During pregnancy, some women need to use medication because they were already ill before becoming pregnant, or because they developed a pregnancy-related illness. These medications could affect the development of the unborn child. However, it is not always clear whether and how these medications pass from mother to child during pregnancy. With a special placenta perfusion technique, scientists can investigate the transfer of medications from mother to child without risks to the pregnant woman or her baby. During the European Placenta Perfusion Workshop, scientists from Europe come together to improve this technique.

The timing of light exposure, physical activity, and food intake are important cues for synchronising the biological clock. Disruption of the biological clock is a clear threat to both public health and vulnerable ecosystems. Especially in a highly industrialised country such as The Netherlands there is a mismatch between biological clocks and social demands. However, these cues have drastically – and abruptly - changed in our modern society due to the widespread use of artificial light and the round-the-clock demand for goods and services. Fundamental research has shown that precisely these conditions cause desynchrony among clock cells.