Former Minister of Education, Culture and Science and renowned mathematical physicist Prof. Robbert Dijkgraaf is returning to the UvA: he has been appointed university professor of Science and Society from an International Perspective as of 1 April. Dijkgraaf will combine his professorship at the...

Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly large language models like GPT-4, has shown impressive performance on reasoning tasks. But does AI truly understand abstract concepts, or is it just mimicking patterns? A new study reveals that while GPT models perform well on some analogy tasks, they fa...

During the early Cold War, the Netherlands and Norway collaborated on a nuclear reactor, despite strict American control over nuclear research. Theoretical physicist Machiel Kleemans investigated this cooperation. He shows how international networks of scientists, the possession of crucial materi...

Why are people in some regions happier and healthier than in other regions? For the first time, an international team of historians, psychologists, and economists has linked ancient Roman borders to today’s differences in personality, health and well-being across regions. ‘Our study shows how his...

What causes distrust in science? According to psychologist Bojana Većkalov there isn’t a single explanation—it depends on the specific scientific domain. Distrust can stem from political preferences, as seen in the case of climate change, or from personal beliefs and worldviews, as with new (bio)...

Worldwide all kinds of ecosystems, from nature reserves to agricultural lands, are under pressure from climate change. Bacteria and fungi in the soil play a sometimes overlooked but important role in this. They strongly influence the health of soils and thus of entire ecosystems. An international...

Cars and other motorised vehicles are built in such a way that when they crash, their front-end crumples and any passengers inside don’t feel the full force of the impact. Researchers at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Tata Steel Nederland have created a unique shock absorber for use in jus...

The future of chimpanzees depends on smart conservation strategies and that requires data, lots of data. Ecologist Adrienne Chitayat conducted research on chimpanzees in Tanzania and is the first to systematically survey the population density in the entirety of Mahale Mountains National Park. In...

A new synthesis of global evidence highlights a strong connection between family violence and long-term health consequences, significantly impacting the psychological and physical well-being of millions worldwide. This comprehensive review, the first of its kind, synthesises the findings from the...

The University of Amsterdam is awarding honorary doctorates to ‘Virtual Human Twin’ researcher Liesbet Geris, filmmaker/visual artist Steve McQueen and historian/writer/filmmaker Bianca Stigter. Geris will receive the honorary doctorate for her groundbreaking scientific work in the field of in-si...

A new study by the University of Amsterdam and the Trimbos Institute shows that 20% of the Dutch population bears a disproportionately large share of mental and other health problems. What’s more, many within this group struggle with multiple problems and have relatively higher rates of experienc...

For a long time, the claim has been made that the brains of conservative people are different than those of progressives. Using MRI scans of almost 1,000 Dutch people, researchers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) show that there is indeed a connection between brain structure and ideology. H...

Without immediate action, humanity will potentially face further escalation in resistance in fungal disease, a renowned group of scientists from the across the world has warned. The commentary - published in 'The Lancet' this week - was coordinated by scientists at The University of Manchester, ...

Climate scientists have long agreed that humans are largely responsible for climate change. But the public often considerably underestimates this consensus. A new study, co-led by Bojana Većkalov from the University of Amsterdam and Sandra Geiger from the University of Vienna, finds that communic...

Scientists from across academic disciplines are extremely concerned about climate change. Many of them have already changed their own lifestyles or engaged in advocacy and protest, with even more being willing to do so in future. This is evident from a large-scale survey of scientists from all ov...

The University of Amsterdam (UvA) is set to investigate its own colonial and slavery history and has asked the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust, and Genocide Studies to conduct the research.

Curious about the AI use of, for example, 35-44 year olds? Or about people’s confidence in an AI cancer diagnosis? The UvA's AlgoSoc AI Opinion Monitor allows you to check what different groups in the Netherlands think about AI and to what extent they use it. 70% of Dutch people do not (yet) use ...

Everyone indulges in wishful thinking now and again. But when is that most likely to happen and when could it actually be harmful? A new study, led by the University of Amsterdam (UvA), demonstrates unequivocally that the greater the insecurity and anxiety of a situation, the more likely people a...

The Institute for Chemical Neuroscience (iCNS) will receive 23.23 million euros from the government as part of the Gravitation programme. The money will be used for the development of a 'brain atlas' of psychiatric symptoms. This should pave the way to improving the diagnosis and treatment of bra...

The Supervisory Board (RvT) of the University of Amsterdam (UvA) has appointed Prof. Edith H. Hooge as president of the Executive Board. The appointment is for a period of four years and takes effect on 1 June 2024. Hooge, professor of Boards and Governance in Education at Tilburg University, is ...