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Jelena Luyts has been awarded a prize for her research on climate migration in Senegal.

Networks are fundamental to the modelling of complex systems, systems composed of an incredibly large number of interacting parts. Applications are numerous, in neuroscience, epidemiology, but also in computer science and engineering. A collaboration between the University of Catania (Italy) and the University of Namur, led by Professor Timoteo Carletti of the Department of Mathematics (naXys Institute), has developed a new formalism that allows the modelling of systems where several parts interact at the same time (multi-body) and in an asymmetric way. This research has been published in the prestigious journal Communication Physics, part of the Nature group.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) published a report (August 2022) which lists and assesses the different values we place on nature. This is a huge task carried out over three years by experts from all over the world, including Nicolas Dendoncker, professor at the Department of geography and member of the ILEE Institute at the UNamur.

From 17 April 2023, UNamur will host two prestigious international Francqui Chairs. Professor Timoteo Carletti (Department of Mathematics - naXys Institute) will host Professor Ginestra Bianconi, one of the leading experts on networks and high-order structures. Professor Romain Houssa (Faculty of Economics, Social Sciences and Management - DeFiPP Institute) will welcome Professor Karel Mertens, an expert in macroeconomics.

Do you know the rivulus? It is a small fish that lives in the Caribbean and has some amazing characteristics. It is indeed capable of self-fertilisation! But in this case, what happens to genetic diversity, which is essential for the evolution of a species? Welcome in the mangroves of Florida and Belize to find an answer.

Designed to promote scientific knowledge in overseas countries, the Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences (RAOS) is an independent, multidisciplinary, national and international forum serving Science in overseas countries. Professor of geology at UNamur, Johan Yans has just been appointed as a new member of ARSOM.

On Thursday 29 September 2022, the Vice-Rector for International Relations, the International Relations Service and the Department of Geology received Professor Fakher Jamoussi (Tunisia) as part of the "Tunisia on the move - 2022" project. For more than twenty years, the teams of Professors Johan Yans and Fakher Jamoussi have been weaving scientific, didactic and human collaborations aiming at enhancing the fabulous subsoil of Tunisia.

On 9 June 2023, the NISM and naXys Institutes, the Physics and Chemistry Departments and the Namur Research College were delighted to welcome Prof. Jean-Luc Brédas from the University of Arizona. A prestigious speaker of international renown, Prof. Brédas completed his doctoral thesis with Prof. Jean-Marie André at the University of Namur.

The European Euclid satellite will be launched into space from Cape Canaveral in the United States at 5.11pm on Saturday 1 July. The telescope is intended to provide a more accurate map of billions of galaxies over a distance of around twelve billion light years. A team of Belgian scientists and engineers from UCLouvain, ULB, ULg, UNamur and Ghent University, as well as the Space center in Liège (CSL), took part in this ten-year project, bringing together more than 3,500 people from 21 countries.

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has just published a study in the prestigious journal Nature, listing and assessing the different values we place on nature. Nicolas Dendoncker, professor in the Department of Geography and member of the ILEE Institute at UNamur, is one of the co-authors.

From 11 to 13 May 2022, a hundred or so scientists and actors from the economic and cultural world gathered at UNamur to discuss the issue of water pollution. The aim? To share and enrich knowledge, but also to alert and inform about its long-term effects on fauna, flora and human beings. Scientific sessions, workshops and a conference for the public were on the programme for these three days.

Characterization of trehalase from Acyrthosiphon pisum for the design of new insecticides SummaryAphids are major pests in agriculture, causing direct damage to plants and acting as vectors for phytopathogenic viruses. Conventional insecticides are widely used to control them, but their toxicity and efficacy pose problems in terms of the environment, human health and the emergence of resistance to these compounds. New alternatives are therefore needed, such as biological control using predators or parasitoids. However, these methods are not always economically viable on a large scale. As part of this thesis, another approach is being explored which involves developing new insecticides targeting the biochemical functions of aphids.The project aims to discover new inhibitors of trehalase, an enzyme essential for insect energy metabolism. Inhibition of this enzyme could disrupt vital insect functions without affecting mammals. This research involved several stages: the purification and complete characterization of trehalase from Acyrthosiphon pisum (the model for this study), the in vivo, in vitro and in silico analysis of commercial inhibitors on this enzyme, before moving on to the search for new inhibitors. Two points of integrated insect management were explored, biological and chemical control.The biological side saw the study of a strain of Streptomyces naturally producing trehalase-inhibiting metabolites, notably validamycin A, a molecule recognized in the literature as one of the best inhibitors, but not applicable as an insecticide. Other molecules appear to have interesting features, but we have not been able to isolate and characterize them.The chemical side has enabled us to create a pharmacophore hypothesis based on experimental results on molecules obtained by virtual screening. Although these molecules are not usable as insecticides as they stand, this hypothesis provides a better understanding of trehalase inhibitors in general and can be used to refine future analyses. JuryProf. Jean-Yves MATROULE (UNamur), presidentDr Catherine MICHAUX (UNamur), promoter and secretaryProf. Frédéric FRANCIS (ULiège), co-promoterProf. André MATAGNE (ULiège)Dr Rudy CAPARROS (ULiège)Dr Morgan HANS (Biocidal)