In May and June, 2,636 residents of Leiden, Leiderdorp, Oegstgeest and Katwijk found 3,939 species of plants, animals and fungi. From oysters to orchids and from voles to vetch, nothing was overlooked...

The Euclid space telescope has discovered 31 extremely distant quasars, breaking the distance record for this type of bright galactic nucleus. Powered by colossal black holes, two of the discovered ga...

More and more people are turning to AI when they feel stressed or worried. Researchers at Leiden University studied how and why people use chatbots for emotional support. Their conclusion: AI meets a ...

‘Can we calculate, in one number, how impossible it is that I exist?’ Astrophysicist Yamila Miguel took this question by artist Thijs Biersteker seriously. This resulted in an artwork that holds up a ...

The Executive Board of Leiden University has reappointed Suzanne van der Pluijm as Director of Operational Management of the Faculty of Science. Her new term of office started on 1 June 2026.

Every summer brings a new sense of anticipation in the greenhouse: will the giant waterlilies emerge, how large will their leaves grow, and when will the first flowers appear? For horticulturist Theo ...

Scientists at Leiden University have discovered that plants are strongly influenced by their neighbours, not just above ground but also through hidden networks in the soil. Their findings challenge lo...

They visited four regenerative farmers, viewed the landscape through the eyes of a dragonfly and organised workshops with policymakers and experts. Fifteen final-year students envisaged a South Hollan...

The glow of a century-old ceramic glaze, a microscope tip covered with platinum and a network of proteins that looks like a galaxy. These three beautiful images won the Physics Image Award 2026 at Lei...

More person-centred care with fewer people may sound contradictory, Professor Jildau Bouwman admits. But it is possible, she argues in her inaugural lecture. We just need to think differently and make...

Scientists from the consortium behind the Euclid space telescope, including researchers at Leiden University, have created the largest and most detailed visible-light image ever taken of the centre of...

A new generation of lion collars in Tanzania’s Serengeti shows that human–wildlife encounters are becoming increasingly common. Researchers from Leiden University are working with local wildlife organ...

Professor of Bio-organic Chemistry Hermen Overkleeft develops innovative methods to study disease processes. This increases our understanding of the human body and enables the development of new medic...

Physicists and instrument makers in Leiden have succeeded to optimise a spring that almost completely filters out vibrations at temperatures near the absolute zero. This breakthrough opens the door to...