SciLux

This very special episode includes fragments of biology podcasts made by students at Lycée Aline Mayrisch during an FNR-funded project. During the Project Week at school, the students visited the Musée de l’Homme in Paris where they got inspiration and information about one of the chosen subjects: brain development, feelings, neurological diseases and art. We really couldn’t be prouder of the resu...

Many factors can influence the way we feel the passage of time. And it seems we can also alter it using extended reality. Listen to Dr. Jean Botev and Sahar Niknam (University of Luxembourg) and Prof. Argiro Vatakis (Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences), the researchers who are developing VR/AR solutions to change our time perception. In this episode you will even get some tips on...

In our recent discussions with physicists we have often ended up discussing beauty.  Wikipedia says that beauty is a feature that makes objects pleasurable to perceive. And what does prof. Alex Tkatchenko think? Prof. Alex Tkatchenko (University of Luxembourg), who is a chemical physicist, not only took the time to tell us what is beautiful in physics and chemistry, but also focused on his researc...

In this episode of SciLux, we talk about climate science and policy with Dr. Andrew Ferrone, a physical climatologist and the head of the Meteorological Department at the Administration of Technical Agricultural Services in Luxembourg. Andrew shares his expertise and insights into the evolving field of climatology, the significant role of greenhouse gases, and the critical importance of reaching n...

Here's interdisciplinarity at its best - combining experitise in allergies and oncology we get a novel and special look at the interesting link between cancer cell growth and allergies. Listen to our guests, Dr. Aurelie Poli (LIH) and Dr. Heather Bax (King's College London) as they explain the bases of the field also touching upon new developments in the field of IgE antibodies. SHOW NOT...

Sometimes science is about going very deep, but it pays off to also cross disciplines and try to apply your knowledge to other fields - this is exactly what my guests try to do in their statistical research. Listen to Prof. Masanobu Taniguichi and Sophia Loizidou as they explain complex statistical concepts, but also take the time to clarify what for example distribution is. USEFUL LINKS About Pro...

It is time to design policies that will combat poverty without relying on economic growth. In the latest episode, two experts in child poverty, Dr. Anne-Catherine Guio (LISER) and Prof. Olivier De Schutter (Université catholique de Louvain) have shared their findings.  Olivier De Schutter is also UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights and together with Anne-Catherine, Eric Marli...

In oncology the treatment is very diversified right now – there’s surgery, chemotherapy, radiology, but also immunotherapy and targeted therapy. In this episode of SciLux we focus on the last two combined with some studies on gut microbiome and going back to genetics 101. Our guests, Patrick Dang who is Resident in oncology at CHL and doctoral student at LCSB/University of Luxembourg and Michael D...

Talking to Dr. Dagny Aurich from Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine (LCSB, University of Luxembourg) turned to be a brilliant travel through many of our previous episodes and we referred a lot to our discussion about unknown chemicals with Prof. Emma Schymanski, Dagny's supervisor. Dagny, who looked into historical exposomics with C2DH researchers through the IAS-funded Luxembourg Time...

The invention of heat engines has played a key role in human evolution and this is the starting point for our discussion about thermodynamics with our guests, Prof. Massimiliano Esposito (University of Luxembourg) and Dr. Emanuele Penocchio (Northwestern University). Emanuele is currently working in the intersection between chemistry and physics - studying chemical motors - which we also discuss i...

If you want estimate the expected impact of a policy intervention, for example a modification of a tax rate, you can use microsimulations. Microsimulations can inform decision makers on the possible effects of their policies on individual households and support them in evidence-based decision making. Get to know more about them from our guest, an expert in microsimulations, Dr. Denisa M. Sologon (...

This episode felt a little like going back to school as Dr. Archibold Mposhi from LIH was nice enough to first explain very basic genetics and only then moved to his specialisation, epigenetics - the study of the influence of environment and behaviours on genes. So much going on in the field that we did not know about! SHOW NOTES About Archibold's research: https://researchportal.lih.lu/en/pe...

Sustainability seems to be discussed in all areas of our lives nowadays. But what does it actually mean for a materials engineer? And most importantly, how can we convince the consumers to buy sustainable materials not only because they are better for the environment, but because these materials are simply pleasing to the eye and nice to touch? In this episode we had a chance to talk to Dr. Tim Hu...

After a couple of weeks of discussion we finally had the pleasure to talk to the head of the amazing space labs at SnT (University of Luxembourg) and one of the postdocs who is a member of the space robotics group (SpaceR). Prof. Miguel Olivares Mendez and Dr. Carol Martinez told us what a robot really is, what it means when it has some intelligence and how it is to create labs which emulate space...

It is not the first episode in which we learn how interconnected everything is. Health economics is all about trying to see the big picture and taking the right cost-effective decisions. Prof. Marc Suhrcke from Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) took the time to explain what his field is about and also presented the various projects he is involved in, spanning from universal h...

What if we just used the soil that is on your plot instead of bringing the building materials from somewhere else? Doable? Angelika Bocian-Jaworska, the founder of Äerd Lab, convinced us that this is going to happen. Right now Angelika focuses on developing the right sustainable materials, but the future is hers - she wants to 3D print your next house. USEFUL LINKS Äerd Lab - https://aerdlab.com/...

They fly above our head in the thousands yet we tend to forget about them - the satellites! In this episode we had a chance to learn a lot about them, how to communicate with them, where they are, but we also went beyond to quantum communications. All thanks to our amazing guest, Prof. Symeon Chatzinotas from SnT (University of Luxembourg). USEFUL LINKS About Symeon: https://ism.uni.lu/person/prof...

Ever wondered how housing policies and markets add to inequalities within and across countries? And how does it work in Luxembourg? In the PROPEL project, Prof. Lindsay Flynn looks at the forces shaping patterns of inequality within and between generations in affluent democracies. In this episode we look both at the housing situation of younger generations, changes in housing policies as well as t...

Would you think about building a bridge or constructing a house before actually making a plan? Probably not. Yet for software we have a tendency of not starting with the bigger picture. We often forget that for complex programmes we need proper software engineering. And this is exactly the domain in which our guest, prof. Jordi Cabot from LIST and University of Luxembourg, specialises in. We also...

It was great to have the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Kathleen Mommaerts, who works at the Integrated BioBank of Luxembourg, an institution affiliated with the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH). Our conversation revolved around sample preparation, storage, variability, and, of course, the fact that Kathleen received the Rosalind Franklin Society Award, a recognition of her contribution to t...

Ever wondered how mentorship worked in academia? We did for sure, and that's why for the first episode of the new season we invited two experienced mentors: Prof. Simone Niclou, the Vice-Rector for Research at the University of Luxembourg and Prof. Andreas Fickers, the Director of the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (C2DH). Simone and Andreas not only defined mentorship...

Gear up for another SciLux Original! In order to record this special episode (last one of season 3) we went to the Museum of Natural History where we talked to Eric Buttini - the Head of the Department of Geo- and Astrophysics at the museum. Eric’s research interests revolve around asteroids and he’s now busily working on a new temporary exhibition coming to the museum on 10th November 2023 - Aste...

Social science genetics is basically genetics and economics combined and that's the expertise of our guest Giorgia Menta, a postdoctoral researcher in economics at LISER. Giorgia used genetics to see the influence of maternal mental health on children’s well-being and school outcomes. She has also studied the development of depression among women influenced by the UK pension reform and even c...

If, like us, you thought that the only way to stargaze is to use a standard telescope, you definitely should listen to this. In our 24th episode Oliver Parisot from LIST uncovers the simpler world of Electronically Assisted Astronomy (EAA) and tells us a little about writing algorithms to process the images. We’re pretty sure that after listening to the show, you will be itching to try it yourself...

Explore the world of banking research, financial regulation, stress testing, and maintaining financial stability. In a truly SciLux fashion, we break down the complex world of central banks trying to be understood even by those who don’t know the jargon! Our guest, Prof. Diane Pierret from the University of Luxembourg, shares invaluable insights that will leave you thinking about the financial lan...