From Microbes to the Cosmos: A Journey Through Science

Burn wounds are a major burden, with high mortality rates due to infections. Staphylococcus aureus is a major causative agent of burn wound infections, which can be difficult to treat because of antibiotic resistance and biofilm formation. An alternative to antibiotics is the use of bacteriophages, viruses that infect and kill bacteria. We investigated the efficacy of bacteriophage therapy for burn wound infections, in both a porcine and a newly developed human ex vivo skin model. In both models, the efficacy of a reference antibiotic treatment (fusidic acid) and bacteriophage treatment was determined for a single treatment, successive treatment, and prophylaxis. Both models showed a reduction in bacterial load after a single bacteriophage treatment. Increasing the frequency of bacteriophage treatments increased bacteriophage efficacy in the human ex vivo skin model, but not in the porcine model. In both models, prophylaxis with bacteriophages increased treatment efficacy. In all cases, bacteriophage treatment outperformed fusidic acid treatment. Both models allowed investigation of bacteriophage-bacteria dynamics in burn wounds. Overall, bacteriophage treatment outperformed antibiotic control underlining the potential of bacteriophage therapy for the treatment of burn wound infections, especially when used prophylactically.

Levitating frogs, black holes and half-alive/half-dead cats – in this talk we will discuss the fascinating world of modern-day physics! Already since the beginning of the 20th century, physicists have been trying to come up with a “Theory of Everything”: one theory that can completely explain the world around us. But after more than 100 years, we are still unsuccessful. Why is this so difficult? In my talk I will give you an insight into the world of the very smallest – the quantum world – and the very biggest – on the scale of our Milky Way and beyond. We will discuss the latest physics discoveries that may shine some light on how to unify these two worlds. And I will show you how levitating mini magnets in our lab in Leiden may teach us something about the biggest unsolved mystery in physics.

Imagine spinning a coin. While it’s in the air, it seems like it’s both heads and tails at the same time. But once you smack it down on the table, only one side shows.
This is similar to how the tiniest particles behave. At the scale of atoms and smaller, things get weird. Particles can be in multiple states—or even multiple places—at once.
In this session, you’ll explore the strange behavior of the smallest building blocks of the universe… by playing tic-tac-toe with a twist.

Direct imaging is an observation technique that allows us to spatially resolve companions from their host star. Due to the big difference in flux between star and planet, a very high contrast must be reached to observe the planet that would be otherwise hidden in the glare of the star. To do this, we can use a coronagraph, an optical system that suppresses the stellar light and lets the planet light through the instrument. In this talk I will dive into how a coronagraph works, show some promising coronagraph designs, and explain how instrument scientists are trying to push the technology of these systems in preparation for future ground observatories like the Extremely Large Telescope, aiming at characterising terrestrial planets in the habitable zone.

What do frogs and the Roman Colosseum have in common?
(Hint: the Greek root ‘amphi-’ provides a clue!)
In this classic pub quiz-style event, you and your friends can test your knowledge of nature, language, and life (in the biological sense of course, because when it comes to our personal lives we’re all just winging it). Using the linguistic discipline of etymology, your challenge is to “decode” the most obscure and convoluted biology terminology we could find. But you don't need a degree in science to win- because there is a prize for both scientific accuracy AND creative/humorous use of language!