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Topics: Natural science

  • Van Minh Dinh in the lab at the Department of Chemistry, Umeå University. Photo: Huton Nguyen

    Catalytic system turns biomass waste to renewable chemical stock

    Researchers at Umeå University in Sweden, in collaboration with scientists from Finland, Vietnam, India, and Italy, have developed a catalytic system to convert lignin structures into highly valuable chemicals. This innovative technology offers promising solutions to pressing environmental and energy challenges.

  • Jun Zhang, Laura Herzog and Yaowen Wu have found a way to control proteins in living cells. Photo: Shuang Li

    New light-tuned chemical tools control processes in living cells

    A research group at Umeå University has developed new advanced light-controlled tools that enable precise control of proteins in real time in living cells. This groundbreaking research opens doors to new methods for studying complex processes in cells and could pave the way for significant advances in medicine and synthetic biology.

  • New research shows that conifers have special strategies to survive the harsh winters in the north. Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

    The science behind Christmas trees: How conifers brave winter's worst

    As the festive season approaches, evergreen conifers adorn homes worldwide. But while Christmas trees bring warmth and joy into our lives, they endure some of the harshest conditions on Earth in their natural habitats. Most people take it for granted that they maintain their needles lush and green in freezing winters but now scientists can unwrap the science behind conifers’ winter survival.

  • A mixed forest leads to less damage to trees, according to extensive data analysed by Micael Jonsson and his colleagues. Photo: Ulrika Bergfors

    Mixed forests reduce the risk of forest damage in a warmer climate

    Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole pine. This is shown in a new study by researchers from Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala. The results can be useful for preventing forest damages and financial losses related to the forest industry.

  • Self-driving machines need to be able to adapt to changes in the environment in order not to risk harming the environment or, in the worst case, people. Graphic: Martin Servin

    Computational physics to make AI-controlled heavy machinery safer

    When heavy machinery is to become robots with autonomous capabilities, safety is at highest priority. In a new EU project, researchers and industry collaborate to develop reliable and efficient AI-driven machines that minimize the risk of harming people or the environment.

  • A certain protein in listeria bacteria helps them survive in food production, putting them at risk of food poisoning. Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

    Research on calcium transport can fight bacteria and provide safer food

    Researchers at Umeå University have revealed details on how bacteria use calcium to regulate vital processes, in a way that differs from human cells. This breakthrough is significant in the fight against antibiotic resistance and for increasing safety in food production.

  • At the Dåva waste treatment plant in Umeå, microalgae are grown in wastewater, both in greenhouses and outdoors, to be used for producing biodegradable plastics. Photo: Christiane Funk

    Researchers aim to create biodegradable plastic – from algae

    The Waste2Plastic project at Umeå University has received SEK 15 million from the Swedish Energy Agency and its industrial partners to produce biodegradable plastics, PHA, using microalgae. The algae are grown in wastewater in Umeå and convert carbon dioxide from flue gases into biomass.

  • Rachel Feeney, PhD Student, and Björn Schröder, Docent in infection biology, the Department of Molecular Biology at Umeå University. Photo: Anna Shevtsova

    Antibiotic usage can damage the protective mucus layer in the gut

    Researchers at Umeå University and Tartu University have found that a history of repeated antibiotic use causes defects in the normally protective mucus barrier of the gut, due to antibiotic-driven alterations in the microbiota. In a further study in a different collaboration, the researchers found a bacteria-independent mechanism through which antibiotics can damage the mucus barrier directly.

  • The Umeå professors' discovery is important for understanding a variety of biological processes in cells. Photo: Mattias Pettersson

    Discovery explains the chemistry behind the cell's energy molecule

    An international research team led by Umeå professor Magnus Wolf-Watz has discovered how the magnesium atom directs the chemistry that catalyzes the production of the energy molecule ATP in a cell. ATP is a vital driving force in the cell. The study is published in the journal Science Advances.

  • The project will develop fish and shrimp production in circular aquaculture systems. Photo: Sergio Zimmermann

    10 million to project for sustainable shrimp and fish production

    The Swedish Agricultural Agency has granted SEK 10 million for a project on sustainable food production, led by Olivier Keech, Department of Plant Physiology at Umeå University and Umeå Plant Science Centre. The project aims to establish and optimize sustainable production of shrimp and fish in a circular aquaculture system.

  • By burying tea bags world wide researchers have been able to measure decomposition. Photo: Tomas Utsi

    36’000 tea bags explain global decomposition pattern on new web

    Co-developed by Umeå University, a method to measure the decay of plant material with the help of simple tea bags has become the standard in scientific research. Researcher Judith Sarneel, Umeå University, Sweden, has now collected data from over 36’000 individual tea bags worldwide and has revealed global patterns of decomposition in the journal Ecology Letters and on a newly established website.

  • Stylistic image of how an electron beam from the cryo-microscope hits frozen PSII particles, whereby a reflection is formed that enables the reconstruction of how the atoms are situated. Illustration: Wolfgang Schröder

    Details of photosynthesis revealed with record-breaking images

    By generating extremely high-resolution images in a cryo-electron microscope, researchers at Umeå University have revealed the positions of hydrogen atoms and water molecules in photosynthesis. This breakthrough provides a new avenue towards uncovering how water is split – a process crucial for life on Earth as well as for scaling up renewable energy systems.

  • National school for cancer research to be started in Umeå

    With support from Cancerfonden, the Swedish Cancer Society, Umeå University will start a new cancer research school in the spring of 2025. The programme, which is unique in Sweden, is aimed at doctoral students throughout the country.

  • The simulated and the real forestry machine are controlled by the same AI model developed on a supercomputer in several million training steps. Photo: Viktor Wiberg

    The world's first AI-controlled forest machine trained on supercomputor

    For the first time, scientists have succeeded in creating a self-driving forest machine controlled by artificial intelligence. In a research study at Umeå University, Sweden, an AI system was developed that can operate the 16-ton machine without human intervention. The study has been carried out in collaboration with Skogforsk and Algoryx Simulation.

  • The bright LEC device with the logo of Umeå University is extremely thin, flexible and lightweight. Photo: Xiaoying Zhang and Joan Ràfols-Ribé

    New understanding of energy losses in emerging light source

    Umeå University has achieved a breakthrough in the development of next-generation light sources with a new method for understanding and measuring efficiency losses in the emerging light-emitting technology known as LEC.

  •   The Department of Computing Science at Umeå University is working actively to create a good and inclusive working environment for everyone, whether you are male, female or non-binary. Image: Raenge/Unsplash

    Prejudices favour neither students nor the IT industry

    The world urgently needs skilled software developers with a holistic perspective. Yet there are many 'he' and few 'she' and 'they' in the industry. “The prejudiced view of computer scientists as a shy white man sitting alone coding in a basement, does not benefit you as a student, the IT industry or society," says Anna Jonsson, responsible for the Civil Engineering Programme in Computing Science.

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