Lia Goltstein We all know that one person who will not touch their food if there is a more exotic ingredient in it. Some individuals even demand that all salad ingredients are put into separate bowls, so they can decide for themselves what is in it. These individuals are fittingly known as picky eaters. Picky eating is characterised by an unwillingness to eat certain familiar foods or to try new foods, as well as having strong food preferences [1]. But how come some individuals will not even … [Read more...]

Mylène Gorissen  As you are probably all aware of, people have a favour for using either their right or their left hand. This is the result of lateralisation (division) of the brain in two hemispheres, with each its own distinct functions. However, what most of you probably are not aware of is that there is also a lateralisation in the way humans carry their new-born children. Decades of research shows that mothers prefer to carry their baby on the left side of their body using their left arm … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]

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 … [Read more...]