Projects

Living systems use nanoscale organization to compartmentalize and guide the chemical processes occurring inside them. This spatiotemporal heterogeneity is thought to be a key concept for e.g. signaling specificity, yet is difficult to study as it can only be measured in the intact cell. However, at the current state of the art it is difficult to measure chemical (signaling) processes at high spatiotemporal resolution, or to measure whole-cell ...

Our food system struggles to sustainably meet the demands of the growing world population and needs to shift towards a sustainable, bio-based model. Specific insects are envisioned as actors in this transition, by efficiently transforming renewable biomass into high-quality protein and other compounds. The Black Soldier Fly (BSF) is important for bioconversion, as its larvae are able to valorize low quality organic waste streams (e.g. ...

A thorough understanding of bacterial cell division and how this process is regulated is extremely valuable, not only from a fundamental point of view, but also from a clinical perspective. By interfering with the proper progression of this vital process, bacterial infections could be eradicated. However, at present, our insight into the regulation of bacterial cell division is limited, since regulatory factors that have been described are ...

Rivers represent aquatic ecosystems among the most suffering from anthropogenic activities, by their regular and important exposure to massive inputs of organic matter and chemical pollutants. Bacteria play a key role in rivers’ ‘self-purification’ by their action of mineralization of organic matter and export of carbon to the atmosphere, and besides they form an important trophic link as they are located at the bottom of the food chain. ...