Jelmer Raaijmakers Ever wondered how many DNA-containing cells you would need to store the latest Avengers movie on your storage device? The previous sentence might sound really strange to you, but utilizing currently available DNA technologies to store large amounts of data (read “digital data”) might be the future of data storage. Data scientist Goldman was talking with his fellow bioinformaticians in a hotel in Hamburg (Germany) one day when the question popped up: “What is to stop us from … [Lees meer...]
Lifting or running: which gives you that six-pack faster?
Quentin Marsman The last few years people are increasingly hitting the gym to work on their physique, most importantly to lose fat. Most men start lifting to increase their muscle mass and acquire the beloved six-pack, whereas most women jump on the treadmill to burn calories and ultimately lose fat and weight. The new Dutch guideline for sports and exercise from 2017 advises people to do muscle and bone strengthening exercises next to cardiovascular exercises, like playing football or running … [Lees meer...]
Pink elephants
Maaike Plug When reading the title, you will possibly think of the Belgian beer ‘Delirium Tremens’, which has a pink elephant as a logo. This beer is very popular among many students on the Friday afternoon drink at the Aesculaaf. But it is also the name of a type of delirium caused by withdrawal from alcohol. According to DSM-5, the criteria for delirium tremens are a reduction in heavy use of alcohol, two or more of the eight symptoms after reducing alcohol consumption, a decreased … [Lees meer...]
A good old nap
Naaz Shareef It is already May, the last month of spring. It is the month where spring flowers bloom massively. However, May is also known as the ‘’Better Sleep Month’’, according to the Better Sleep Council. The purpose of the Better Sleep Month is to raise awareness about sleeping better and the benefits of sleep. Students are familiar with sleep deprivation, for example when they are pulling an all-nighter or cramming for an exam. The first thing students do to catch up on sleep, is … [Lees meer...]
The Placebo Effect: Just a Trick?
Joyce Krekels Some time ago, I went to the RAMS symposium ‘Placebo effect: The Mind as Medicine’, where professor Andrea Evers and PhD student Judith Tekampe from Leiden University spoke about positive (placebo) and negative (nocebo) treatment effects that occur as a result of a patient’s expectations and beliefs about the effect of a certain treatment or its side effects (1). This urged me to dig a little bit deeper into the placebo effect and how it can be applied in the clinic. Remarkably, … [Lees meer...]