news 2026

No more estimates, but actual measurements of gas emissions in, for example, livestock barns. Scientists from Trace Detection Laboratory at Radboud University are collaborating with partners in One Planet Research Centre to develop a new sensor technology using photonic chips to make this possible. Dr. Simona Cristescu, scientist with over 25 years of experience in laser-based gas sensing, is leading university's participation in this project, which has recently been awarded a grant of more than 6 million euros.

Researchers from Utrecht University and partners from the United Kingdom have found evidence for the first time that gray seals can also injure dolphin species. Until now, such interactions were known almost exclusively in porpoises. The study, published today in the scientific journal Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, shows that gray seals may have a broader impact on small cetaceans in the North Sea than previously thought.

Young children who grew up in slavery on Surinamese plantations were much more likely to die if they were without a mother. This is evident from a historical analysis of Surinamese slave registers by researchers at Radboud University and Wageningen University & Research. Their work was published this month in Demography.

Recent genetic research sheds new light on the prehistoric population of the Rhine-Meuse region. The study shows that demographic developments in this area differed significantly from patterns observed elsewhere in Europe. Researchers from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam contributed through isotope analysis that provides insight into individual life histories and mobility.

When you talk to a child as an adult, you unconsciously change the way you speak. It is often thought that such adjustments are more difficult for autistic people, but new research shows that this group is initially just as good at it as their non-autistic peers. However, while neurotypical participants gradually adjust these changes during a conversation based on new signals, autistic participants stick to their initial assessment.

Ajit Ahlawat started this study at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research where he together with Professor Sagnik Dey (IIT-CAS) and Dr. Birgit Wehner (TROPOS) conceptualised the study and then conducted the field observations in Delhi, with assistance from colleagues of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT).

From today, scientists in the Netherlands can use the most accurate time and frequency signal ever available in our country. Thanks to a new network service from SURF, developed in collaboration with the National Metrology Institute VSL and the international White Rabbit Collaboration, this extremely precise signal is now accessible via the SURF network.

Researchers from the University of Twente, MST and Politecnico di Milano conducted  a pilot study  to explore whether a GPT-controlled social robot can support patients with medical information in a hospital setting. The first results are cautiously positive: patients and caregivers accept the technology.

What happens if liquefied natural gas (LNG) hits the wall of the cargo tanks in a ship? New research from the team of physicist Devaraj van der Meer (University of Twente), published in the scientific journal PNAS , shows that much higher pressure peaks can occur during impact than previously assumed.

Drivers who use an alcohol interlock are far less likely to drive under the influence again, and this effect continues even years after the programme ends. This is shown by new research conducted by psychologist Martine Blom. For the first time, there is robust scientific evidence that the Dutch alcohol interlock programme (ASP) is effective in preventing repeat drink-driving offences.

A popular technique for studying brain disorders, known as lesion network mapping (LNM), appears to have a fundamental limitation. This is the conclusion of neuroscientists from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and the University of Queensland (Australia) after an extensive analysis of more than 200 studies.

To monitor patients during and after surgery or in the intensive care unit, clinicians use catheters to keep a close eye on the circulatory system.

A new wearable technology could change how we monitor unborn babies at home. PhD researcher Yijing Zhang (Department of Electrical Engineering) has developed a comfortable, portable garment that allows pregnant women to measure their baby's heartbeat without the need for sticky, uncomfortable gel-based electrode sensors or direct skin contact.

For the first time, astronomers have been able to link a so-called X-ray flash from deep space to a supernova, which in turn is associated with a gamma-ray burst. Scientists traced the stellar explosion using, among other instruments, the Einstein Probe X-ray satellite. An international team led by Radboud University has now used observations from the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope to show that this event was a gamma-ray-burst-associated supernova that occurred about ten billion years ago.

Why does one woman spontaneously conceive twins while another never does? That question is central to the of behavioral geneticist Nikki Hubers.