Videos

Imagine a centuries-old university library. Damp air, insects, and books full of tiny holes caused by the ravages of time. It sounds harmless, but for text recognition software it’s a disaster: a tiny hole in the word ‘book’ and suddenly the computer reads ‘oboek’. Fortunately, there’s… maths! Quinten Van Boxstael explains how he uses wavelets – a sort of mathematical microscope – to detect those holes in advance, so that we can digitise books quickly and accurately.

5 seconds vs 10 minutes... That's the gap in teacher attention between two 3-year-old children in the same classroom during story time, and it's not random. In his PhD Thibaut Duthois (Ghent University) set out to find out why. Turns out the quietest kids, often the ones who need support most, get overlooked. To help fix this, Thibaut and his colleagues developed and tested a training program for teachers that actually closes the gap.

Climate policies often fail because they overlook the irrational ways people make decisions, like the backlash against the fuel tax in France. This shows that better climate policy isn’t just about tech or economics, it’s about understanding people. That's why researcher Guillermo Borragan uses behavioral science and virtual simulations to test how different groups react to policies like subsidies or taxes, making them more effective.

Did you know the largest green spaces in Flanders aren't all forests or protected nature? It's the private gardens, which together cover more than 12% of the region. Imagine if those gardens could help protect us from extreme weather, including the heat stress we're experiencing these days. Unfortunately, most gardens aren't designed to do that. Too much pavement, closely mown lawns, and too few trees limit their potential to cool our surroundings, absorb rainwater, and support biodiversity. Researcher Janne Teerlinck is exploring how we can change that.

Have you ever heard of the peritoneum? This thin membrane, measuring about two square metres, lines our abdominal cavity and covers our organs. When cancer spreads to this area, it results in peritoneal cancer: a complex disease that is difficult to treat. Cancer researcher Judith van Ovost explains how she and her colleagues are trying to improve treatment using two new techniques.

The fire salamander is critically endangered. The culprit? A deadly fungus that attaches itself to the salamanders’ skin, infects their bodies and eats the creatures alive. In the Netherlands, the species has almost disappeared, and the fungus is now also appearing in Belgium. Bioengineer Ruth Verhamme is researching the fungus to find ways to help save the salamanders. And you can help too!

Making chocolate mousse or mayonnaise without animal proteins? It’s perfectly possible using plant-based proteins, such as those from faba beans. However, these proteins can be rather capricious: some are ideal for a light and airy mousse, whilst others are better suited to a thick mayonnaise. Nutrition scientist Elia Veirman is investigating how factors such as variety and weather conditions influence protein formation. This will enable farmers to predict what their harvest is suitable for.

Imagine potatoes that are resistant to potato blight. Belgian witloof that tastes less bitter. Or chrysanthemums with new, innovative flower colors. ILVO researcher Tom Eeckhaut explains how protoplasts, isolated plant cells, can help us achieve these things. Watch the video

Did you know the soil beneath your feet could be one of our most powerful tools against climate change? Hui Xu explains how carbon farming, through practices like planting trees, growing cover crops, or reducing plowing, can help store 50 million tons of CO₂ per year by 2030. Farmers can even receive a reward for carbon farming. But there’s a catch: How do we measure it?

Controlling worm infections in cows - surely you simply use worming treatments, don’t you? Yes and no, says ILVO researcher Leen Lietaer. She is building a ‘community of practice’ that brings together farmers, researchers and vets. Because sometimes sharing knowledge works better than the best medicine.

Did you give your mum a lovely bouquet on Mother’s Day? Behind those beautiful flowers lies a great deal of work on the part of the grower. And what is the grower's greatest fear? That a fungus or disease will spread rapidly and destroy the entire crop. Arno Kasprzak (ILVO) wants to address this using drones and AI.

What if we could recycle CO2, just like glass or paper? CO2 is a major driver of climate change, but what if we could turn this greenhouse gas into something useful? In her research at VITO, Avni Guruji is exploring how to transform CO2 into valuable products, like fuels and industrial gases.