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Topics: Science, technology

  • One single rule helps explain life from ocean depths to open savannas

    A new study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution has found a simple rule that seems to govern how life is organised on Earth. The researchers believe this rule helps explain why species are spread the way they are across the planet. The discovery will help to understand life on Earth – including how ecosystems respond to global environmental changes.

  • Doctors struggle with empathy in a high-pressure work environment

    Empathy is often seen as a natural and essential part of the patient encounter – but reality tends to look quite different. In a new doctoral thesis from Umeå University, doctors describe how not only time pressure, but also the structure of medical education and the culture of the workplace, can make it difficult to live up to the ideal.

  • Design degree show unveiled: From Multispecies Futures to Virtual Surgery

    The Umeå Institute of Design presents UID25, showcasing 40 innovative design projects from June 3-4. Students explore themes like AI, sustainability, and multispecies interaction. The event highlights design's role in shaping inclusive, empathetic futures and includes live-streamed presentations and discussions.

  • Diabetes drug gives hope for new treatment for prostate cancer

    A drug used to treat type 2 diabetes may also be effective in slowing the progression of prostate cancer. This is shown by an international study in which researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, have participated. The researchers have found that drugs that regulate a particular protein have a key role in reducing prostate cancer recurrence among diabetic patients.

  • 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.

  • Binding to surface sugars enhances Omicron's cell attachment

    A new study from Umeå University reveals how SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron, have adapted to bind more effectively to human pulmonary cells. The stronger binding is explained by an increased and optimised interaction between the virus and heparan sulfate, a long sugar molecule on the cell surface.

  • New knowledge about cell division with data-driven techniques

    Research from Umeå University paves the way for a quantitative data analysis method to study the cell division process in individual cells. The improved resolution will promote advanced cell analysis in the human body, especially in cases of incorrect cell division such as in the context of cancer.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Discovery may open new way to attack prostate cancer

    A special protein can play a key role in the fight against certain types of prostate cancer. This is shown in a study by an international research group led from Umeå University, Sweden.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • Umeå Institute of Design tops Red Dot ranking for ninth straight year

    Umeå Institute of Design (UID) at Umeå University has once again secured top spot on the Red Dot Design Ranking. This achievement marks nine consecutive years that UID has led the rankings, underscoring the school’s leading position in design education on the international stage.

  • 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.

  • Press invitation: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg / Machine Auguries

    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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

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