wire - news in brief

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded its Starting Grants.

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel research group NEUR , the Neurology Department of the UZ Brussel and Professor Sebastiaan Engelborghs are taking part in an international research project led by Wageningen University & Research in the Netherlands.

Students and staff of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) joined forces with a group of their neighbours on Valentine's Day to plant 485 trees and shrubs along Nieuwelaan in Elsene.

VUB professor Claudia Spits, of the Reproduction and Genetics research group, has identified a genetic cause for the increased risk of low birth weight in babies born following assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF.

Professor in plant genetics and microbiology Joske Ruytinx from the Department of Bio-Engineering at the VUB has received a grant from the US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute (JGI).

Like last year, 26 Ghent scientists may call themselves 'Highly Cited Researcher' this year. The title goes to scientists who have a significant and broad impact within their field(s) of research.

The fish studied is the Australian gregory, a species of damselfish, also known as the yellow-tipped gregory, which lives in the Great Barrier Reef, making it an essential indicator species for assessing the state of marine ecosystems.

Joint 3R Symposium on research methods without animal testing from 19-21 September on VUB campus in Jette Infertility rates have increased around the world in recent decades, with male infertility in particular a major problem.

On Rare Disease Day 2023, Prof. Carole Linster from the Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB) of the University of Luxembourg reflects on her team's work on metabolite repair disorders, a subset of the over 7,000 rare diseases identified to date. Most of these diseases have a genetic background, and an estimated 300 million people globally are affected, including 30,000 in Luxembourg alone.

Steyaert is the first Belgian scientist to receive the prestigious American award for outstanding science with a translational character Ghent/Brussels, 27 October - Jan Steyaert, director of the VIB

Hard water and the scale it causes are a scourge for users of appliances that heat water. A group of seven first year master's students from VUB's Bioengineering Sciences programme explored how organisms harvest limescale from the environment and do useful things with it.

The EU Commission is awarding €4 million to FUNGATERIA, a pioneering international research project in which the Vrije Universiteit Brussel is also participating.

In clinical efficacy trials for medical treatments, mathematical corrections are often used during the course of the study to optimise the number of participating patients.

To meet the increasing demand for customized lab infrastructure, VIB (Flanders' leading life sciences institute) and Ghent University have opened a new research building at the Tech Lane Ghent Science Park in Zwijnaarde.

The new innovation platform 'The ProteInn Club (Ghent University, CAPTURE, ILVO and the Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant (BBEPP) focuses on proteins made via fermentation-based production processes.

Vice-rector for Research Karin Vanderkerken: -For excellent scientific research you need excellent equipment. Tuesday, May 31, 2022 — The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is investing €4.7 million in new research equipment. Ensuring an optimal research environment is one of the most important aims of VUB's research policy.

Friday, May 20, 2022 — Sunday is Biodiversity Day. But what actually is biodiversity and why is it important?

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded its Advanced Grants for ground-breaking research. Six KU Leuven researchers are among this year's recipients: Peter Carmeliet, Giselinde Kuipers, Diether Lambrechts, Erik Smolders, Patrik Verstreken, and Johan Wagemans.

VUB research on coral reefs aims to protect ocean rainforests 8 June is World Oceans Day Coral reefs are threatened worldwide and research is needed to protect these ocean rainforests.

Mathieu Vinken, pharmacist-toxicologist affiliated with the Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences of the VUB, will be responsible for the general coordination of the "ONTOX? project for a period of 5 years from 1 May 2021 onwards.

Ghent already has ten or so museums and, as from Saturday 21 March, another gem will be added with the opening of the Ghent University Museum, known as GUM.