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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.

An international team of researchers, including Prof Frederik De Laender, from the University of Namur, publish in Nature Communications. The editor highlights that the authors use theoretical models and field data to show how eco-evolutionary processes can force species to develop more similar characteristic traits in more species-rich communities to avoid competition. Which goes against what we intuitively perceive.

In the course of 2021, 42% of Belgian companies suffered a cyber attack. Those targeting citizens are no less numerous: more than 4.5 million suspicious messages have been sent to Safeonweb, the government body responsible for informing Belgian citizens about computer security. More than ever, at a time when the geopolitical context reinforces the threat of a cyberwar, how can we cope? Jean-Noël Colin, cybersecurity expert, professor at the Faculty of Computer Science of UNamur and member of the NaDI Institute, gives us an explanation.

A pterosaur from Brazil that preserved melanosomes in its feathers provides insight into the function of primitive feathers. An international team of palaeontologists and geologists, including UNamur (Dr Aude Cincotta and Prof. Johan Yans), has demonstrated that pterosaurs, the flying cousins of dinosaurs, had feathers and were able to control their colour.

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.

Increasingly sophisticated technologies are invading our spheres of activity without our prior consultation as citizens. Shouldn't the new digital tools, artificial intelligence or technologies resulting from progress in neuroscience, which are transforming our identity and social relationships, be the subject of broad and sufficiently informed democratic debates? This question is at the heart of the international "research-action" project "A new humanism in the age of neuroscience and artificial intelligence" in which UNamur is participating.

In a new study published in February 2023 in the Journal of Luminescence, an international group of scientists led by Sébastien Mouchet from UNamur, reported the previously unknown fluorescence properties of transparent insect wings. This research highlights the valuable information that can be obtained from advanced optical characterisation techniques.

Recognized for his expertise in ecotoxicology, Professor Patrick Kestemont is one of the scientific experts mandated by the Walloon Region, to advise the Government and examine all the consequences on human health of PFAS, these chemical substances present in our environment.

The Ten-years Most Influential Paper award has just been presented to three members of UNamur's Faculty of Computer Science: Xavier Devroey, Gilles Perrouin and Maxime Cordy. The award recognizes the paper published ten years previously that has had the greatest impact on the research community. It was awarded at the 18th edition of the International Working Conference on Variability Modelling of Software-Intensive Systems (VAMOS '24), which took place in early February in Bern, Switzerland..

The University of Namur is involved in the European CERTAINTY project, an initiative led by the German Fraunhofer Institute to explore new avenues in cancer treatment. Launched in December 2023, this European consortium is funded by the European Union - Horizon Europe program - to the tune of almost 10 million euros over the next 4.5 years.

TEF-Health: Testing and Experimentation Facilities for Health AI and Robotics is a major European project aimed at the rapid adoption of solutions based on artificial intelligence and robotics in the medical sector. UNamur, with the expertise of its Centre de Recherche Information Droit et Société (CRIDS), is a partner in this project.

Dr. Sébastien Mouchet, a researcher at UNamur and member of the NISM and ILEE Institutes, has just published the results of research focusing on the effects of pollution on coral reef fish in MDPI-Optics. The findings of the international, multidisciplinary team lead to crucial conclusions with implications for the health of marine ecosystems.