News

Four Maastricht research teams are starting their projects funded with money from the Open Competition of grant provider ZonMw. In addition, a Nijmegen research team has been awarded, which includes Harro van Lente, professor of Science and Technology Studies at Maastricht University (UM).

Scientists Daniel Keszthelyi and Anna Beckers from Maastricht University (UM) are to receive a prestigious European grant for early career researchers: the Starting Grant from the European Research Council (ERC).

Eight of the 23 bachelor’s programmes at Maastricht University (UM) that were assessed have been voted the best in the country. Six UM programmes have also been awarded ‘Top-rated Programme’ status. The rankings were published today in the university guide Keuzegids Universiteiten 2023.

The affordability of cigarettes in the Netherlands remained virtually unchanged between 2010 and 2020. This has emerged from research by Maastricht University (UM), and makes it clear that the excise duty increases have been insufficient to make smoking less affordable.

A lack of coordinated arrangements between neighbouring countries is making it extremely difficult to realise a successful energy transition in the German-Dutch border regions. These are the findings of the annual Cross-border Impact Assessment by the ITEM expertise centre (part of Maastricht University). 

Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) have launched the platform WetenschapVeilig. The primary aim of WetenschapVeilig is to ensure that academics who are dealing with threats or aggression can get the right help within their institution as quickly as possible.

Yesterday saw the opening in Aachen of AMICARE, an institute at which researchers from Maastricht UMC+, Maastricht University and RWTH Aachen University will work together to unravel the relationship between cardiovascular problems and kidney disease.

Mental health disorders affect one out of four people during their lifetime, with more than three quarters affected before the age of 24. Researchers are now joining forces in the new project Youth-GEMs (Gene Environment Interactions in Mental Health TrajectorieS of Youth) to conduct research into the genetic and environmental factors of mental health in young European people. The project will be coordinated by Maastricht University.

Oxytocin may be able to support memory in people with Alzheimer’s disease. This is the conclusion of a study led by Maastricht University in which oxytocin was administered to mice with Alzheimer’s-related problems. The research is based on epigenetics, the external effects that turn parts of our DNA on or off during our lifetime.

The EU ban on menthol cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco introduced in May 2020 led menthol smokers to be more likely to try to quit smoking and to be successful in quitting compared to non-menthol smokers. At the same time, a third of menthol smokers say they still smoke menthol cigarettes despite the ban.