News

A team of Belgian and Thai biologists has described a new species of gecko. The Black Tokay (Gekko dam) lives in the border region between Thailand and Malaysia.

The Council of Ministers has approved funding for the national scientific exploration programme for natural hydrogen. The exploration project aims to determine whether hydrogen is present in the Belgian subsoil. Natural hydrogen offers significant potential for making energy-intensive and chemical industrial processes more sustainable.

The last Neanderthals, including the individuals found in Belgian caves, descended from a single group that had survived a bitterly cold period by retreating to southwestern France.

On February 19, 2026, Sylvain Gozingan brilliantly defended his doctoral thesis entitled “Developing a multi-scale modelling framework for coastal hydrodynamics and larval connectivity in the Gulf of Guinea, West Africa.” His work leads to important conclusions for the sustainable management of shrimp stocks in Benin.

Haolong dongi is a new species of iguanodontian from China, whose skin has been preserved at the cellular level and which bears spikes never seen before in dinosaurs.

Palaeontologists from our institute have redrawn the evolutionary tree of horses and their close relatives. Based on an in-depth comparative study, they conclude that the first horses appeared at least 5 million years later than previously thought, approximately 50 million years ago.

Researchers from the Institute of Natural Sciences confirm the survival and growth of juvenile European flat oysters introduced in July 2025 as part of the BELREEFS project. The results of the first monitoring campaign evidence a promising start for Belgium’s offshore restoration of European flat oyster reefs.

Black carbon emissions from ships in the southern North Sea were surveyed. The preliminary results show that these emissions are higher than previously assumed.

Researchers and nature enthusiasts can now listen to nearly two million Belgian bat recordings through the Digital Animal Sound Archive. The platform supports scientific research and stimulates environmental impacts analyses and policy development.