Tree ring of tropical tree reveals history of rainfall in the Amazon
The Amazon Basin is 120 times the size of the Netherlands and one of the wettest places on earth. One-fifth of the world's total rainfall lands in the Amazon Basin and is carried to the Atlantic Ocean...
View ArticleMan already contributed to greenhouse gases in Roman times
It has long been assumed that man only started to make a major contribution to the emission of methane from the Industrial Revolution onwards. However, ten years ago, the famous American climatologist...
View ArticleMillions awarded in European grant to improve biomass conversion catalyst
Weckhuysen plans to use two revolutionary measurement methods based on scanning probe microscopy (which uses a highly sensitive probe and a laser to form images) to generate a detailed map of a...
View ArticleMonkeys put off sex by bystanders
Sexual competition is highly prevalent in multi-male, multi-female primate groups and may lead to copulations in the absence of interfering bystanders. What is unclear is whether this avoidance of...
View Article€3.5 million European grant for innovative research into deep mantle processes
Probabilistic tomography Jeannot Trampert (1961) has been working at the Faculty of Geosciences since 1996. He is highly regarded for his seismological studies, which have provided a better...
View ArticleERC Advanced Grant goes to neuroscientist Nick Ramsey
Ramsey wants to develop a Brain Computer Interface system that can interpret activity patterns on the surface of the brain in real-time, with the use of state of the art techniques (7 Tesla MRI and...
View ArticleDigital research uncovers traces of readers in Renaissance books
Readers’ annotations show how people dealt with the explosive increase of information in the first centuries after the invention of printing. Annotated Books Online enables researchers to examine...
View ArticleCatalysts with isolated nanoparticles have longer lifetimes
Wandering particles “Catalyst activity decay is caused by the fact that metals start to 'wander' and the particles fuse when they come into contact with each other," explains Utrecht University...
View ArticleEuropean funding for project ‘Telecollaboration for Intercultural Language...
The evaluation commission praised the project for its relevance, innovative character, quality of the consortium, European added value, cost-benefit ratio & quality of the valorisation plan. From...
View ArticleClearest evidence yet of polar ice losses
The study also found differences in the pace of change at each pole. About two thirds of the ice loss was from Greenland, and the remainder was from Antarctica. Although the ice sheet losses fall...
View Article"Scientists should react much more quickly to acute environmental threats"
“Scientists can't just watch from the sidelines as forests disappear at an alarming pace. Research increasingly has to aim at acute problems that demand a rapid but well-grounded solution”, asserts...
View ArticleDramatic decline of big old trees worldwide
The biologists base their work on many international studies, including long-term work of William Laurance on Amazonian tree communities. "To persist, big trees need a safe place to live and long...
View ArticleFirst ‘X-ray films’ of moving biomolecules
Please see an animation of the moving biomolecul. Like all proteins in human body cells, biomolecules are three-dimensional structures that often consist of thousands of atoms. Biomolecules do not...
View ArticlePoor availability and high prices leave millions without access to medicines
On January 10th PhD student Alexandra Cameron of Utrecht University defends her thesis about this work done with the World Health Organization in Geneva and Health Action International in Amsterdam....
View ArticleMost ancient animal reveals secrets about evolution
The first animals on earth arose when single celled ancestors aggregated and started to specialize and work together as a multicellular organism. This organism now acquired its energy for living by...
View ArticleSubstantial investments in priority research themes
Rector Magnificus Prof. Bert van der Zwaan commented: "With Dutch universities generally doing well in the world, Utrecht University is performing excellently. However, an even greater focus on...
View ArticleMarjan Oudeman named President of Utrecht University Executive Board
Prof. Emmo Meijer, chairman of the Supervisory Board, is very pleased with the appointment of Ms Oudeman: “Utrecht University currently has a strong position, which it aims to maintain. This will...
View ArticleMillions for project on European television heritage
Building on the achievements of EUscreen, EUscreenXL aggregates a comprehensive amount of professional audiovisual content and makes it accessible through Europeana (www.europeana.eu). It will thus...
View ArticleCanadian glaciers melting faster than ever
The researchers developed a climate model for the island group to the north of Canada with which they simulated the shrinking and growing of glaciers. It appeared that the model correctly ‘predicted’...
View ArticleVeterinary Medicine research programmes score very good to excellent
“We are extremely proud of these results”, says Anton Pijpers, Dean of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. “Our cutting-edge research in the field of animal health, disease and welfare and the related...
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