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The rhythm of darkness – Joke Meijer at StrandLAB Almere

On Thursday February 2nd, StrandLAB Almere organizes mini lectures on the importance of darkness. BioClock coordinator, Joke Meijer, will hold a lecture and tickets can be bought through www.strandlab-almere.nl. StrandLAB Almere is a cultural outdoor laboratorium on the beach of Almere. It is a place for talent and experiments. In collaboration with citizens, artists, scientists and cultural partners they develop cultural programs on current issues.

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The biological clock explained in the video podcast of the University of the Netherlands

Struggling to get up? You are not to blame! Prof. dr. Roelof Hut (University of Groningen) explains why this is true in the video podcast of the University of the Netherlands. This platform allows scientists to explain difficult concepts within a short time. He explains what the biological clock is, how it direct all clocks within the body and why this influences how we sleep, how we can perform and our health. And most importantly, can we become an early bird if we are a night owl? The...

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One-year update: Danielle shines a light on fish

PhD candidate Danielle Crowley started a year ago on her project in WP3.1. It is time for an update on her findings and plans. Keeping rhythm by Danielle Crowley Fish, like humans, follow light/dark (L/D) cycles of around 24 hours. These cycles or circadian rhythms as they are otherwise known, are responsible for initiating and maintaining an array of behavioural and physiological patterns including breeding, migration, and hormone expression. This is achievable due...

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Light affects us. But how? Francesca will find out

In May 2022, Francesca Borghese started her PhD project at the University of Groningen. She will study how light affects humans, in several ways. She will be supervised by prof. Roelof Hut. Who are you? Hi, my name is Francesca! I was born in Italy and grew up in different countries in Asia and Africa, before moving to Switzerland during my teenage years. I love travelling, discovering new cultures, food and in my free time I enjoy reading, spending time with friends, video games...

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One-year-update: Laura wants to improve the clock and mental health of students

PhD candidate Laura Pape has started over a year ago on her project in WP1.4. It is time for an update on her findings and plans. E-health for university students by Laura Pape My project in work package 1.4 is about the effectiveness of a guided e-health intervention on improving sleep and mental in university students. Together with my research team, Dr. Niki Antypa and Prof. Philip Spinhoven from Leiden University, and Prof. Annemieke van Straten and Dr. Sascha Struijs...

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BioClock researchers win AWARDS!

We are happy to announce that our BioClock researchers from different clusters are awarded with several prizes. Congratulations to all! PhD candidate Gali Albalak has won the Piet Visser poster award at the NSWO – Dutch Society for Sleep-Wake Research. Gali Albalak on the most left Kamiel Spoelstra has won the Stairway to Impact Award from NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) for his research into the impact of nocturnal light: https://www.nwo.nl/en/news/winners-nwo-science-awards-2022-announced And...

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New publication: Timing of exercise matters for cardiovascular health

BioClock PhD candidate Gali Albalak and her team at the Leiden University Medical Centre have published a new study which shows that the time of preferred exercise is associated with the risk for cardiovascular health problems, as well as the risk for stroke. People who prefer to exercise in the morning showed a 16% reduced risk for a heart attack and 17% reduced risk for stroke. They have used the UK biobank and included 85.000 participants for their analysis and published the full...

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