NWO Veni, recent awardees

2026

• Early evidence for a stable and flexible foraging niche in the evolution of <i>Homo</i>

  Frances Forrest · Fairfield University · US

  Major evolutionary transitions in Homo (e.g., increased brain size, complex social behavior) are linked to reliance on high-quality foods. Increased meat consumption likely contributed to this shift, but whether hominins practiced carcass acquisition and processing strategies consistently across time and environments remains unclear. The Koobi Fora Formation spans much of the Plio-Pleistocene and is central to reconstructing the ecology of early Homo . However, zooarchaeological research has foc

• Hypergraphs and simplicial complexes in focus: a roadmap for future research in higher-order interactions

  Aida Abiad · Eindhoven University of Technology · NL

  Abstract Higher-order interactions are increasingly being recognized as fundamental to our understanding of complex systems, networks, and the development of the next generation of AI algorithms. However, modeling higher-order interactions requires us to go beyond graphs and networks, which can only encode pairwise interactions, and so demands a new theory. Hypergraphs and simplicial complexes (also called higher-order networks), which arise as natural mathematical representations of higher-orde

• Causal language jumps and non-alignments between clinical practice guidelines and original studies: a systematic evaluation of diabetes guidelines and their cited evidence

  Keling Wang · Erasmus MC · NL

  OBJECTIVES: Clinical practice guidelines are designed to guide clinical practice and often make causal claims when making recommendations. Sometimes, guidelines make or require stronger causal claims than supplied in the original studies, a phenomenon we call 'causal language jump'. We aimed to evaluate the strength of expressed causation in guidelines and the evidence they reference to assess the pattern of jumps, taking diabetes as an illustrative example. DESIGN: This is a systematic evaluati

• From night-to-night and from person-to-person: dynamic phenomena of insomnia

  Mona M. Klau · University of Amsterdam · NL

  Study Objectives: Sleep is complex and variable, yet insomnia research and treatment often rely on averages-either across nights or across individuals. Such approaches risk obscuring dynamic features that characterize insomnia as a disorder and its unique manifestation in individuals. In this study, we explore disorder-specific (group-level) and person-specific (individual-level) dynamic phenomena of insomnia among people with insomnia. Methods: We analyzed 8 weeks of sleep diary data from 61 pa

• Maternal childhood maltreatment and children's psychopathology across childhood: Exploring the role of maternal early caregiving quality in a low-risk sample

  Lisa Loheide-Niesmann · Radboud University Nijmegen · NL

  BACKGROUND: Childhood maltreatment can have severe, long-lasting mental health consequences for survivors themselves and these effects can also be transmitted to the next generation: children of childhood maltreatment survivors are at a higher risk for various behavioural problems. However, the impact of maternal childhood maltreatment on developmental trajectories of child behaviour problems is not yet clear. OBJECTIVE: This longitudinal observational study examined associations between materna

• The Low-mass Dwarf Host Galaxy of Nonrepeating FRB 20230708A

  A. Müller · Maria Mitchell Association · US

  Abstract We present Very Large Telescope/X-Shooter spectroscopy for the host galaxies of 12 fast radio bursts (FRBs) detected by the Australian SKA Pathfinder observed through the “Fast and Unbiased FRB Host Galaxy (FURBY)” Large Programme at the European Southern Observatory, which imposes strict selection criteria on the included FRBs and their host galaxies to produce a homogeneous and well-defined sample. We describe the data reduction and analysis of these spectra and report their redshifts

• Multidimensional Recovery of Young Secondary Forests in Human‐Modified Tropical Landscapes

  Tomonari Matsuo · Wageningen University & Research · NL

  across 12 attributes is 54%; range: 18%-78%), indicating that succession is the result of a socio-ecological system. An additional 39% of the variation (range: 19%-70%) was explained by plots occuring within landscapes, which reflects variation in landscape context and local land use intensity. Countries had a stronger impact on succession than forest type, indicating that the social component is more important early in succession, whereas the ecological component may become more important later

• Exchange-only spin-orbit qubits in silicon and germanium

  Stefano Bosco · Kavli Energy NanoScience Institute · US

  The strong spin-orbit interaction in silicon and germanium hole quantum dots enables all-electric microwave control of single spins but is unsuited for multispin exchange-only qubits that rely on scalable discrete signals to suppress crosstalk and heating effects in large quantum processors. Here, we propose an exchange-only spin-orbit qubit that utilizes spin-orbit interactions to implement qubit gates and keeps the beneficial properties of the original encoding. Our encoding is robust to signi

• <i>Salmonella</i> exploits USP32 to coordinate Rab14 and Rab11 recycling pathways for intracellular survival

  Virginie Stévenin · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

  SUMMARY Many intracellular bacterial pathogens establish membrane-bound niches derived from host material to survive and replicate within host cells. These compartments are carved through subversion of host intracellular trafficking pathways to modulate the composition of the vacuolar membrane. Although recycling-associated small Rab GTPases are frequently observed at infection sites, their role in membrane remodeling and cargo sorting has remained poorly understood. Here, we leverage the extens

• PTA contrast enhancement and specimen preparation for micro-CT scanning of spiders and other small arthropods v1

  F. Andres Rivera-Quiroz · Naturalis Biodiversity Center · NL

  Over the past decade, Micro-CT scanning has gained traction as one of the foremost imaging methods for studying arthropod morphology and internal anatomy. This method combines versatility, high data output, and relatively little impact on specimens, making it ideal for studying freshly collected specimens as well as material from natural history collections. In addition to the capabilities of the scanners, the selection of a staining method has a major impact on the quality of the data produced.

• Tuning cholesteric cellulose nanocrystal self-assembly in spherical confinement via salt and sonication

  Diogo Vieira Saraiva

  Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) self-assemble into cholesteric liquid crystals that produce structural color upon solvent removal. Although most studies examine this process in planar films, confinement within micron-sized water-in-oil droplets provides a powerful platform for resolving self-assembly dynamics in real time. Here, we investigate how two common pitch-tuning strategies, sodium chloride addition and tip sonication, govern the kinetics and structure of CNC self-assembly under spherical

• Does heat tolerance vary with rates of oxygen production in photosymbiotic cnidarians?

  Elise M. J. Laetz · University of Groningen · NL

  Oxygen acquisition and delivery to tissues is believed to be a key factor in heat tolerance, but testing this link has been challenging owing to methodological limitations to separate processes related to oxygen acquisition and oxygen delivery. In this study, we altered tissue oxygenation by manipulating light intensity using cnidarians that host endosymbiotic algae as model species. We first verified that light intensity determines net photosynthetic rates, showing that all species produced oxy

• Tearing the Land From Underfoot: Environmental Racism at the Northern French Border

  Maria Hagan · University of Amsterdam · NL

  ABSTRACT Much attention has been devoted to the infliction of hostile environments on people on the move in political and discursive terms. However, less attention has been paid to the cultivation of physically hostile environments where they dwell. Building on critical border and environmental justice studies, this article examines how the natural environment is used and altered by state authorities at the northern French border to try and render it unliveable for people on the move. It highlig

• Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining Activities

  Mariana Braz Pires · Leiden University · NL

  Mining poses significant and persistent threats to freshwater ecosystems, with impacts often enduring long after operations cease. Growing concerns suggest that the expansion of mining to meet global mineral demands for decarbonization may amplify these cumulative risks to freshwater biodiversity. However, the location and extent of potential conflict hotspots remain poorly understood, hampering our ability to meet international conservation targets. Here, we map areas of potential conflict betw

• Experience sampling methods require more than numbers

  Laura F. Bringmann · University of Groningen · NL

  The experience sampling method (ESM) collects people's real-time reports about their feelings, actions, and surroundings. While this method originally included both numerical and open-ended responses, most studies today focus only on the numbers. We argue that ESM researchers should collect and analyze open-ended responses again, as they are crucial for understanding what the numbers really mean, and for capturing parts of experience that numbers alone cannot, such as context, the "why" behind r

• Error correction with brickwork Clifford circuits

  Twan Kroll

  We prove that random 1D Clifford brickwork circuits form (in expectation) good approximate quantum error correction codes in logarithmic depth. Our proof makes use of the statistical mechanics techniques for random circuits developed by Dalzell et al. [PRX Quantum 3, 010333], adapted extensively to our own purpose. We also consider exact error correction, where we give matching upper and lower bounds for the required depth in which random 1D Clifford brickwork circuits become error correcting.

• Genetic underpinnings of chills from art and music

  Giacomo Bignardi · Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics · NL

  Art can evoke strong emotional responses in humans. Here, we examine genetic contributions to chills, a marker of such responses. We gather self-reports from a genotyped sample of thousands of partly related individuals from the Netherlands (n = 15,606). Using genomic relationships based on common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, we find that up to 29% of the variation in proneness to aesthetic (visual art and poetry) and music chills can be explained by familial relatedness effects, o

• Experience sampling methods require more than numbers

  Laura F. Bringmann · University of Groningen · NL

  The experience sampling method (ESM) collects people's real-time reports about their feelings, actions, and surroundings. While this method originally included both numerical and open-ended responses, most studies today focus only on the numbers. We argue that ESM researchers should collect and analyze open-ended responses again, as they are crucial for understanding what the numbers really mean, and for capturing parts of experience that numbers alone cannot, such as context, the "why" behind r

• Student engagement profiles in a mobile app: Links to self-regulated learning and performance

  Jacqueline Wong · University of Applied Sciences Utrecht · NL

  Abstract Engaging in independent learning during self-study time is an essential part of learning in higher education. The ubiquity of mobile devices and their applications offer students a flexible, on-the-go learning experience. However, flexible learning environments require students to self-regulate their learning. The current study examined student engagement with a mobile study app intended for students to engage in retrieval practice with feedback as part of self-regulated learning (SRL).

• Beyond species means – the intraspecific contribution to global wood density variation

  Fabian Jörg Fischer · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

  Wood density is central for estimating vegetation carbon storage and a plant functional trait of great ecological and evolutionary importance. However, the global extent of wood density variation is unclear, especially at the intraspecific level. We assembled the most comprehensive wood density collection to date, including 109 626 records from 16 829 plant species across woody life forms and biomes (GWDD v.2, available here: doi: 10.5281/zenodo.16919509). Using the GWDD v.2, we explored the sou

• Carboxydotrophic Acetogenesis in Alkaline Conditions Results in Transient Formate Production by the Halo‐Alkaliphilic Acetogen <i>Haloacetibacter carboxydivorans</i> Gen. Nov. sp. Nov

  Martijn Diender · University of the Arts Utrecht · NL

  Carboxydotrophic acetogens are found widespread in the environment, yet the strains characterised to date are almost exclusively mild acidophiles or neutrophiles, often isolated from gut or freshwater systems. Here, we describe a novel carboxydotrophic halo-alkaliphilic, acetogenic bacterium, strain MD4, isolated from a CO-fed bioreactor operated under high salt and alkaline conditions. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that strain MD4 is the first representative of a novel genus, branching between

• Beyond species means – the intraspecific contribution to global wood density variation

  Fabian Jörg Fischer · Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique · FR

  Wood density is central for estimating vegetation carbon storage and a plant functional trait of great ecological and evolutionary importance. However, the global extent of wood density variation is unclear, especially at the intraspecific level. We assembled the most comprehensive wood density collection to date, including 109 626 records from 16 829 plant species across woody life forms and biomes (GWDD v.2, available here: doi: 10.5281/zenodo.16919509). Using the GWDD v.2, we explored the sou

• Elevation uncertainties in the Mekong Delta quantified using a transferable approach

  Katharina Seeger · University of Padua · IT

  The elevation of coastal lowlands relative to local sea level is a crucial determinant for their exposure and is key input for coastal hazard and relative sea-level rise impact assessments. For many data-sparse coastal lowlands worldwide, global digital elevation models are often the only source of information. While these provide an adequate spatial (i.e. horizontal) resolution for regional, delta-wide coastal assessments, their vertical errors in the range of several metres impede investigatio

• On a class of nonlinear BGK-type kinetic equations with density dependent collision rates

  Josephine Evans

  We consider a class of nonlinear, spatially inhomogeneous kinetic equations of BGK-type with density dependent collision rates. These equations share the same superlinearity as the Boltzmann equation, and fall into the class of run and tumble equations appearing in mathematical biology. We prove that the Cauchy problem is well-posed, and the solutions propagate Maxwellian bounds over time. Moreover, we show that the solutions approach to equilibrium with an exponential rate, known as a hypocoerc

• Review article: Weddell Sea Polynya formation, cessation and climatic impacts

  Lu Zhou · Utrecht University · NL

  Abstract. Open-ocean polynyas, areas with little or no sea ice, reappeared extensively in 2016 and 2017 over the Maud Rise in the Weddell Sea after a 40-year hiatus, raising a series of unresolved questions about the atmosphere-ice-ocean interactions in the Antarctic region. These major polynyas significantly influence moisture and heat exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean, impacting both regional and global climate dynamics, as well as ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical processes

• Freshwater Conservation Priority Areas Are Threatened by Global Mining Activities

  Mariana Braz Pires · Leiden University · NL

  Mining poses significant and persistent threats to freshwater ecosystems, with impacts often enduring long after operations cease. Growing concerns suggest that the expansion of mining to meet global mineral demands for decarbonization may amplify these cumulative risks to freshwater biodiversity. However, the location and extent of potential conflict hotspots remain poorly understood, hampering our ability to meet international conservation targets. Here, we map areas of potential conflict betw

• Trotter error and gate complexity of the SYK and sparse SYK models

  Yiyuan Chen · University of Amsterdam · NL

  The Sachdev–Ye–Kitaev (SYK) model is a prominent model of strongly interacting fermions that serves as a toy model of quantum gravity and black hole physics. In this work, we study the Trotter error and gate complexity of the quantum simulation of the SYK model using Lie–Trotter–Suzuki formulas. Building on recent results by Chen and Brandão \cite{Anthony} — in particular their uniform smoothing technique for random matrix polynomials — we derive bounds on the first- and higher-order Trotter err

• State-selected preparation of molecular ions for precision measurements in radio-frequency traps

  Daniel Y. Knapp · Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NL

  The application of mass-analyzed threshold ionization (MATI) for the state-selective preparation of molecular ions is presented. Based on photoexcitation of long-lived high-$n$ Rydberg states, molecular ions are prepared in a single rovibronic level by pulsed-field ionization. We present a theoretical analysis and a recipe for obtaining an optimal energy ratio between such selected ions and molecular ions in unwanted rovibronic states, created by direct photoionization. It is shown that the seco

• Minimising the number of edges in LC-equivalent graph states

  Hemant K. Sharma · Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica · NL

  Graph states are a powerful class of entangled states with numerous applications in quantum communication and quantum computation. Local Clifford (LC) operations that map one graph state to another can alter the structure of the corresponding graphs, including changing the number of edges. Here, we tackle the associated edge-minimisation problem: finding graphs with the minimum number of edges in the LC-equivalence class of a given graph. Such graphs are called minimum edge representatives (MER)

• Genetic underpinnings of chills from art and music

  Giacomo Bignardi · Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics · NL

  Art can evoke strong emotional responses in humans. Here, we examine genetic contributions to chills, a marker of such responses. We gather self-reports from a genotyped sample of thousands of partly related individuals from the Netherlands (n = 15,606). Using genomic relationships based on common single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data, we find that up to 29% of the variation in proneness to aesthetic (visual art and poetry) and music chills can be explained by familial relatedness effects, o