🦭Why do seals "whisk" their whiskers?

New research by PhD student Chinmay Gupta, Prof. Ajay Kottapalli and team @rug.nl shows that active whisking improves sensing, helping seals accurately follow underwater trails.🌊

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/highlighted-papers/2026/why-do-seals-whisk-their-whiskers

🧪 #SciComm #sciencealert #ScienceNewsroom #bioinspired #biomedical #engineering #mechanics #technology #biology #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

🪐'With our simulation model PROTEUS, we can determine the formation history of many more planets with different compositions and climatic histories.'

Ass. Prof. Tim Lichtenberg & team at the UG discovered a new type of molten sulphur world.🔥

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/matter-and-space/scientists-discover-a-new-type-of-molten-sulphur-world

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #astronomy #space #exoplanets #proteus #KapteynInstitute #astrophysics #geochemistry #geophysics #physics #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

🐦What can we learn about our own health from the #SeychellesWarbler?

Dr Chuen Zhang Lee & his team at the UG/UEA have uncovered a hidden link between gut health and the immune system, all thanks to this small songbird.🎵

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/climate-and-nature/2026/island-birds-reveal-surprising-link-between-immunity-and-gut-bacteria

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #Seychelles #ecology #evolutionarybiology #genetics #biology #microbiology #conservation #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

☢️‘Without the ozone layer, the radiation that reaches us is comparable to the radiation from an atomic bomb.’

Reynier Peletier, astronomer at the UG, is worried about #SpaceX & Musk's plans to launch another million satellites in space.🛰️

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/matter-and-space/data-centres-in-space-threaten-astronomy-and-ozone-layer

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #astronomy #ozone #KapteynInstitute #astrophysics #physics #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

⚛️ How does the biggest #particleaccelerator help to understand the smallest building blocks of #matter?

Ass. Profs. Kristof De Bruyn & Ann-Kathrin Perrevoort use the #LargeHadronCollider @CERN to collide #protons with the aim to discover unexplained phenomena. 💥

Read about the long search for new #physics in our new article 👇
🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/science-in-focus/the-long-search-for-new-physics

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceinFocus #ScienceNewsroom #particlephysics #gravity #proton #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

🌏 Why are only a few #planets suitable for life? And why is Earth one of them?

Dr. Rob Spaargaren, together with his international team of astronomers, answers these questions in a new paper.

It may have consequences for the search for life elsewhere.🔎

Curious? Read more 👇️
🔗https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/matter-and-space/why-only-a-small-number-of-planets-are-suitable-for-life

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #astronomy #KapteynInstitute #astrophysics #physics #exoplanets #planetary #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen @ethzurich

🧊 What are #metamaterials, and why does their size matter?

Shyam Veluvali and research team at the UG & UMCG discovered new insights that lead to better implants, robot hands, and bumpers.

Curious? Read more👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/highlighted-papers/2026/new-insights-in-metamaterials-lead-to-better-implants-robot-hands-and-bumpers

🧪 #SciComm #sciencealert #ScienceNewsroom #implants #robotics #materialscience #engineering #mechanics #technology #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen @umcgresearch

🌌 Why are most nearby galaxies moving away from the #MilkyWay?

Astronomers Ewoud Wempe & Prof. Amina Helmi discovered a ‘large-scale sheet’ that explains these motions.↗️

They published their findings in @NatureAstronomy .

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/matter-and-space/a-large-scale-sheet-surrounding-of-the-milky-way-explains-the-motion-of-nearby-galaxies

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #astronomy #KapteynInstitute #astrophysics #physics #galaxies #darkmatter #galactic #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ScienceNewsroom_UG/115943867859380319

🚢 Do you want to follow the icebreaker #Polarstern expedition?

Join oceanographer Jacqueline Stefels and marine biologist Maria van Leeuwe (UG) on their journey in the Antarctic.🗺️

Go check the @awi live-stream 👇
🔗 https://follow-polarstern.awi.de/expedition/antarktis-2025-26/?lang=en

🧪 #SciComm #ScienceNewsroom #marinebiology #biology #oceanography #microbiology #environmental #research #science #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen

🐧‘To make the #WeddellSea a protected marine area, we need to demonstrate that what the area has to offer is of great value to humans.’

On 15 December, Oceanographer Jacqueline Stefels and marine biologist Maria van Leeuwe (UG) boarded the icebreaker #Polarstern of
@awi for an expedition to Antarctica.❄️

Curious? Read more 👇
🔗 https://www.rug.nl/fse/news/climate-and-nature/what-the-smell-of-the-sea-does-to-the-clouds-above-antarctica

🧪 #SciComm #marinebiology #biology #oceanography #microbiology #environmental #research #scientistsOnMastodon @universityofgroningen