Photon Engineering: How Physicists Use Light To Build Complex Structures
Petr Steindl creates complex structures of light using single photons. As a teenager, he wanted to study Czech poetry but decided on quantum physics after…
Leiden University News
Scientists Uncover “Astonishing” Complexity of Bacterial Circadian Clocks
Over 10% of all life forms are composed of bacteria, but it wasn’t until recently that we came to understand that, similar to humans, soil…
Study Provides Darkest-Ever View of Primordial Interstellar Ices
Researchers used the James Webb Space Telescope to examine primordial interstellar ices. An international team consisting of Southwest Research Institute, Leiden University, and NASA utilized…
Can We Live Longer? Physicist’s Breakthrough Discovery in Genetic Protective Layer
Researchers have discovered a new structure of telomeric DNA with the aid of physics and a tiny magnet. Telomeres are seen by many scientists as…
New Treatment for Highly Aggressive Blood Cancer
Research into a type of blood cancer called juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia suggests anti-inflammatory treatment as a possible new therapy for the disease Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia…
Incredibly Detailed Map of the Universe Created With New Algorithms and Supercomputers
With new algorithms and supercomputers, an incredibly detailed radio map of the universe was created. Now astronomers can look at radio data of galaxies with…
Astronomers Uncover Hidden Supermassive Black Hole
An international team of astronomers led by Violeta Gámez Rosas (Leiden University) has observed a supermassive black hole hidden in a ring of dust. This…
By a Stroke of Luck, Astronomers Find Largest Radio Galaxy Ever
By a stroke of luck, a team led by Dutch PhD student Martijn Oei has discovered a radio galaxy of at least 16 million lightyears…
Mysterious Metal Depositions in Bronze Age Europe Were “The Most Ordinary Thing in the World”
In Bronze Age Europe many bronze objects such as axes, swords, and jewels were deliberately left at specific spots in the landscape. PhD research by…
Neanderthals Changed Ecosystems 125,000 Years Ago – Were Not “Primal Hippies”
Hunter-gatherers caused ecosystems to change 125,000 years ago. These are the findings of an interdisciplinary study by archaeologists from Leiden University in collaboration with other…
Massive Stars Are Formed Not From Dust Disk but From Debris – “A Chaotic Mess”
A Dutch-led team of astronomers has discovered that high-mass stars are formed differently from their smaller siblings. Whereas small stars are often surrounded by an…
Solving The Mystery of the Pointy Droplets
A certain type of oil droplets changes shape when cooled and shrunk: from spherical through icosahedral to flat hexagonal. Two competing theories couldn’t fully explain…