Students publish popular science articles summer 2026
Students publish popular science articles summer 2026
Are we getting dumber as AI gets smarter?
Rinke van der Meulen wrote about how the use of AI affects our brain:
"AI is good for handling fast, repetitive tasks and generating drafts, while humans remain stronger in creativity, ethical reasoning, emotional understanding and deep critical thinking. Balance is the key: AI should amplify what you can do, not take over the vital work that high-quality learning requires."
Turning the tide: Saving Europe's freshwater fish
Kyra Beeftink wrote about the current state of Europe's freshwater fish, how we got there, what we can do to save them, and why we should do that.
"Dams, sluices, and weirs, together with increasing temperatures and invasive species, have pushed our freshwater fishes and the ecosystems they live in to a breaking point. It is a challenge that demands our attention, as the health of freshwater ecosystems are fundamental to our recreation, our drinking water, and the food on our dinner plates. "
Accretion disks: Revealing the shape of black holes
Robin Botland wrote about accretion disks. What are they? How do they form? And why do we care about them?
"We cannot observe black holes, but we can observe their accretion disks. The shape of the accretion disk is a direct result of the bending of the spacetime. Differently shaped accretion disks tell us about different types of black holes."
A chemical library out of control
Joris Smits wrote about the chemical space problem: the growing gap between the number of chemicals we create and the number we can properly study to understand how they behave. How does it work?
"We are not only living in a world filled with substances we do not fully understand. We are continuing to add new ones, faster than knowledge can catch up."
Creatine for the Brain: Hype, hope, or just a little help?
Noa Kreike wrote about the use of creatine for boosting our brain in addition to how it can give our muscles a boost for heavy lifting. Is this viable? How does it work?
"As the conversation about creatine for muscle growth is becoming saturated, new claims are starting to pop up about its potential use for something else: the “perfect” brain."
Professional Skills - Science Communication
This course aims to bridge the gap between academia and the outside world. Science communicators want to explain, spark interest or even convince their audience of the relevance of scientific research. If you want to know more about it, check it out in the course catalogue.