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An international group of researchers, including Professor Yoann Olivier from the NISM Institute at UNamur, has just published in the prestigious journal Nature. The subject: understanding the microscopic mechanisms that lead to the initialisation, reading and erasing of molecular qubits, a new theme in the study of materials, at the frontier between physics and chemistry.

Lately, and thanks to LUMI, one of Europe's largest supercomputers, the limits of our knowledge of cell lipid membranes have been pushed back. A team of Namur researchers, including Professor Benoît Champagne and Drs. Pierre Beaujean and Charlotte Bouquiaux, has just published in the Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling. The results of this study pave the way for new approaches in the field of membrane lipid therapy.

One year after receiving funding from the European Research Council (ERC) for his B-Yond project, Prof Guillaume Berionni has just been named a Fellow of the prestigious European chemistry society Chemistry Europe. This distinction makes him the new representative for Belgium for a period of 2 years.

The conference is co-organized by the University of Namur, Belgium and Wuhan University of Technology, China and supported by Foshan Xianhu Laboratory and other organisms.More info on the GCMC2025 website...

High-Sensitivity Birefringence Mapping Using Near-Circularly Polarized Light I will describe several techniques for mapping a two-dimensional birefringence distribution, which can be classified according to the optical schemes and principles of work:Illumination geometry (transmitted light/reflected light)Image acquisition (sequential acquisition/simultaneous acquisition)Polarization control (electrically controlled variable retardance/mechanical rotation).This classification facilitates a comparative analysis of the capabilities and limitations in these methods for birefringence characterization. Polychromatic polarizing microscopy (PPM) provides unique capabilities to alternative methods. It leverages vector interference to generate vivid, full-spectrum colors at extremely low retardances, down to < 10 nm. PPM is a significant departure from conventional polarizing microscopes that rely on Newton interference, which requires retardances above 400 nm for color formation. Furthermore, PPM's color output directly reflects the orientation of the birefringent material, a feature absent in conventional microscopy where color is solely determined by retardance.Joint seminar of ILEE & NISM!The seminar is open to external people too, no need to register. More info

Abstract Radiotherapy is a cornerstone of cancer treatment and is currently administered to approximately half of all cancer patients. However, the cytotoxic effects of ionizing radiation on normal tissues represent a major limitation, as they restrict the dose that can be safely delivered to patients and, consequently, reduce the likelihood of effective tumor control. In this context, delivering radiation at ultra-high dose rates (UHDR, > 40 Gy/s) is gaining increasing attention due to its potential to spare healthy tissues surrounding the tumor and to prevent radiation-induced side effects, as compared to conventional dose rates (CONV, on the order of Gy/min).The mechanism underlying this protective effect-termed the FLASH effect-remains elusive, driving intensive research to elucidate the biological processes triggered by this type of irradiation.In vitro models offer a valuable tool to support this research, allowing for the efficient screening of various beam parameters and biological responses in a time- and cost-effective manner. In this study, multicellular tumor spheroids and normal cells were exposed to proton irradiation at UHDR to evaluate its efficacy in controlling tumor growth and its cytotoxic impact on healthy tissues, respectively.We report that UHDR and CONV irradiation induced a comparable growth delay in 3D tumor spheroids, suggesting similar efficacy in tumor control. In normal cells, both dose rates induced similar levels of senescence; however, UHDR irradiation led to lower apoptosis induction at clinically relevant doses and early time points post-irradiation.Taken together, these findings further highlight the potential of UHDR irradiation to modulate the response of normal tissues while maintaining comparable tumor control.JuryProf. Thomas BALLIGAND (UNamur), PresidentProf. Stéphane LUCAS (UNamur), SecretaryProf. Carine MICHIELS (UNamur)Dr Sébastien PENNINCKX (Hôpital Universitaire de Bruxelles)Prof. Cristian FERNANDEZ (University of Bern)Dr Rudi LABARBE (IBA)

The scientific programme will include 14 academics presenting their work during keynote lectures, a series of oral communications presented by tenured professors, experienced researchers, PhD students or postdoctoral fellows, and two poster sessions. More information and registration

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.

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.

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

Max Collinet, professor of geology at the Faculty of Science and researcher at the Institute of Life, Earth and Environment (ILEE), has just been awarded equipment funding (EQP) from the F.R.S - FNRS following calls whose results were published in December 2024.

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.