The Power of Microbes
Theory Microbes play an essential role in sustaining higher life forms on Earth, including marine sponges, plants, fish, and animals. Their significance lies in their vast diversity of physiological traits, allowing them to thrive in various environments by extracting energy from organic resources, minerals, and light. In fact, many microbes depend on other microbes for
Gene Regulation
Eukaryotic genomes contain thousands of genes and transposons. To function optimally, genes must be expressed at the right time and place, and transposons inactivated. This course explores the complex mechanisms involved in gene regulation, including DNA sequences, proteins, RNAs, genetic and epigenetic processes, and newly discovered mechanisms like phase separation. Techniques used to study gene
Keystone Project III: Big Data
Welke genen worden geactiveerd bij stress? Waarom bevorderen sommige bacterieën immuniteit? Hoe ontstaat kanker? Hoe wordt een microbe een ziekteverwekker? Om dit soort vragen te beantwoorden worden er vaak grote datasets –“Big Data” gecreëerd. In deze gevallen is analyse van de resultaten met eenvoudige middelen (Excel etc.) niet meer werkbaar. Om hiermee om te gaan
Ecogenomics
The field of ecological genomics strives to uncover the genetic and molecular mechanisms influencing responses and adaptations of organisms to their environment. Achieving this aim requires insight in evolution and selection pressure and how that results in natural variation. Using this natural variation to study mechanisms requires a good understanding of both ecologically important phenotypes
Plant Breeding and Biotechnology
This course provides knowledge on recent developments in plant breeding and future prospects in plant biotechnology. A thorough understanding of genetics, plant breeding and biotechnology tools including genetic modification and gene editing is linked to applications in various fields (crop improvement, biofortification, soil remediation and biofuel production). After a general introduction into a field, recent
Applied Machine Learning
Machine learning is marking a revolution in the world. From an academic research topic, over the last decade it has shift to a major paradigm used in many companies for a wide range of services. From deleting SPAM mail from your inbox to ranking the Google search results, and from defining your Facebook stream to
Perspectives on Information and Society
The main aim of the course is to critically reflect on concepts central to Information Studies in terms of assumptions, limitations, and social and ethical implications. As information is the central notion of Information Studies we start with information. We approach information by using hermeneutics; this perspective highlights the characteristics of human understanding and is
Deep Learning 1
Deep learning is primarily a study of multi-layered neural networks, spanning over a great range of model architectures. We cover the basic following content in theory and in practice. We adapt the content, especially in the last lectures, based on the latest advances: Introduction to deep learning. A brief introduction of deep learning. History, recent
Tools in Molecular Data Analysis
This course aims to develop practical skills in data handling, analysis and visualization for large “omics” data commonly found in contemporary plant research. Two domain-specific projects will be addressed: i) RNA-seq analysis and ii) Microbiome analysis. For each project, after introductory lectures on the topic, students will be trained to handle these specific datasets. Afterwards,
Ziekte en Afweer van Plant en Dier
In dit blok gaan we in op de vragen: Wat zijn (planten)ziekten en plagen? Hoe werkt het immuunsysteem van planten en dieren zoals de mens? De behandelde thema’s zijn: Verschillende klassen van ziekteverwekkers (schimmels, oömyceten, bacteriën, parasitaire planten, nematoden, virussen, en herbivoren), De mechanismen waarmee deze organismen planten binnen dringen, de plantenafweer omzeilen en/of onderdrukken,