A Glymphatic System: Controversial but Conceivable

Imagine celebrating a huge party at your home. All your friends have attended and brought snacks and booze. After a fun and long night, most of your friends have left. You look around and realize that you are surrounded by empty beer bottles, crumbs of food and even some confetti that seems to have popped…

June 18, 20210Comments

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva: bone formation outside the skeleton

Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva (FOP) is a rare, genetic disorder where, slowly, but progressively extra bone formation develops outside the body’s skeleton. A flare-up of new bone formation can be triggered spontaneously or by everyday traumas to the body, such as from falling down stairs or bumping against the kitchen counter.

March 10, 20210Comments

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

Can biology save fashion?

The fashion industry is one of the most polluting industries in the world. This is not that surprising if you take into account that it requires more than 7 thousand liters of water and 2kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) to make a single pair of jeans2. To keep up with our increasing demand for clothing…

February 27, 20211Comment

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

Rocking to the TikTok of your internal body clock

What enables some species to regularly rise with the sun and rest with the stars? The biological mechanism for this is believed to be an evolutionary adaptation to the earth’s 24 hour rotation. It is defined as circadian rhythm and found universally in organisms from cyanobacteria to plants and fruit flies.

February 20, 20210Comments

ByMadison Carr

Interview Student Tips

The Ocean of Opportunity: Entrepreneurship in Amsterdam

VU:Sci was approached by the Amsterdam Center for Entrepreneurship (ACE) because they are seeking Masters students with bright ideas that they may want to develop into a business. Here, we share the story of VU alumnus, Maarten de Reij’s journey to build his company, Cargoplot, through utilizing resources such as…

October 1, 20201Comment

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

How is the social brain coping with distancing?

What happens when our evolutionary predisposition to be social actually makes us sick? This is the predicament we find ourselves in today, at a scale never seen before. Social distancing has been vital, but the current situation is inherently stressful and will affect our minds and bodies. But how?

June 18, 20200Comments

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

A Living House: Science Fiction or Plausible Future?

We have all seen the pictures of the massive drop in air pollution above China, which is at least partly due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. China is not alone, as many other countries that are under some form of lockdown have seen decreasing nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels. Blue skies are now shining above huge…

June 12, 20200Comments

ByMadison Carr

Interview Student Tips

Lab’s shut, Laptops open?

After almost two months of quarantine, we are slowly but surely finding our route out of the intelligent lockdown. But how has it been experienced by our VU master students? Although some of the measures in the Netherlands may have been relaxed, the VU policy is that we will remain off campus, and most likely…

May 15, 20200Comments

ByMadison Carr

Science Digest

High-sight: eyeing unanticipated effects of a ‘harmless’ drug

After a long night of partying, Ivan* found himself staring at his reflection in the mirror. Still somewhat intoxicated he didn’t fully comprehend what he saw, or rather, what he did not see: Where his own face should have been staring back at him, he saw a large black void, a sphere of darkness in…

April 27, 20202Comments

ByMadison Carr

Open Science

ReproducibiliTea: Blends and Flavors

As part of a worldwide initiative called ReproducibiliTea, a new journal club has kicked off at the VU to discuss how the scientific community is moving towards more Open Science practice together. ReproducibiliTea: how one pun began a movement At a scientific reproducibility workshop in 2018, Oxford Psychology student, …

April 17, 20203Comments

ByMadison Carr

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