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Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

New method measures pressure with high precision

A newly developed instrument makes it possible to measure gas pressure by using laser light. The method, developed at Umeå University and the Industrial Doctoral School for Research and Innovation, provides very precise measurements and can, for example, quickly detect extremely small gas leaks.

Sara Wilson and Luz Maria González-Castrillón

Steps towards stopping the "conversation" between cancer and nerves

Cancer tumors "hijack" the genetic program used by developing nerves. This is shown in a study by researchers at Umeå University. In the long term, the results may open up new ways of treating cancer by limiting the tumour’s interaction with the nerves.

Loulou Cherinet, State Design, 2023. Utställningsvy från Bildmuseet. © Loulou Cherinet / Bildupphovsrätt 2023

Loulou Cherinet / State Design

On Friday, October 13th, Bildmuseet opens an exhibition by the artist Loulou Cherinet. For Bildmuseet, she has created a site-specific room installation inspired by early panorama painting and 19th-century cycloramas. Around forty, four-meter-high paintings come together to envelop the museum visitor in the illusion of an urban environment.

Cheap forest waste can be used to make supercapacitors. Photo: Johnér bildbyrå AB

Carbon from forest waste can be used for future energy storage

Researchers found how to convert cost free forest waste, like pine cones, into carbon materials useful for energy storage. The method allows for easy and environmentally friendly dispersion of carbon in water, even when it is not water-soluble. The blend can then be sprayed onto a surface to produce electrodes for supercapacitors.

Cecilia Cissi Hultman, L_I_N_J_E_N, 2023. © Cecilia Cissi Hultman / Bildupphovsrätt 2023

Performance Autumn at Bildmuseet

From September 30 to November 19, a series of brand-new performance works by artists from the North of Sweden will be premiered at Bildmuseet, Umeå University.

Postdoc Laura Herzog – sitting closest to the camera, professor Yaowen Wu. Postdoc Anastasia Knyazeva, and Postdoc Dale Corkery. Photo: Shuang Li

Beyond recycling: new role for autophagy protein in membrane repair discovered

Maintaining the structure of intracellular membranes is essential for preserving normal cellular function. New research by a team of biochemists at Umeå University identifies a strategy employed by cells to detect and repair membranes that have been damaged by chemical or bacterial stress.

Anca Rujoiu. Photo: Dinu Bodiciu.

Anca Rujoiu appointed Curator at Bildmuseet

Bildmuseet expands its team and welcomes Anca Rujoiu as Curator of Exhibitions from March 2024. –With more than fourteen years of experience working in the field of contemporary art in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, she will be strengthening Bildmuseet’s position as one of Sweden’s foremost venues for international contemporary art, says director Katarina Pierre.

Photo: Ive van Krunkelsven

Arctic research grows and strengthens international cooperation

A new report by UArctic highlights the growing diversity and number of research activities across the Arctic. UArctic is a collaboration between academic institutions and other organizations with an interest in northern regions. The report demonstrates a high degree of international cooperation and presents Arctic research trends.

Hydrated thalli of Usnea longissima hanging from spruce branches in Skuleskogen National Park. Photo: Per-Anders Esseen

World’s longest lichen declines in a national park

A unique long-term study performed by researchers at Umeå University shows that the pendent lichen Usnea longissima decreases with 42 percent over 37 years in Skuleskogen National Park, located in High Coast UNESCO World Heritage site. The study has been published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management.

Mandana Moghaddam, Works from the series Underlandet [Wonderland], 2013–ongoing. © Mandana Moghaddam / Bildupphovsrätt 2023

Mandana Moghaddam / Woman Life Freedom

The autumn's first opening at Bildmuseet features a solo exhibition by the Swedish-Iranian artist Mandana Moghaddam. The exhibition showcases mirror mosaic, sculpture, and installation, and will be inaugurated with an artist talk on Saturday, 16th September, the anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini's death in Tehran. Press preview on Wednesday, 13th September, at 10:00 (RSVP).

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Umeå University

Umeå University is a comprehensive university and one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with around 38,000 students and 4,600 staff. We have a diverse range of high-quality educational programmes and research within all disciplinary domains and the arts. Umeå University is also where the groundbreaking CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool was discovered, starting a revolution in genetic engineering that led to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The University has an international atmosphere and centres its work around core academic values. Our tightly knit campus makes it easy to meet, collaborate and share knowledge, something that encourages a dynamic and open culture where we celebrate each other’s successes. Umeå University prides itself in offering a world-class educational and research environment and expanding knowledge of global significance, where the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030 inspire and motivate. We have creative and innovative research environments that offer the best potential for taking on the challenges facing society. Through long-term collaborations with organisations, industry and other higher education institutions, the University is helping northern Sweden become a knowledge region. The societal transformation and the massive investments currently occurring in northern Sweden create complex challenges but also opportunities. Umeå University is focused on conducting research about and within a society in transition and continuing to offer academic programmes for regions that need to expand quickly and sustainably.

Campus Umeå and the Umeå Arts Campus are close to the city centre and next to one of Sweden’s largest and most renown university hospitals. Education is also provided in several other towns, including Skellefteå, Örnsköldsvik, Lycksele and Kiruna. Umeå University is home to the highly ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified School of Business, Economics and Law, and the School of Architecture, the only one in Sweden with an artistic profile. Next door is Bildmuseet, which is Umeå’s contemporary art museum, and Curiosum, Umeå’s science centre. Umeå University is one of Sweden’s five national sports universities, has an internationally leading Arctic Research Centre, and has Várdduo, which is Sweden’s only research unit for Sámi research and indigenous research.