the Keetje Hodshon Prize for her dissertation. For her research on the multilingualism of Frisian children, Bosma previously won the Klokhuis Science Prize and the Campus Fryslân Science Prize.

Finds uncovered in the east of Germany show that Neanderthals stored and preserved vast amounts of meat and/or temporarily aggregated in larger groups to exploit the spoils

Jihadism and smugglers, gold fever and ethnic strive. It is a toxic mix that makes the Sahel a volatile region in which jihadi's thrive. In the Dutch daily De Volkskant, terrorism expert Liesbeth van de Heide sheds a light on the complex problems that the Sahel is facing. Van der Heide is a researcher…

In a new piece for The Conversation UK, Michiel van Elk examines whether mystical experiences are essential to psychedelic therapy. 'If the field is to mature, it may need to move beyond the assumption that transcendence is the secret ingredient.'

The experiential expertise of people with a disability needs to be integrated in diversity & inclusion policy. This message was the common thread at the annual Diversity & Inclusion symposium. Students and staff members engaged in conversation about how the university can become more accessible.

PhD candidate Ola Gracjasz writes about fermentation practices in Gdańsk, Poland.

Comparing gazes between Turin and other cities in the global north.

CADS Research Seminar