https://www.utwente.nl/en/ en-gb Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:25:11 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1023609/why-pisa-is-not-a-ranking/?tag=bahaviour-society Every few years, PISA turns up in the news. It is an international study that measures how well 15-year-olds can read, and how good they are at maths and science. The conversation then usually turns to whether the Netherlands is rising or falling in the ranking. That is a shame, because it is not really a ranking at all. So what is it? Tue, 04 Aug 2026 08:23:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1023609 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1041150/do-you-really-choose-what-you-eat/?tag=bahaviour-society&tag=health You spread a slice of bread and almost automatically sprinkle chocolate sprinkles - hagelslag - on top. Not because you've thought about it for a long time, but simply because you feel like it. It feels like your choice. But how free is that choice, really? Thu, 30 Jul 2026 06:59:09 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1041150 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1024792/are-we-heading-for-the-loneliest-summer-ever/?tag=bahaviour-society&tag=health Summer is the season of pavement cafés, street parties and long evenings outdoors. But climate change is making our summers so hot that we’re told more and more often to stay indoors. If you don’t have many people around you, that can mean weeks spent alone. Almost every summer a heat record falls somewhere, but for loneliness there is no weather station. Can we design our cities to keep summer sociable for everyone? Tue, 28 Jul 2026 11:18:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1024792 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1025325/will-more-trees-cool-the-streets-that-need-it-most/?tag=bahaviour-society&tag=climate During a heatwave, you can feel the city change from street to street. One road shimmers with heat coming off the asphalt. Five minutes away, a leafy street feels almost liveable. For most of us, a heatwave is a hard week that passes. For millions of others, this heat is the everyday climate, with no escape. So it matters whether planting more trees cools the streets that need it most, or mostly benefits neighbourhoods that already experience lower temperatures. Thu, 23 Jul 2026 08:27:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1025325 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1023700/will-the-netherlands-flood-if-the-gulf-stream-stops/?tag=climate&tag=safety-security The Netherlands is built on controlling water. That is why we are reinforcing our dikes for warmer, wetter winters. But what if the country does not warm up, but cools down? Can our river delta handle that? Tue, 21 Jul 2026 08:35:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1023700 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/1020769/world-cup-questions-what-is-the-impact-of-data-on-football-players/?tag=data-ai&tag=health A sensor-fitted ball, players wearing fitness bands during the World Cup matches, a coach looking at a live sprint-load number to decide whether to make a substitution: every heart-rate spike, every sprint is now data. But what does all this data mean for the players? Wed, 15 Jul 2026 14:39:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#1020769 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/960143/your-city-has-a-climate-plan.-so-why-dont-you-notice-it/?tag=bahaviour-society&tag=climate Another hot summer is coming. They arrive more often now, and they hit hardest in the city, where stone and asphalt hold the heat long after dark. Your city has surely thought about this. Most have a climate adaptation plan, full of ambitions for a cooler, safer place to live. Yet on the hottest days the street still bakes and the flat upstairs is unbearable. So where does all that planning actually go? Thu, 09 Jul 2026 10:30:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#960143 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/976154/world-cup-questions-what-does-haaland-see-that-other-players-dont/?tag=data-ai&tag=health To develop from an average to an outstanding football player, training speed and physical power are essential but not enough. Field awareness, a player's ability to constantly scan the positions of teammates, opponents, and space and anticipate what might happen in the next few seconds, is a core skill of elite players. However, it requires experience, and practising it through conventional drills isn't ideal. A VR training, which student Soham Nanwani is developing, could change that: “Players can improve field awareness without physically exerting themselves.” Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:29:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#976154 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/992111/world-cup-questions-what-do-stadium-cameras-know-about-you/?tag=data-ai&tag=safety-security A World Cup stadium holds tens of thousands of people moving through security checkpoints, food courts, and different sections. For organisers, monitoring these crowds is essential for preventing dangerous situations. But do crowd monitoring systems protect people’s privacy? “Privacy is a human right. Privacy protection must be built into the design of the system,” Fatemeh Marzani, a PhD candidate in Computer Science at the University of Twente, says. Wed, 01 Jul 2026 10:20:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#992111 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/975956/how-can-we-make-the-netherlands-more-resilient-to-drought/?tag=climate Yellow grass. Low river levels. Nature reserves drying out. While people in the Netherlands are used to talking about flooding and excess water, we are increasingly facing the opposite problem: drought. At the University of Twente, researchers are working on an urgent question: how can we help the Netherlands, and regions around the world, better cope with drought and water scarcity? Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:39:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#975956 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/967774/world-cup-questions-could-robots-ever-play-football-better-than-humans/?tag=robotics A ball that suddenly changes direction. An opponent applying pressure. A teammate making a run into space. Footballers constantly make decisions in fractions of a second. For humans, it feels almost effortless. For robots, it is one of the most difficult challenges imaginable. Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:11:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#967774 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/961527/world-cup-questions-why-does-filling-a-panini-world-cup-album-take-so-long/?tag=data-ai&tag=health The 2026 World Cup album has 980 spaces. A packet holds seven stickers. So 140 packets should do the job. Then you are fifty packets in, the album is half empty, and you keep opening players you already have. Why does a 980-sticker album swallow so many packets? We put it to UT mathematician Clara Stegehuis, who studies how randomness behaves in large networks. Thu, 18 Jun 2026 07:30:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#961527 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/960186/world-cup-questions-why-are-there-so-many-hydration-breaks-at-the-world-cup/?tag=climate&tag=health Anyone watching the World Cup will see it happen in every match. Around the 23rd minute, the referee stops play, and the players reach for their water bottles. Twice per match, even late at night and even in an air-conditioned stadium. Why is that necessary? The answer says less about football than about how heavily heat strains the body. Tue, 16 Jun 2026 10:55:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#960186 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/955324/world-cup-questions-can-statistics-predict-who-will-win-the-fifa-world-cup/?tag=data-ai This year, it is finally going to happen. The Netherlands will become world champion. What did not work out in 2010 will happen in 2026. At least, if we believe economist Joachim Klement. His model previously predicted the winners of the last three World Cups: Germany in 2014, France in 2018 and Argentina in 2022. For 2026, his model points to the Netherlands. Great news for Dutch football fans. But can statistics really predict who will win the biggest football tournament in the world? Thu, 11 Jun 2026 11:29:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#955324 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/952066/world-cup-questions-can-a-stadium-collapse-from-jumping-fans/?tag=physics-materials&tag=safety-security You are surrounded by 80,000 jumping and chanting fans in New York New Jersey Stadium. Whole sections of the grandstand are swaying in rhythm with the crowd. For some spectators, that movement is thrilling, for others it is unsettling, but the question is: how safe is it? “Such motion is generally harmless,” Dr Roland Kromanis, a team lead of Structural Health Monitoring for Smart Infrastructure at the University of Twente, says: “The engineering challenge isn’t to eliminate the vibrations but to ensure they remain within acceptable limits.” Tue, 09 Jun 2026 13:06:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#952066 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/945422/kees-study-can-i-get-a-tattoo-without-a-needle/?tag=health&tag=physics-materials Around 44 million Europeans have a tattoo, and the method has barely changed in centuries. A needle punctures the skin over and over to leave ink behind. It hurts, and it damages the skin. In this Kees Study I find out if I can tattoo without a needle? Thu, 04 Jun 2026 12:46:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#945422 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/930705/how-healthy-is-an-e-bike/?tag=health Electric bikes have made cycling easier. You are still outside. Your legs are still moving. But how healthy is riding an e-bike really? The answer is more nuanced than you might think. Fri, 22 May 2026 12:20:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#930705 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/920482/why-borders-are-less-fixed-than-you-think/?tag=bahaviour-society On the map, the Netherlands seems neatly outlined. A clear border separates us from Belgium and Germany. But how did that line come about? And is it really as fixed as we think? Wed, 13 May 2026 14:06:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#920482 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/916645/how-do-you-move-water-with-electricity/?tag=chip-technology&tag=health&tag=physics-materials Place a dry sheet of paper in water and the moisture will slowly creep upward on its own. The same thing happens in walls and trees. In tiny channels, water can rise against gravity due to the attraction between water molecules and the walls of those channels. Once a channel is filled, it is still possible to move the liquid around. You can do this with pressure, of course, but also with electricity. This process is called electro-osmosis: using electricity to drive the flow of water. Mon, 11 May 2026 09:46:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#916645 https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/science/905065/is-it-wise-to-invest-in-green-steel-in-the-netherlands/?tag=climate The debate on green steel has become strikingly sharp in recent months. Not only in politics, but particularly among economists and other scholars. In a blog on ESB, 117 economists argued against government support for more sustainable steel production in the Netherlands. According to them, public funds could be spent more effectively elsewhere. A group of scientists responded with a counterargument, advocating investment instead. This sense of nuance is also shared at the University of Twente, says Professor of Nonlinear Solid Mechanics Ton van den Boogaard. Wed, 29 Apr 2026 06:12:00 GMT https://www.utwente.nl/en/stories/rss-science.xml#905065