What do everyday substances do to our health?

Science Stories

At the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, we conduct a lot of research. In our Science Stories, our researchers explain their work and the tools they use to perform their research for FHML.

Every day, we come into contact with thousands of substances. Think of plastic cups when we drink coffee, or pesticides on fruits we eat. However, we do not really know what these substances do to our health. Some of them can interfere with our hormone system, and eventually even cause diseases such as cancer or diabetes.

How can we test which substances may be harmful to our hormone system? In this video, Stefan Giselbrecht explains how he and his colleagues at MERLN found a way to test lots of different substances at the same time, by creating miniature thyroid models from stem cells in the lab.

More Science Stories? Watch how Veerle Melotte studies the role of our 'second brain' in colorectal cancer.

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