Concrete is the world's most widely used building material – but the production of cement, its key component, generates significant carbon dioxide emissions. New research at Umeå University shows how electrification and carbon capture can make production both more energy-efficient and climate-smart.
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.
Bildmuseet unveils a new site-specific iteration of Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s sound and light installation Machine Auguries, this time set in Umeå in northern Sweden. Premiere on 12 January! Presented alongside the previous iterations from London and Toledo, these three artificial dawn choruses from different parts of the world invite us to reflect on our relationship with nature.
Minuscule particles of plastic are not only bad for the environment. A study led from Umeå University, Sweden, has shown that the so-called nanoplastics which enter the body can impair the effect of antibiotic treatment. The results also indicate that the nanoplastics may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance.
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.
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.
With AI-generated birdsong under an artificial dawn sky, Machine Auguries warns of our infatuation with technology at the expense of nature. In Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s immersive sound and light installation, which opens at Bildmuseet on 18 October, the dawn chorus is slowly taken over by synthetic birdsong.
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.
The carbon dioxide emissions of the growing human population have a massive impact on the climate. While many are seeking solutions, researchers in Umeå, Sweden, might have found one right in front of their houses: Nordic microalgae. A thesis from the Industrial Doctoral School at Umeå University shows that microalgae fed on wastewater can be used to produce degradable bioplastic.
Featuring photography, film, sculpture, drawing, textiles, sound and installations, including new commissions, the group show Eight Degrees opens on 15 March at Bildmuseet's Art Friday with Littfest – Umeå International Literature Festival.
Human intervention has destroyed critical habitats for salmon and trout in Swedish streams. Researchers at Umeå University have discovered crucial clues to help restore the streams to their natural state. "To understand the processes that shape them, we need to think more about how glaciers function, rather than streams,” says Lina Polvi Sjöberg.
A variety of potentially disease-causing bacteria exist in the Baltic Sea and in Swedish lakes. Karolina Eriksson, a doctoral student at the Industrial Doctoral School at Umeå University, reveals in her thesis future health risks for humans in the light of climate change.
Just like people can get sunburned, plants can also suffer from too much sunlight. To stay healthy, they use an internal “sun protection mechanism”. Pierrick Bru, a PhD student working with Alizée Malnoë at Umeå Plant Science Centre and Umeå University, has been studying a special component of this mechanism, called qH, and has found that it is quite adaptable.
Methylmercury is one of the chemicals that poses the greatest threat to global public health. People ingest methylmercury by eating fish, but how does the mercury end up in the fish? A new study shows that the concentrations of so-called thiols in the water control how available the methylmercury is to living organisms.
The biodiversity of rainforests is threatened by climate change. Researcher Daniel Metcalfe conducts large-scale experiments to predict the consequences – but was ready to shut down when the funds ran out. Now, he has been awarded a major government grant from Formas to continue and expand the work.
Air moisture landing on surfaces of materials forms thin, invisible, water films. These films play crucial roles in Earth’s soils and atmosphere as well as in new technologies. A thesis at Umeå University sheds new light on how this silent architect mediates chemical reactions.
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.
Artificial membranes play a vital role in healthcare, energy storage and resource recovery. However, the fabrication is not environmentally friendly. In a thesis from Umeå University, Norafiqah Ismail introduces alternative solvents that outperforms traditional toxic ones in terms of cost, sustainability, and performance.
Plants give us oxygen through photosynthesis - this is commonly taught in school. An international research team have now shown that particularly in early spring when low temperatures coincide with high light, conifer needles consume – not produce – oxygen by using an ancient mechanism. The results were published in Nature Communications.
Emil Thorin from Umeå University has developed a new optical method for rapid measurements of gaseous inorganic species in biomass combustion and gasification. The new technology will contribute to more efficient conversion of biomass into renewable energy.
Thermal conversion processes, such as combustion and gasification, are used worldwide to generate heat, electricity and chemicals. In the q