iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

🚗 Repairing a scratch on your car with a hairdryer? Ranjita Bose @rug.nl is working on self-healing coatings for easy repair, and ungluable glues for a circular economy. She develops tailor made polymers for polymer products like glue or coatings. Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/tec... 🧪 #Scicomm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

🌟Making stardust in the lab How are the heaviest elements formed? Nuclear chemist Julia Even @rug.nl wants to collect the missing data to better understand the extreme processes that are required to form them. Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #Scicomm

Julia Even in front of the particle accelerator AGOR.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

🤖Self-driving chemistry for cleaner oceans, green reactions and modern medicines In the lab of chemistry prof Nathalie Katsonis @rug.nl 5 robots are employed to study surfactants. It's the first step towards the use of AI in the labs. Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/tec... 🧪 #Scicomm

Robotic platforms perform chemical experiments and analyze the results

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

🦠 Extreme microorganisms and their viruses in the lab Prof Tessa Quax @rug.nl studies viruses that infect ancient microorganisms that live in extreme environments to learn about the mechanisms of a virus infection and their evolutionary history. Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/cli... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

✨ Searching for the first generation of stars Else Starkenburg, astronomer @rug.nl @kapteynastro.bsky.social is searching for early-generation stars in nearby galaxies with the international programmes WEAVE and 4MOST to see what they are made of Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

🤖 Rockets, robots, and regulations What good can #AI bring us? In the #ELSAlab @rug.nl Prof. Ming Cao researches the inner workings of fish, humans, and computers to figure out how to control complex systems.🐟 Read more about Cao's work as an #engineer👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/dig... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

👗How to spot a nice wool coat in a heap of discarded textiles? Mauricio Muñoz-Arias & colleagues @rug.nl are working on automating the process with textile collector Sympany Curious? Read more👇 🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/science-in-focus/how-chemistry-can-make-robots-move-and-feel 🧪#SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

🤖 How chemistry can make robots move and feel Inspired by nature and using smart materials, organic chemist Michael Lerch @rug.nl wants to create robots that move more smoothly, like the arms of an octopus for example. Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

💊How do we keep medicines out of our surface waters? @rug.nl Eelko Hak: we need a collaborative European approach that brings together experts in water technology&pharmacy Curious? Read more 👇 🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/science-in-focus/how-do-we-keep-medicines-out-of-the-environment 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

🦠 The green sulfur bacterium as an inspiration for a new generation of solar cells? @rug.nl Physicist Thomas La Cour Jansen studies how the structure of this unique bacterium allows it to harvest energy from light so efficiently. Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

❌‘Terminating this project would have been a real disaster for climate research.’ Prof. Richard Bintanja @rug.nl is releaved after the U.S. Congress saved the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a critical ocean monitoring network.🌡️ Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/cli... 🧪 #SciComm #OOI

The first Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) instruments were removed in 2026 from the Pacific Ocean on the continental shelf and slope off the coasts of Oregon and Washington. | Image Jack Barth, Oregon State University

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

🐦How do birds know where to go for winter? Unlike geese, songbirds don't learn migration routes from their parents.🐣 Researchers @rug.nl tracked pied flycatchers and found out both their genes & natal environment influence their route.🌍 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

A large team of European researchers tracked the route of pied flycatchers using dataloggers, from eight different areas to their wintering locations in Africa | Image Richard Ubels

Lamers, K.P., Ouwehand, J., Ubels, R., Nicolaus, M., Camacho, C., Potti, J., Bell, F., Burgess, M., Lampe, H.M., Nilsson, J.Å., Kerimov, A., Ilyina, T., Belskii, E., Grinkov, V.G., Sternberg, H., & Both, C. Innate factors and ontogeny determine non-breeding areas of migrant songbirds. Science, 25-6-2026.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

🚰‘Data centres in water-stressed regions should face stricter conditions.’ Xin Sun @rug.nl found that current AI data centre expansion happens in areas of water stress, e.g. Mediterranean Europe, with consequences for the local community. Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/dig... 🧪 #SciComm

A recent UN report presents a long list of figures about the projected consumption of AI by 2030 | Image Charlotte Vlek

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

👨‍⚕️Dr, what's the diagnosis? When a newly developed solar cell is not working as expected, "device doctor" @rug.nl Prof. Jan Anton Koster helps uncover the cause. A simple measurement reveals exactly where energy is lost in the solar cell.⚡ Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

Jan Anton Koster diagnoses in what ways a newly developed solar cell can be improved.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 19/06/2026

🪄 ‘Just like the “magic cake” that I like to bake with my kids.' Chemist Loredana Protesescu @rug.nl is working on a 3-layer ink that contains all components needed for a solar cell. Before use it only needs to be applied to a surface.🖌️ Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

Loredana Protesescu is working on more stable, lead-free perovskites. Various compositions and different sizes of the molecules result in a range of different colours.

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 10/06/2026

Great news for Prof. of Astronomy @amina-helmi.bsky.social: she has wont the very prestigious 2026 @kavliprize.bsky.social in astrophysics along with two of her colleagues 🏆 They fundamentally changed the view that the milky way is a relatively unchanging spiral galaxy 👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat...

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

🐭Did we meet? Just like humans, sleepy mice forget their social encounters after a bad night. Neuroscientist Robbert Havekes & team @rug.nl found that the asthma drug roflumilast brings back these social memories after sleep deprivation.😴 Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Representative image of a memory engram (memory trace) in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. Neurons activated during a social experience are labelled, allowing researchers to identify the brain cells involved in storing social memories. | Image Havekes Lab, University of Groningen

Reference: Adithya Sarma et al., Sleep deprivation impairs retrieval of long-term social memories. Science Advances, 10 juni 2026

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 10/06/2026

Great news: Sasha Ivashchenko and Thijs van der Laan have won the 2026 Ben Feringa Impact in the researcher and student categories, respectively 🎉 Congratulations! Read more on how they make an impact 👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat... @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social @umcgroningen.bsky.social

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

🔍What are pheromones chemically made of? Researchers from @rug.nl @w-u-r.bsky.social @uniregensburg.bsky.social have deciphered the tiny pheromones of Trichogramma turkestanica, with 0.4 mm one of the smallest insects we know.🔬 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

A photo of Trichogramma turkestanica. The inset shows the tiny insect next to a coin for a size comparison. | Image supplied by the researchers

Absolute configuration, improved synthesis and femtogram-level behavioral activity of the sex pheromone of the minute parasitoid wasp Trichogramma turkestanica. Scientific Reports, May 22, 2026. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-46414-z

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 12/05/2026

Makers van de RUG | Hartschade vroeg opsporen of de gevolgen van aangeboren hartproblemen in kaart brengen: wiskundige Cristóbal Bertoglio maakt gepersonaliseerde computermodellen van het menselijk hart die hierbij helpen ❤️👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat...

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

🫁‘Materials that implants are made of often cause inflammation or tissue damage.’ Prof. Marleen Kamperman & research team @rug.nl @umcgroningen.bsky.social are developing softer stents & valves, and less invasive means to insert them.🧲 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

PhD student Ayla Kwant tests how to insert a soft implant into the ariway of a pig lung (obtained from an abbatoir) | Image HTRIC/UG

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

📱Should information on social media always flow freely? Simulations by Prof. of Artificial Intelligence Davide Grossi and team @rug.nl show that an unrestricted flow of information can amplify incorrect ideas amongst like-minded people.💡 Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Agents have partial observations (lightbulbs) about the state of the world: green or red. Their observations determine their initial beliefs: green-leaning or red-leaning. Agents are randomly paired, and the likelihood of being paired increases with belief similarity. They then honestly select as many observations as possible and exchange them with their counterpart. Both agents process the new observations perfectly and update their beliefs. Then a new pairing occurs. | Image Stein et al. / PNAS

Reference: Jonas Stein, Shannon Cruz, Davide Grossi, and Martina Testori: Free information disrupts even Bayesian crowds. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1 April.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

🔢‘The beauty is that our field doesn’t need big experiments.' In the new project FARMLAB, Prof. Bayu Jayawardhana and his team @rug.nl work out the mathematical formulas that let agricultural robots work together to monitor crops.🌾 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

Bayu Jayawardhana uses mathematical formulas to control robots

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 28/04/2026

UG Makers | Using knowledge about birds' flight behaviour to improve the flight performance of aeroplanes and drones: that is the goal of David Lentink (@sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social) 🦅 Together with biotechnician Josien Janssen, he studies American kestrels 👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat...

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 02/04/2026

UG Makers | Using head movements to control an owl in a VR game: sounds fun, but it has other benefits too: it helps you to do relevant neck excercises 🦉 UG researchers of @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social and @umcgroningen.bsky.social developed it 👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat...

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

‘They think I'm an elevator mechanic.'🧰 Thanks to Profs. Jan C. Willems & Ruth Curtain, the @rug.nl is among the world leaders in the field of Systems and Control. 👇Learn about the mathematical tricks behind a range of applications, like a knee prosthesis.🦿 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/sci... 🧪 #SciComm

Systeem- en regeltechniek is de tak van wiskunde die regelmethodes ontwikkelt voor uiteenlopende toepassingen. Een bekende anekdote vertelt hoe pionier Jan C. Willems uitlegde hoe zijn werk zijn werk gebruikt kan worden voor aansturing van liften, waarop iemand samenvatte: ‘Dus u bent een lifttechnicus!’

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

‘We might use this to design efficient cell factories.'🏭 New research by Prof. Matthias Heinemann & team @rug.nl shows that hydrophobic proteins cluster together for faster transport in the cell, like an assembly line in a factory. 📦📦📦 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Graphical abstract of the study showing how protein agglomerates make the cytoplasm more viscous. | Image: Molecular Cell / University of Groningen

Reference: José Losa, Matthias Heinemann et al: Condition-dependent amorphous protein agglomerates control cytoplasmic rheology. Molecular Cell, 10 April 2026

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

🫀 Why is our heart to the left and liver to the right? A research team from @rug.nl & @tue.nl built a world-first artificial embryonic node that simulates the flow pattern that decides where organs grow during embryonic development.🤰 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hea... 🧪 #SciComm

Heart to the left. Liver to the right. This asymmetry can be traced back to your embryonic stage. In the early days of your development, a small fluid-filled cavity known as an embryonic node formed on your embryo. Inside, tiny micro-hairs known as cilia create a flow pattern that steers where organs grow in your body. However, the science behind this flow process has remained a mystery until now. | Image iStock via TU/e

Reference: Tanveer ul Islam, Ishu Aggarwal, Yves Bellouard, Patrick R. Onck, and Jaap M. J. den Toonder: Artificial embryonic node elucidates the role of flow in left-right symmetry breaking in vertebrates. Science Advances 25 March 2026

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 31/03/2026

🎧In Science podcast - How can we recycle rubber tires? In the new episode, Prof. @rug.nl Francesco Picchioni shares insights from his startup that uses new technologies to recycle tire rubber into new products.🚗 Listen now via Spotify/Apple Podcast/RSS feed👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat... 🧪 #SciComm

Episode 54 - Francesco Picchioni on developing new technologies for recycling rubber and plastics | Image UG

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

💊 What makes a good RNA-targeting drug? Molecular biologist @rug.nl Danny Incarnato shows that small molecules that bind to RNA only rarely affect its function. His team's findings were published in @natcomms.nature.com Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

On the left are three forms of the same RNA molecule, which is stabilised into a single form (on the right) by mitoxantrone. | Image Danny Incarnato, University of Groningen

Reference: Chundan Zhang, Ivana Borovská, Teona Iobashvili, Edoardo Morandi, Marta Lionnez, Oluwatosin S. Olayinka, Rinse de Boer, Massimiliano Clamer, Martin D. Witte, Klaus Pors, John S. Schneekloth Jr. & Danny Incarnato: RNA functional modulation by Mitoxantrone via RNA structural ensemble repartitioning. Nature Communications, 23 March 2026

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 27/03/2026

🧊 Since 2020, the total ice mass in Antarctica has stopped decreasing. How? Researchers from @rug.nl & @knmi.nl found that a sharp increase in snowfall is mainly due to ‘atmospheric rivers’ transporting extra moist air to the ice sheet.🌨️ Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/cli... 🧪 #SciComm

A pinguin on the Antarctic ice | Image Richard Bintanja

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 25/03/2026

🦭Why do seals "whisk" their whiskers? New research by PhD student Chinmay Gupta, Prof. Ajay Kottapalli and team @rug.nl shows that active whisking improves sensing, helping seals accurately follow underwater trails.🌊 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Seals hunt in deep water, where visibility is poor. They use their whiskers to detect the slightest disturbances in the water left by swimming fish. | Image: Seal Rescue Centre Lauwersmeer (formerly Pieterburen)

Reference: Chinmay Gupta, Anastasiia O. Krushynska, Bayu Jayawardhana, Liangliang Cheng & Ajay Giri Prakash Kottapalli: Soft bionic actuation explains the functional role of whisking in seal whisker sensing. npj Flexible Electronics, 20 March 2026

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

'With our simulation model PROTEUS, we can determine the formation history of many more planets with different compositions and climatic histories.' Ass Prof Tim Lichtenberg & team @rug.nl discovered a new type of molten sulphur world.🔥 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

🐦What can we learn about our own health from the Seychelles warbler? Dr Chuen Zhang Lee & his team @rug.nl @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social have uncovered a hidden link between gut health and the immune system, thanks to this small songbird.🎵 Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/cli... 🧪 #SciComm

The Seychelles warbler is found on Cousin Island in the Seychelles. | Image Claire Lok Sze Tsui, UEA

Reference: Chuen Zhang Lee, Sarah F. Worsley, Charli S. Davies, Jan Komdeur, Falk Hildebrand, Hannah L. Dugdale and David S. Richardson: Host immunogenetic variation and gut microbiome functionality in a wild vertebrate population. Microbiome, 12 March 2026

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 16/03/2026

UG Makers | The potential of #autonomous robots, especially when they work in teams, is huge. How do we ensure that they can operate safely and efficiently? 🤖 Ming Cao and his team (@sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social) are trying to find out 👇 www.rug.nl/about-ug/lat... #Science 🧪

Image showing professor Ming Cao standing at a small pool in a science lab with robotic fish inside.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

☢️‘Without the ozone layer, the radiation that reaches us is comparable to the radiation from an atomic bomb.’ Reynier Peletier, astronomer @rug.nl, is worried about #SpaceX & Musk's plans to launch another million satellites in space.🛰️ Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #SciComm

The distribution of the current 10,000 Starlink satellites around the Earth. At this scale, the satellites would not be visible. | Image Heavens-Above.com

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

⚛️How does the biggest particle accelerator help to understand the smallest building blocks of matter? Find out all about the Large Hadron Collider in our new article👇 🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/science-in-focus/the-long-search-for-new-physics 🧪 #SciComm #ScienceinFocus

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 10/02/2026

Why are only a few #planets suitable for life? And why is Earth one of them? 🌏 Rob Spaargaren (@sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social) and others answer these questions in a new paper. It may have consequences for the search for life elsewhere 👇 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... @ethz.ch #Science #Astronomy 🧪

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

🧊 What are #metamaterials, and why does their size matter? Shyam Veluvali & research team @rug.nl & @umcgroningen.bsky.social discovered new insights that lead to better implants, robot hands, and bumpers. Curious? Read more👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm #sciencealert

Examples of 3D printed metamaterial blocks with different unit cells, as studied in the paper. | Image Shantanu Nath, University of Groningen.

Reference: H.C.V.M. Shyam Veluvali et al.: When Scale Matters: Size-Dependent Mechanics of Architected Lattices for Implants and Beyond. Small Structures, 13 January 2026

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

🌌 Why are most nearby galaxies moving away from the #MilkyWay? Astronomer Ewoud Wempe & Prof. Amina Helmi (@rug.nl) discovered a ‘large-scale sheet’ which explains these motions.↗️ They published their findings in @natastron.nature.com. Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

🚢 Do you want to follow the #Polarstern expedition? Join oceanographer Jacqueline Stefels and marine biologist Maria van Leeuwe (rug.nl) on their journey in the Antarctic.🗺️ Go check the live-stream 👇 🔗 follow-polarstern.awi.de/expedition/a... 🧪 #SciComm

Emperor penguins | Image Jacqueline Stefels

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

🐧‘To make the #WeddellSea a protected marine area, we need to demonstrate that what the area has to offer is of great value to humans.’ Jacqueline Stefels (@rug.nl) boarded the #Polarstern of @awi.de for an expedition to Antarctica.❄️ Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/cli... 🧪 #SciComm

Checking the water beneath the ice with a camera| Image Jacqueline Stefels

The icebreaker Polarstern | Image Jacqueline Stefels

Microalgae under the microscope | Image Jacqueline Stefels

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

🌍 Astronomers from all over the world are coming to Groningen for the #RockyWorlds4 conference. 'We would like to broaden the ideas about what a rocky planet could be made up of,' says Inga Kamp, astrophysicist @rug.nl. Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/mat... 🧪 #SciComm

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

🤖 Is our chatbot telling lies? Computer scientist Ayushi Rastogi & team @rug.nl developed a framework that verifies AI-generated chatbot answers, helping speed up human evaluation.💬 In collaboration with @afassoftware.bsky.social Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Visual abstract of the study | Image University of Groningen / AFAS

Reference: Herman Lassche, Michiel Overeem, Ayushi Rastogi: Is our chatbot telling lies? Assessing correctness of an LLM-based Dutch support chatbot. Journal of Systems and Software, online 2 December 2025.

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

🔩 How do metals "remember" their shape? Mechanical engineer Francesco Maresca & team @rug.nl published an atomistic model which explains how memory alloys, e.g. used in dental braces, can return to their pre-deformed shape when heated.🔥 Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hig... 🧪 #SciComm

Atomistic model showing the coexistence of two solid phases of NiTi: austenite (blue), stable at higher temperatures, and martensite (brown), stable at lower temperatures. The martensite region consists of two differently oriented variants of the same crystal structure (light and dark brown), forming a twinned microstructure. | Image University of Groningen

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

🐎 'Proteins are the workhorses of our cells.' 🔎 Using nanopore technology, prof. @rug.nl Giovanni Maglia developed a method to identify exactly which proteins are important to our health. 🏆 For his research, he won the FSE Impact award. Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hea... 🧪 #SciComm

Giovanni Maglia (left) receives the Impact Award from Mark Kas, team leader of Research, Strategy and Partnerships at FSE. | Photo FSE

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University of Groningen | Rijksuniversiteit Groningen @rug.nl · 15/01/2026

A team led by Prof. Edwin Otten @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social has received a €5 million NWO grant to developed new batteries that can store renewable energy reliably and affordably for several days 🔋⚡ It comes at a time when there is an urgent need for it 👇 www.rug.nl/fse/news/awa...

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

🗨️"I hope that my research has laid the foundation for a future tool for smartwatches." 🏆Master’s student & FSE Impact Award winner Thijs van der Laan (@rug.nl) developed an #AI language model to help people with aphasia find words. Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/hea... 🧪 #SciComm

Thijs van der Laan (right) receives the Impact Award from Mark Kas, team leader of Research, Strategy and Partnerships at FSE. | Photo FSE

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Science Newsroom - Faculty of Science and Engineering - UG @sciencenewsroom-ug.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

💡"We need to ask deeper questions about the nature and purpose of #innovation." Prof. @rug.nl Klaus Hubacek responds to the #NobelPrize for economic growth and innovation. Why innovate, and for whom? Curious? Read more 👇 🔗 www.rug.nl/fse/news/ene... 🧪 #SciComm

Nobel laureates Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt. They were awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their research on economic growth and innovation | Image Nobel Prize Outreach / Nanaka Adachi

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