news 2021

From abdominal pain after eating certain foods to experimental hearing implants: in this overview, we present the most-read news items about research at KU Leuven in 2021. KU Leuven develops very potent antiviral against dengue 6 October Researchers have developed an inhibitor of the dengue virus. The antiviral molecule is effective against all known dengue variants and could be used for therapeutic and prevention purposes.

VUB biologists find missing link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning Biologists from VUB and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have demonstrated for the first time that it is not the local biodiversity in a specific place that is essential for maintaining a properly functioning ecosystem, but the biodiversity of the entire region.

In the past few months, the billboards of CurieuzenAir, the research project involving citizen participation to measure air pollution, have appeared all over Brussels.

In recent years, a lot of attention has been paid to loneliness in old age. Recent international studies show that 25% to 62% of elderly people experience occasional feelings of loneliness. However, the issue does not suddenly appear when one is old. Lise Switsers' doctoral research at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel showed the importance of looking at loneliness from a life-course perspective: "It's one of the many stereotypes that only older adults are lonely.

The coronavirus pandemic has the world in its grip. Worldwide, more than 265 million cases of Covid-19 have been registered, and more than 5.2 million people have died from it. About 14% of people infected with Covid-19 end up in hospital and some require intensive care. These patients face lung problems, neurological disorders, reduced physical capacity, muscle weakness and psychological and cognitive impairment.

Researchers at KU Leuven (belonging to the imec-DistriNet research group) and New York University (Cybersecurity for Democracy) have demonstrated that on a global scale, Facebook misjudges up to 83 percent of ads that they or the researchers deemed political. In some cases, Facebook does not recognise them as political ads, while they often wrongfully label non-political ads as political.

VUB research uncovers factors that prevent mangroves from spreading in South America Mangrove ecosystems are distributed around the world, along tropical and subtropical coastlines. However, they do not extend beyond certain latitudes, even though the sites seem suitable for them. VUB researcher Ari Ximenes, with researchers from ULB and UCLouvain, has now cracked this question among mangrove bio-geographers, by studying sites off the eastern coast of South America.

A new study led by VUB biologist Thomas Merckx shows that because of the warmer urban environment in which they live, butterflies and moths display a longer flight season than those in the surrounding countryside. The experiments he and colleagues conducted demonstrate for the first time that urban populations are evolutionarily adapted to start their overwintering state later in the year.

Brussels and other cities as a living lab of ecological change and evolutionary adaptation The Vrije Universiteit Brussel has a new research specialisation in biology.

It's estimated that half of the adult population worldwide snores, with or without dangerous interruptions of breathing and related health risks such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, fatigue and concentration problems.

KU Leuven presents 7 reports that scrutinise various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic What are the socio-economic and psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to control it?

VUB leads global team to launch personal climate projection website #MyClimateFuture Young generations are severely threatened by climate change. This intergenerational inequality was highlighted by an international research team led by VUB climate scientist Professor Wim Thiery in Science. The same group of researchers has now created a simple tool - via the VUB website My Climate Future - where everyone on the planet can find out how many more extreme climate events they will face across their lifetime compared to a world without climate change.

On Thursday, the long-awaited court case against Deliveroo starts in Brussels. The central question is whether the e-commerce company allows its couriers to work as self-employed workers unjustly, which means they have hardly any access to social rights. Research by VUB researcher Elief Vandevenne has shown that in many cases, working conditions are precarious and uncertain.

VUB-researchers identify for the first time interglobular dentine in cremated human teeth The cremation process destroys a lot of information that can usually be obtained from the human skeleton. Especially diseases are difficult to observe. This has caused a paucity in our knowledge of the disease load in populations that practiced cremation as their main funerary ritual.

Better student jobs bring more satisfaction and less negative effects on academic results Students are increasingly taking on jobs while they are at university, including many VUB students. Since a relaxation of the regulations on student work in 2017, the number of hours of student work and the number of students with one or more jobs has steadily increased.

Researchers at the KU Leuven Rega Institute and CD3 have developed an ultrapotent inhibitor of the dengue virus, which causes the tropical disease known as dengue.

A team of scientists from KU Leuven, UAntwerp and Ghent University have mapped the temperatures of all European forest tracts. The results show that the summer temperatures in certain forests can cool down by as much as 10°C compared to the surrounding area. This cooling function is important in the battle against climate change.

VUB led Science publication shows how climate change is disproportionally affecting children International research led by Prof. Wim Thiery of the VUB research group BCLIMATE shows that children are to face disproportionate increases in lifetime extreme event exposure - especially in low-income countries.

In recent years, more and more inter-country adoptees have been raising questions about their history and the adoption procedure. A damning report in the Netherlands has called for the practice to be discontinued. Commissioned by the Flemish government, VUB scientists and researchers from UGent and UAntwerp conducted research on errors, injustices and malpractices in inter-country adoption and have now presented their final findings in seven reports.

Coconut trees grow slowly and are difficult to clone. Scientists at KU Leuven and the Alliance multiplied seedlings faster and conserved coconut genetic resources for the long term. Coconut trees grow slowly and are difficult to clone. Scientists at KU Leuven and the Alliance have developed a method to multiply seedlings faster and conserve coconut genetic resources for the long term.