This thesis is dedicated to the exploration of the primordial dark ages: unknown physics during the earliest stages of the Universe’s expansion that have not yet been directly probed by observations. Cosmic inflation is a burst of exponential expansion of space after the “Big Bang”.

The zoo of detected exoplanets reveals both the uniqueness of our own Solar System and the complexity of planetary system formation, sparking fundamental questions about how planetary systems form and evolve.

Azië en Europa hebben in toenemende mate met elkaar te maken. Om een duurzame samenwerking te bevorderen is het belangrijk elkaar op economisch, sociaal-cultureel, historisch, en juridisch gebied beter te begrijpen. Leidse wetenschappers leveren al decennia een belangrijke bijdrage aan de verwerving…

To contribute to the body of knowledge aiming at a better coverage of ecosystem service assessment in LCA studies, this thesis dives into the challenges of incorporating existing ecosystem service methods within the impact assessment phase of the conventional LCA framework.

When a star gets too close to a supermassive black hole, it is torn apart by strong tidal forces in a tidal disruption event (TDE).

Promotor: J. N. Kok, Co-promotor: A. J. Knobbe

In astronomy, the interpration of observations and measurements plays a crucial role: we rely purely and fundamentally on the information that reaches us as observers. And 80% of all matter in the universe is undetectable directly.

This dissertation presents the synthesis and evaluation of antibody recognition for various capsular polysaccharide (CP) fragments of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus).

Pulsars were first discovered in 1967 and since then the population has grown and expanded over several wavelengths.

Solar energy is used by photosynthetic organisms to drive energy required cellular processes. Is absorbed by two groups of pigments, located in the LHCs.

β-Lactamases are enzymes that can break down β-lactam substrates, such as antibiotics, preventing the use of these antibiotics for the treatment of various infectious diseases. However, some compounds, β-lactamase inhibitors, can block these enzymes allowing for possible treatments using a combination…

The physical origin of the dozens of stellar-mass binaries, the mergers of which have been detected by the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration via gravitational waves, is still unknown.

This dissertation presents new cryptographic protocols, which can be divided into two families.

Promotor: J.W.M. Frenken

Plants, are sessile organisms, have developed strategies to adapt to changes in their environment, in part by altering their growth and development.

If X is a locally compact Hausdorff space, then a representation of the complex C* algebra C_0(X) on a Hilbert space $H$ is given by a spectral measure that takes its values in the orthogonal projections on $H$.

Humans can see the world through the eyes of other humans and imagine what they know, want, and intend. This competence is known as Theory of Mind.

Streptomyces are filamentous bacteria that produce more than two-thirds of known antibiotics.

The increasing resistance of pathogenic bacteria to antibiotics necessitates the discovery of new medicines.

Promotores: E. van Dijk, G.R. de Snoo. Co-promotor: H. Staats

Galaxies are environments where gas coalesces, cools, and is converted into stars. However, it remains unclear the exact mechanisms through which galaxies acquire, redistribute and lose their gas.

The ability to count is a property not often attributed to materials, despite the abundance of memory in materials. Regardless of how a material stores information, it is often difficult to retrieve exactly ‘what’ a material remembers.

All crested and marbled newts (the genus Triturus) suffer from an unusual genetic abnormality, called a balanced lethal system, that kills exactly half of their offspring. How can a trait so disadvantageous have survived millions of years of natural selection?

Multiple stars, that is two or more stars composing a gravitationally bound system, are common in the universe.

This thesis deals with properties of Jacobians of genus two curves that cover elliptic curves.

This thesis discusses the physical and chemical processes than influence the composition of forming planets.

Promotor: Prof.dr. B. van de Water, Co-promotores: L.T.M. van der Ven, A.S. Kienhuis

Biological cells, the basic building blocks of all life forms, are surrounded by a lipid membrane. More than half of the membrane is occupied by membrane proteins, which can regulate the cell functionality through specific arrangements.

Wetlands provide many ecosystem goods and services which include fish production. The sustainability of small-scale fisheries (SSF) has received considerable attention in recent years because fish is one of the major sources of animal protein to a considerable fraction of the global population which…

Deze week gaat de film Tolkien in première in de Nederlandse bioscoop. In de film staat het levensverhaal van J.R.R. Tolkien centraal, de schrijver van onder andere The Lord of the Rings en The Hobbit. Maar waar haalde deze ‘vader van de fantasy’ zijn inspiratie vandaan? Thijs Porck, Universitair docent…

De beroemde schrijver Tolkien was naast auteur van een klassieker als The Hobbit ook hoogleraar Engelste taal- en letterkunde in Oxford. Hoe verwerkte hij zijn onderzoek in zijn fictie? Daarover gaat een internationaal congres op 18 juni in Leiden.

Binnen het brede netwerk van de Universiteit Leiden neemt het instituut deel aan onderzoek binnen de volgende profileringsgebieden:

Commerciële bedrijven die gebruik willen maken van de expertise en faciliteiten worden doorverwezen naar LAB , de commerciële eenheid die verantwoordelijk is voor gespecialiseerd laboratoriumwerk.

In vroegmiddeleeuws Engeland was er belangstelling voor de geschiedenis van het Romeinse Rijk en koningen namen imperiale titels als 'imperator' en 'basileus' over. Hoe kunnen we deze interesse verklaren en welke functies hadden imperiale ideeën en de ontvangst van de klassieke wereld in vroegmiddeleeuws…

Spanje is kritischer op de aanvallen van de Verenigde Staten en Israël dan veel andere Europese landen. Universitair hoofddocent Eric Storm vertelt op NU.nl hoe dit komt.

For questions and suggestions regarding the series, please contact prof. dr. Olaf van Vliet or dr. Max van Lent

Doorstroomprogramma speciaal voor tweedegraadsbevoegde docenten Frans.

Studievoorlichting

Studievoorlichting

The main aim of this project is to reveal and unravel the invisible histories of the UN, transcending the dominant Western perspective to recover the historical agency of Global South actors. The research will investigate how the UN has both facilitated and limited their role in shaping global order…

In this dissertation, matching, entropy, holes and expansions come together. The first chapter is an introduction to ergodic theory and dynamical systems.

Promoter: Ed F. Deprettere, Co-promoter: Todor P. Stefanov

Promotores: H.S. Overkleeft, G.A. van der Marel, Co-Promotor: R.G. Boot

Actinobacteria are Gram-positive bacteria that have a complex multicellular life cycle and are well known for their ability to produce a wide range of bioactive natural products (NPs).

Promotor: B. van de Water

The intradermal administration route is attractive for vaccine delivery, because of the highly populated antigen-presenting cells in the skin. However, the skin’s main physical barrier, the stratum corneum, prevents vaccines from entering the skin.

Beneficial plant-associated microbiota, particularly those inhabiting the rhizosphere, contribute substantially to plant health through pathogen suppression, stimulation of plant defence responses, and enhanced nutrient acquisition.

Quantum computing represents a fundamentally new computational paradigm, capable of addressing problems that are intractable for classical computers.