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Vrije Universiteit Brussel

Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) is a Dutch- and English-speaking research university in Brussels, Belgium. VUB Today publishes university research, science, and campus news.

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Recent articles

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Research News

Why our brain gives up before our muscles even get tired

An hour of intensive work at the office or studying leaves us physically exhausted more quickly, even though, from a biological point of view, our muscles are still perfectly capable of performing at a high level. Dr Jelle Habay, from the Human Physiology Research Group (MFYS) at the Free University of Brussels (VUB), has studied the complex mechanism underlying mental fatigue and its direct impac

Research News

VUB opens registrations for InterACT

The Vrije Universiteit Brussel has opened the first call for InterACT, an international program for postdoctoral researchers. This call gives researchers the opportunity to conduct research at the VUB for three years and at the same time work on the social impact of their research. InterACT wants to strengthen the bridge between science and policy. Researchers often provide knowledge

Research News

Prof. Dr Nastaran Meschi appointed academic coordinator of new VUB Dentistry programme

Prof. Dr Nastaran Meschi has been appointed academic coordinator of the new Dentistry programme at VUB. She will help shape the programme academically and prepare it for its launch in the 2027–28 academic year. With the new programme, VUB aims to help address the shortage of Dutch-speaking dentists in Brussels and the Flemish Rand. The Dentistry programme will be based at the VUB Health Campus in

Research News

VUB study: digitalisation makes prisons more humane, but also creates new inequalities

Digitalisation can make life for prisoners more humane by giving them greater autonomy and making it easier to stay in touch with the outside world. But technology is no panacea. A study by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) shows that digital applications in prisons can also create new forms of social isolation and inequality. The researchers argue that digitalisation should always be accompanied b

Research News

Filip loopt Dodentocht voor goed doel

Voor zijn masterproef binnen de Rehabilitation Research Group kwam toekomstig kinesist en ultraloper Filip Schoeters voor het eerst in aanraking met exoskeletten. Die ervaring inspireerde hem om zijn deelname aan de Dodentocht te koppelen aan een goed doel. Met een indrukwekkende tocht van 100 kilometer zamelde hij 935 euro in voor onderzoek naar technologieën die ouderen meer autonomie en bewegin

Research News

VUB-geo-archeologe laat publiek graven in duizenden jaren landschapsgeschiedenis

Wie een put graaft, kijkt terug in de tijd. In de bodem liggen niet alleen archeologische voorwerpen, maar ook de sporen van verdwenen landschappen, klimaatverandering en eeuwenlang menselijk ingrijpen. Ella Egberts maakt die verborgen geschiedenis zichtbaar tijdens Muddy Minds , een tentoonstelling en publieksonderzoek in het Friese Mirns. Tot 12 september werken archeologie en hedendaagse kunst

Environment & Climate

Scientists debunk volcano myths

Volcanoes emit smoke. Beneath a volcano lies a huge chamber filled with liquid magma. A series of earthquakes means an eruption is imminent. And if a ‘supervolcano’ like Yellowstone were to awaken, a global catastrophe would be upon us. These are images and ideas that regularly crop up in news reports, documentaries and on social media. But scientifically speaking, the reality is often far more co

Research News

VUB researchers measure light, colour and temperature during a unique eclipse flight

BRUSSELS, 13 August 2026 – What exactly happens to the light around us when the Sun is 96 per cent obscured by the Moon? And what role does the atmosphere play in the changes we observe during a solar eclipse? VUB researchers investigated this during Brussels Airlines’ special eclipse flight, during which they precisely mapped light intensity, light colour and temperature. The measurements were co

Research News

VUB leads European project teaching soft robots to sense, repair and adapt

BRUSSELS, 18 August 2026 – Soft robots that provide patients with tailored support during rehabilitation, gain a sense of touch to safely handle delicate objects, and switch between soft and rigid states depending on the task: these are among the ambitions of RESSORT, a new European research project led by Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). Funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and

Research News

STIMULUS team raises awareness of chronic pain through the Dodentocht

Four researchers from STIMULUS, the neuromodulation research group at VUB and UZ Brussel, took part in the 100-kilometre Dodentocht in Bornem on 14 August. Together with 16-year-old Oscar Moens, they raised awareness of chronic pain and its complex impact on daily life. Nearly one in five adults in Europe lives with moderate to severe chronic pain. Prof. Dr Maarten Moens, a neurosurgeon at UZ Brus

Research News

VUB research calls the global debate on scientific innovation into question

BRUSSELS, 12 August 2026 – Three years ago, an influential study published in the leading journal *Nature* claimed that science was becoming less and less innovative. That conclusion made headlines worldwide and found its way into science policy, including Flemish innovation policy. However, new research by the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and KU Leuven now shows that this conclusion was large

Research News

Science is no less groundbreaking

August 12, 2026 - A new study, published in Nature, questions the previously reported decline in scientific 'disruptiveness'. A team led by VUB researchers discovered that the amount of groundbreaking research from the past was overestimated. Missing reference data, mainly from older publications, distorted the picture. In 2023, a widely quoted covera claimed