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An international research team led by Professor Kiavash Movahedi from the Brussels Center for Immunology at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel has published groundbreaking results today in the prestigious journal Immunity . Their study sheds new light on the possibility of effectively replacing defective microglia-the brain's immune cells-marking a potential breakthrough in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

At the LCSB, researchers model the complexity of the human brain in a Petri dish. Their work is highlighted in the latest episode of Primer , a new documentary series created by Bloomberg Originals that analyzes the complex science and technology shaping the future. Broadcast on March 27, the episode is entitled "Can Living Human Brain Cells Power AI?".

Researchers have identified a key gene in the regulation of nerve circuits in "Caenorhabditis elegans", a small worm often used in research. This gene, also present in humans, is associated with a rare form of infantile epilepsy. Their work suggests that an excessive release of neuropeptides could play a key role in this disease, opening up new research prospects.

On Rare Disease Day 2025, the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg illuminates once again its building in blue, green, pink, and purple, joining buildings across Luxembourg and around the world. This show of solidarity, organised in partnership with ALAN, the Luxembourg association for rare diseases , pays tribute to the 300 million people diagnosed worldwide with one of the more than 6000 known rare diseases, including 30,000 in Luxembourg.

February sees the start of alcohol-free month in Belgium. Alcohol dependence remains a major public health challenge, with high relapse rates despite treatment. Clémence Dousset, FNRS researcher at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), explores neurofeedback: a complementary method that offers patients the chance to become actors in their own recovery by learning to regulate their brain activity.

Study uncovers the early immune responses that make insect venom immunotherapy the gold standard for curing severe allergies, offering hope for improving treatments worldwide. In a landmark clinical study just published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg, the Allergy Center Wiesbaden, Ulm University Hospital and Vrije Universiteit Brussels and UZ Brussel revealed the early immune mechanisms behind the exceptional success of insect venom immunotherapy.

KU Leuven team discovers that resistance to one antifungal medicine increases the efficacy of a different antifungal medicine Because Candida auris can easily develop resistance and because there is a limited range of antifungal medicine available, doctors are often faced with having exhausted all treatment options.

Dr. Barbara Gravel of the AI Laboratory at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and the Interuniversity Institute of Bioinformatics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), has developed innovative bioinformatics techniques that shed new light on the genetic causes of complex diseases. Her PhD research focused on understanding how combinations of genetic variants, rather than single mutations, contribute to conditions such as cardiac disorders, hearing loss, visual impairment, and male infertility.

A research team led by Professor Claudia Spits at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) has made significant strides in understanding and improving the safety of stem cell therapies. Stem cells hold immense potential to repair damaged tissues due to their ability to differentiate into various cell types.

The brain contains many cell types, from the prominent neurons to the lesser-known microglia. The latter are integral to the brain's immune system and play a crucial role as the brain's cleanup crew. A recent study conducted by researchers from the University Hospital Bonn and the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg, in collaboration with colleagues from France, Hungary, and Germany, highlights that microglia establish connections with neurons through tunnelling nanotubes.

A multidisciplinary team of researchers from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, University of Mons, VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology and KU Leuven has deciphered one of the most fascinating but least understood chemical defence adaptations in the Animal Kingdom: glue. In a newly published article in Nature Communications , they report on how changes in the structure and expression of two proteins underlay the parallel evolution of defence glues in distantly related frog lineages.

Early in the pandemic, scientists at the University of Luxembourg started to use their expertise to better understand the virus, its acute symptoms and longer-term consequences, and find effective responses against its propagation. Even if the crisis has passed, researchers are still investigating different aspects of the disease.

KU Leuven geneticists discover two separate population groups that coexisted in early medieval Flanders The early medieval period in Flanders is a period that is not very well-known, because of the limited historical and archaeological sources. A unique discovery from the seventh century in Koksijde allowed KU Leuven geneticists to use DNA research to reveal the ancestry of the people who inhabited Flanders during this time.

What environmental impact can a contraceptive molecule have? Recent work by UNamur researchers answers this question, and has just been published in the journal Environment International. This work is the fruit of a three-year collaboration with Mithra, a Belgian biotech company committed to transforming women's health with innovative alternatives, particularly in contraception, funded by SPW Research.

Scientists at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), led by Prof. Friedhelm C. Hummel and post-doctoral fellow Pierre Vassiliadis (EPFL and UCLouvain Institute of Neuroscience), have successfully tested a new technique enabling deep stimulation of the human brain, without surgery or implants, for potential therapeutic purposes.

An interdisciplinary team from the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) at the University of Luxembourg, together with international collaborators, established that a combination of small variations in genes regulating mitochondria, an important component of human cells, is associated with a higher risk for Parkinson's disease.

A ULB team has discovered how blood vessels in the brain are formed and how they differ from other vessels in the body. A major breakthrough that could lead to new therapeutic approaches . Cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction and stroke, is the world's leading cause of death, claiming around 18 million lives a year.

VUB researchers show xCT protein is key link in inhibiting pancreatic cancer growth and limiting mood disturbances The xCT protein, which plays an important role as a transport molecule in the cell, could play a part in cancer treatment in the future, researchers at VUB have discovered. Their work is the result of a collaboration between the research groups of neuroscientist Ann Massie of the Laboratory of Neuro-Aging & Viro-Immunotherapy and pancreatic cancer expert Ilse Rooman of the Laboratory for Medical and Molecular Oncology.

Scientists at UCLouvain have discovered that the balance between two proteins plays a decisive role in brain development. The study is published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science's (AAAS) prestigious journal Science Advances . During embryonic development, cells continuously receive numerous stimuli to which they react via intracellular signals.

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT), or sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical disease that affects millions of people and is fatal if left untreated. Most treatments and preventative options, however, are not very effective. New research identifies a protein that could pave the way toward drugs against sleeping sickness.