Feature articles
‘Valorisation is not academic wisdom, it requires experience’
Thriving campuses are crucial to accelerate innovation. ‘They are part of the national innovation infrastructure, but it’s difficult to get across in The Hague.’
‘Your datasets hold their value longer than your publications’
Unleash artificial intelligence on old measurement results and you won’t believe what it adds to your knowledge, Lennart Martens promises.
Radiochemist Erik de Blois pioneers with a radioactive medicine
Radiochemist Erik de Blois did not shy away from the great technical challenges of working with an α-emitter in a clinical environment under GMP conditions, resulting in the first phase 1 study with a radioactive medicine. ‘I have a practical mind.’
PFAS causes borderless problems
The PFOS scandal in Flanders reaches as far as the Netherlands, as Zeelanders are now being advised not to eat fish from the river Westerschelde
’Infectious diseases are a global problem and you have to make global policy on them’
She has achieved a great deal at a young age, but professor of vaccinology and malaria expert Meta Roestenberg is never ‘finished’.
‘High quality phosphate production and less trouble from phosphate waste is a win-win’ says SusPhos
SusPhos was crowned Frisian Start-up of the Year 2021 in September. How will the chemistry of SusPhos contribute to a better world?
Bucky balls in space
Researchers from the Leiden Observatory mimic chemical reactions that take place in space in the Laboratory for Astrophysics
Ancient proteins tell stories of our ancestors
Minute remains of ancient potsherds turn out to be a source of information about daily life thousands of years ago.
Non-target screening: the art of looking at everything
KWR Water Research Institute uses state-of-the-art high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to simultaneously examine as many substances as possible.
Safe tattoo ink hurts (entrepreneurs) a lot
Dutch tattoo parlours are currently desperate for REACH-compliant tattoo ink. Since 4 January, their old ink inventory has become unusable, and the alternative is still a long way off.
‘Don’t forget that plastic also contributes to a more sustainable world’
Since October 2021 Gijs Langeveld is behind the wheel at the Polymer Science Park. How does he see the future of the PSP under his leadership?
‘Many basic aspects of chemistry come together in glycochemistry’
Winning two prizes in one month is not a given for every scientist, especially not this early in a career. But you have to push glycochemist Marthe Walvoort pretty hard to make her say ‘I am proud’. She particularly emphasises the importance of a stimulating environment for success.
Quantum effects in biology: a load of rubbish or the only explanation?
Entanglement, tunnelling and coherence may also do their work in the warm, messy environment of the biological cell.
‘We did not expect to see this within our scientific career’
Science and Nature consider the prediction of protein folding with artificial intelligence to be the scientific breakthrough of 2021.
Puzzling for biomarkers with MS and IR lasers
With infrared spectroscopy in a mass spectrometer you can combine the information from both measurement techniques.
Looking beyond university
Marina Pilz Da Cunha stepped out of academia after her award-winning PhD for a job at an Amsterdam startup.
When the risk seems gone
A clear protocol for first responders is needed in order to understand the effects of (minor) chemical accidents and exposure to hazardous materials.
120 years of Nobel Prize in Chemistry: from barely news to media frenzy
In 1901, the very first Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to the Dutch chemist J.H. van ‘t Hoff. The site of his laboratory recently became National Chemical Heritage.
Cees Dekker is driven by wonder
Halfway through his career, Cees Dekker shifted his focus to ‘nanobiology’ at the turn of the millennium. A term he coined himself, as a matter of fact.
The energy transition is an issue of righteousness
As a chemist, how do you contribute to an effective and fair energy transition?
