ScienceLink artikelen in C2W International 2025
View all stories from this issue.
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InternationalRecalibrating your academic compass this summer
The summer break offers academics more than rest – it’s a rare opportunity to pause, reflect, and realign. Isabelle Kohler shares how a quieter pace can help you recalibrate your academic compass and make intentional choices for the year ahead.
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InternationalActivating ‘reserve genes’ for gene therapy
Reactivated genes can compensate for other defective genes in hereditary blood disorders, Dutch researchers show in the journal Blood.
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InternationalCatalyst-substrate couple in the spotlight
With the high-tech laser facility of HFML-FELIX, researchers succeeded in capturing a catalyst ‘in the act’ of catalysing a Michael addition, as they show in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
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InternationalOpen Competition ENW-M grants awarded
The ‘creative’ ENW-M grants have been awarded once again, this time to 21 researchers looking to develop scientific innovations and ‘risky’ ideas. Among the recipients are members of the KNCV and NVBMB, who are highlighted here.
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InternationalSN2 vs. E2: Competition Clarified
For organic chemists (in training), the question of how to determine whether a chemical reaction follows the SN2 or E2 route is timeless. A group in Amsterdam summarized its 25 years of research in Chemistry: A European Journal, offering concrete, simple concepts to overcome this dilemma.
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InternationalScience communication: your pathway to broader impact
Isabelle Kohler shares why science communication – in whatever format works best – might be one of the most rewarding parts of any professional journey.
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InternationalSweet victory: sugar molecule disrupts bacterial cell wall
Researchers in Groningen have synthesised a variant of a sugar molecule that is incorporated in the cell wall of Gram-negative bacteria. However, as reported in JACS Au, they did not achieve the desired effect.
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InternationalERC Advanced Grants 2024 awarded
This year, a total of €721 million will be awarded to 281 European scientists through prestigious ERC Advanced Grants. This is an increase of €69 million and 26 scientists on last year’s figures. Two members of the KNCV and one member of the KVCV have been awarded a grant.
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InternationalPeptide-like oligomers with much more information
Researchers from Wageningen have synthesised peptide-like oligomers for which the chirality of each monomer can be determined. They write in Nature Synthesis that there is huge potential for information storage.
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InternationalNutritional Needles
Although pest control is important for agriculture, it can also create environmental problems. Micro-needles can offer a way to apply pesticides and nutrients more precisely.
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International‘Metal next door’ is a successful anti-cancer agent.
The recent success of palladium-based anticancer drugs has prompted an international team to search for molecules in the chemical space with even greater efficacy. As a bonus, they report in the European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry that the synthesis does not even require solvents.
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InternationalPerfect PIC gels with a perfect protocol
After years of answering questions, the group of scientists from the Radboud University who invented polyisocyanide hydrogels decided to draw up a protocol that describes absolutely everything.
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InternationalNano antibodies against Parkinson’s disease
Researchers from Flanders and Italy have developed a strategy to restore the function of an enzyme that is impaired in Parkinson’s disease. In an article published in Nature Communications, they demonstrate how antibody fragments can bind to the enzyme in the correct location to stabilise it and enhance its activity.
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InternationalHow to: Precision Fermentation
In the Netherlands, big steps are already taken in terms of the protein transition and precision fermentation. However, education is needed to ensure these major developments can continue. The English courses offered by Wageningen University & Research are a good start. ‘Training people to lead the field is important.’
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InternationalOpium Act
Sjoerd Rijpkema recognises the merits of amending the Opium Act, but believes that this is only one side of the coin.
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InternationalWhen your PhD becomes your identity
As academic work increasingly shapes personal identity, early-career researchers are especially vulnerable to over-identifying with their PhD. Isabelle Kohler shares how this dynamic affected her own journey and offers practical strategies to help PhD students and postdocs build a broader sense of self.
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InternationalThe hydrogen economy is a fleeting fairy tale
According to scientists at the University of Amsterdam, simple calculations show that the idea of a hydrogen economy emerging in the 21st century is completely unrealistic. They wrote about this in Green Chemistry.
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InternationalNo needles needed
Currently, taking a blood sample is the most straightforward way to measure glucose levels or detect the presence of pathogens. But Chicago-based researchers have now developed an alternative method that enables analysis of breath as a new diagnostic approach. Instead of needles, this method relies on frozen spikes.
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InternationalPuzzles make chemistry tangible (and fun)
By incorporating game-based learning in his courses, Michael Lerch provides his students with a new perspective on chemistry. ‘Turning complex concepts into something hands-on and fun like a puzzle, helps them to really understand the material.’
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InternationalAccelerate your career at HPLC2025
Are you a Master’s student, PhD candidate, or postdoc wondering about your next professional step? Join the Career Accelerator Program taking place at HPLC2025 in Bruges (15-19 June 2025) and explore what your future could look like.