Understanding epigenetics to preserve biodiversity
Do you know the rivulus? It is a small fish that lives in the Caribbean and has some amazing characteristics. It is indeed capable of self-fertilisation! But in this case, what happens to genetic diversity, which is essential for the evolution of a species? Welcome in the mangroves of Florida and Belize to find an answer.
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An ERC Starting Grant for F.R.S.-FNRS qualified researcher Vincent Jacquet!
In the summer 2022, we met Vincent Jacquet, a qualified researcher from UNamur, to obtain his FNRS qualified researcher mandate. Today, we meet him after the signature of an ERC Starting Grant for his project CITIZEN_IMPACT.
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Vincent Jacquet, the political scientist who scrutinises citizens' assemblies
In the summer of 2022, we set out to discover the UNamur Qualified researchers who were awarded funding by the FNRS in 2022. We met Vincent Jacquet, a member of the Department of Political Science and the Transitions Institute. His research focuses on citizen participation and its impact on solving the crisis of democracy.
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"School and Deafness" by M. Ghesquière and L. Meurant wins an award
On 30 November 2022, Magaly Ghesquière and Laurence Meurant (UNamur), co-authors of the book "School and Deafness” (in French “Ecole et Surdité - Une expérience d'enseignement bilingue et inclusif", received the prize for the best book for Teaching and Continuing Education from the Parliament of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. This is another fine award that complements the recent release of the first bilingual sign language-French contextual dictionary searchable in sign language.
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"Better management of mineral resources around the world": a warning from geologist Johan Yans, new member of the Académie Royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer.
Designed to promote scientific knowledge in overseas countries, the Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences (RAOS) is an independent, multidisciplinary, national and international forum serving Science in overseas countries. Professor of geology at UNamur, Johan Yans has just been appointed as a new member of ARSOM.
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Belgium-Tunisia collaboration: geological and ecological challenges
On Thursday 29 September 2022, the Vice-Rector for International Relations, the International Relations Service and the Department of Geology received Professor Fakher Jamoussi (Tunisia) as part of the "Tunisia on the move - 2022" project. For more than twenty years, the teams of Professors Johan Yans and Fakher Jamoussi have been weaving scientific, didactic and human collaborations aiming at enhancing the fabulous subsoil of Tunisia.
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From the Namur snail to the Galapagos snail, there is only one step!
An international team of researchers, including Prof Frederik De Laender, from the University of Namur, publish in Nature Communications. The editor highlights that the authors use theoretical models and field data to show how eco-evolutionary processes can force species to develop more similar characteristic traits in more species-rich communities to avoid competition. Which goes against what we intuitively perceive.
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ERGA, a "European Reference Genome Atlas" to preserve biodiversity
At a time when around a fifth of Europe's 200,000 species are threatened with extinction, researchers from the University of Namur are taking part in a pan-European consortium to act fast and together to generate high-quality genome resources on a large scale.
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Biodiversity and the value of nature: geographer Nicolas Dendoncker co-authors a major international publication
The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has just published a study in the prestigious journal Nature, listing and assessing the different values we place on nature. Nicolas Dendoncker, professor in the Department of Geography and member of the ILEE Institute at UNamur, is one of the co-authors.
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Politics: "Voter turnout in decline: are Belgians turning their backs on elections?" (#2)
On June 9, 2024, Belgians will go to the polls to elect their European, federal and regional representatives. This triple ballot will also mark a major first in Belgium: the participation of 16-18 year-olds in European elections. With its Political Science department, and the research carried out within the Transitions Institute, UNamur is sharing its expertise to inform and raise awareness among students, the general public and professionals in the political and legal sectors, about the major issues at stake in this election! Until June 9, 2024, ten key themes will be covered on the UNamur Newsroom. Today: voter turnout in Belgium. Jérémy Dodeigne, Professor of Political Science, explains.
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