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  • 25 May 2023

    The white matter of the MS brain shows abnormalities even before inflammation

    Patients with MS show structural abnormalities in their white matter even before MS inflammation develops. This is the conclusion of a new study by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN) in Amsterdam and the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen (MPI). Could this finding be a target for a new treatment to prevent MS inflammation?

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  • 24 May 2023

    New EASAC report: “The Future of Gas”

    "Natural gas is no cleaner than other fossil fuels, and using it instead of coal or oil involves the risk of little or no reduction in the effects of greenhouse gases." That is the conclusion of the European Academies’ Science Advisory Council (EASAC) in its new report on "The Future of Gas".

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  • 17 May 2023

    Geert Kops new director of Hubrecht Institute

    Molecular cell biologist Geert Kops will become the new director of the Academy's Hubrecht Institute as of 1 September 2023.

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  • 15 May 2023

    Head and neck cancer organoids as a step towards personalized treatments

    Researchers from the Hubrecht Institute and UMC Utrecht have developed a biobank with organoids derived from patients with head and neck cancer (HNC). They used this biobank to validate known HNC biomarkers and found that treatment responses in the organoids matched those seen in patients.

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  • 25 April 2023

    Academy selects 18 new members

    The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has selected 18 new members. The approximately 600 members of the Academy are leading scientists and scholars from all disciplines. Membership is for life. The new members will be installed on Monday 30 October.

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  • 19 April 2023

    Carla Hollak awarded Academy Medal

    Carla Hollak, Professor of Metabolic Diseases, in particular hereditary metabolic diseases, at the University of Amsterdam and Amsterdam UMC, will receive the KNAW Academy Medal on 30 May. Hollak is a leading figure in the field of socially engaged medicine and an inspiration for a new generation of physicians. She is also a driving force behind the debate around the accessibility and affordability of medicines. The Academy awards the Medal every two years to an individual who has made a special contribution to Dutch science.

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  • 4 April 2023

    Working on diversified career tracks and more broadly based assessment of researchers

    Dutch knowledge institutions and research funders are taking a new step forward in the Recognition & Rewards programme. This will involve the publication of a road map of concrete plans for the immediate future, including new career and development paths for academics.

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  • 23 March 2023

    Seven talented scientists to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

    More than 600 young scientists from more than 80 countries and nearly 40 Nobel laureates will be meeting in Lindau (Germany) this summer to share knowledge and inspiration. The 600 include seven top young scientists from the Netherlands.

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  • 27 February 2023

    Scientists applaud EU pesticide regulation, but Member States and industry must stop using loopholes

    In a new report, scientists from National Science Academies express concern about Member States and industry using loopholes in EU pesticide regulations to allow the continued use of banned insecticides.

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  • 27 February 2023

    The value of science can and must be factored into policy evaluation

    It is important and urgent for the planning agencies to systematically evaluate the effects of investment in science using a different range of tools than at present. The current model-based approach is unsuitable. The value of investment in science is therefore not systematically included in the methods used for the evaluation of policies or party programmes. Investment in science is consequently wrongly viewed as a cost item. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (the “Academy”) states this in a new advisory report on The Value of Science – Observe, Know and Measure [Waarde van Wetenschap – Observeren, weten en meten].

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  • 20 February 2023

    Universities, university medical centres and KNAW advocate expanding European support for science

    Horizon Europe is one of the world’s largest international funding programme for science and innovation. With a total budget of €95.5 billion over seven years, Horizon Europe is indispensable to European science.

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  • 1 February 2023

    Prof. Wieland Meyer - new director of the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute

    Medical mycologist Prof. Wieland Meyer will be the new director of the Westerdijk Fungal Biodiversity Institute, Utrecht, The Netherlands, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

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  • 31 January 2023

    ERC Grant for Marieke van Erp of the KNAW Humanities Cluster

    Marieke van Erp, head of the DHLab of the KNAW Humanities Cluster will receive a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant of 2 million euros. This funding will allow Van Erp to start the TRIFECTA project.

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  • 23 January 2023

    The Young Academy: Support for refugee scholars is insufficient

    The war in Ukraine has laid bare obstacles for refugee scholars that have already existed for a considerable time. The Young Academy sets out the problems faced by knowledge institutions in this regard, and makes recommendations for structurally improving the situation for all refugee scholars in the Netherlands.

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  • 18 January 2023

    Beijerinck Virology Prize awarded to Ron Fouchier and Beijerinck Premium to Daniel Hurdiss

    Leading virologist Ron Fouchier awarded Academy's M.W. Beijerinck Virology Prize. The €35,000 monetary award and a medal will be presented at the Dutch Annual Virology Symposium (DAVS) on 10 March 2023. On the same occasion, virologist Daniel Hurdiss will receive the €25,000 Beijerinck Premium for Young Virologists.

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  • 12 January 2023

    KNAW condemns the exclusion of women from higher education Afghanistan

    The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) condemns the Taliban's exclusion of women from higher education in Afghanistan and endorses the statements by both the International Science Council and the International Human Rights Network. The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences is a member of both those organisations.

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  • 19 December 2022

    Overview Dobberke Grants of the Dr. J.L. Dobberke Foundation for Comparative Psychology

    The Dobberke grant of the Dr. J.L. Dobberke Foundation for Comparative Psychology is intended for research in the field of animal behaviour; this includes fields as behavioural biology and psychology.

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  • 30 November 2022

    Academy Early Career Award for twelve young researchers

    Twelve young researchers – three from each of the Academy's science domains – will be receiving an Academy Early Career Award in 2023. The prize consists of a sum of EUR 15,000 and a work of art. It is intended for researchers in the Netherlands at the beginning of their careers and who have innovative, original ideas. The Academy Early Career Award will be presented on 14 February 2023 for the fourth time.

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  • 7 November 2022

    ‘Insects need our help in a warming world, now’

    'Als we nu geen actie ondernemen om de impact van klimaatverandering op insecten beter te begrijpen en te verminderen, dan beperken we onze kansen op een duurzame toekomst met gezonde ecosystemen drastisch.' Deze boodschap komt uit het heel actuele wetenschappelijke artikel in Ecological Monographs op 7 november 2022, van 70 onderzoekers uit 19 landen en geleid door het NIOO-KNAW.

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  • 7 November 2022

    Launch of national platform for threatened academics

    Academics regularly face threats, harassment and hate speech. To address this issue, Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) are launching the platform WetenschapVeilig today. Academics who are being threatened or harassed can visit this website (www.wetenschapveilig.nl) 24 hours a day for help.

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  • 31 October 2022

    Science communication: a fully-fledged part of academic duties

    In the Science Communication by Scientists: Rewarded! programme, the needs of scientists and the hurdles they have to surmount in this regard have been identified; a guide has also been compiled.

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  • 11 October 2022

    Dutch knowledge institutions sign European Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment

    The Netherlands Federation of University Medical Centres (NFU), the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Dutch Research Council (NWO), Universities of the Netherlands (UNL) and each of the 14 individual universities have signed the European ‘Agreement on Reforming Research Assessment’.

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  • 30 September 2022

    News from the Institute for Neuroscience: what is the effect of hierarchy on moral behavior?

    Researchers from the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience show that powerful hierarchical situations make it easier to commit harmful actions, as agency and empathy are split across multiple individuals.

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  • 27 September 2022

    Inger Leemans appointed interim director of Meertens Institute

    With effect from 1 October, the cultural historian Inger Leemans (51) will become the interim director of the Academy’s Meertens Institute for the next six months. As head of NL-Lab she is already associated with the Academy’s Humanities Cluster. She is also professor of cultural history at VU University Amsterdam and a member of the Academy’s learned society. In her interim position, she is the successor to Antal van den Bosch, who was director of the Meertens Institute from 2017.

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