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  • Donation for New Sociology Prize

    Uppsala University has received its first donation for sociology to be used for the Hans L. Zetterberg Prize “to be awarded yearly to a younger researcher, Swedish or foreign, who, with his/her scientific work in sociology, preferably through fruitful combination of theory and practice, has moved the research front forward.”

  • Uppsala Health Summit 11-12 October: Pre-conference report

    A report has been released for the upcoming Uppsala Health Summit on ending childhood obesity, outlining the challenges, including the effectiveness of the much debated sugar-tax, how to target interventions for immigrants and the role of industry. The report is produced to prepare the 200 delegates for discussions on concrete solutions.

  • Life history of the 360 million-year-old Acanthostega rewrites the tetrapod move on land

    This week in Nature, an international team of researchers shows that fossils of the 360 million-year-old tetrapod Acanthostega, one of the iconic transitional forms between fishes and land animals, are not grown-ups but all juveniles. This conclusion sheds new light on the life cycle of Acanthostega and the so-called conquest of land by tetrapods.

  • Sustainable peace is more than lack of violence

    In a world of conflict and violence new knowledge on how to build sustainable peace is urgently needed. In his dissertation PhD candidate Florian Krampe emphasizes the need for helping countries to reset their internal relations on a peaceful path.

  • Flycatcher genome sheds light on causes of mutations

    A research team at Uppsala University has determined the complete genetic code of 11 members of a flycatcher pedigree. Doing this, they have for the first time been able to estimate the rate of new mutations in birds. When they combined the new results with mutation rate estimates from other organisms, a clear pattern emerged: The more common a species is, the lower its mutation rate.

  • Biobank storage time as important as age

    The amount of time a blood sample used for medical research has been stored at a biobank may affect the test results as much as the blood sample provider’s age. These are the findings of a new study from Uppsala University, published in journal EBioMedicine. Until now, medical research has taken into account age, sex and health factors, but it turns out that storage time is just as important.

  • Controlling the amount of heparan sulphate – a carbohydrate needed for foetal development

    Heparan sulphate occurs as carbohydrate chains which are very important for human body cells both for normal foetal development and during the course of various diseases. All new molecular knowledge concerning these chains is therefore important. Researchers can now show that the same enzyme which determines the charge pattern of the chains also determines their length.

  • Forensic DNA analysis checks the origin of cultured cells

    Cell lines are cultured cells that are commonly used in medical research. New results from Uppsala University show that such cells are not always what they are assumed to be. Using genetic analyses, the researchers showed that a commonly used cell line which was established in Uppsala almost fifty years ago does not originate from the patient it is claimed to stem from.

  • Magnetism under the magnifying glass

    Being able to determine magnetic properties of materials with sub-nanometer precision would greatly simplify development of magnetic nano-structures for future spintronic devices. In a new study Uppsala physicists make a big step towards this goal - they propose and demonstrate a new measurement method capable to detect magnetism from areas as small as 0.5 nm2.

  • Memory activation before exposure reduces life-long fear of spiders

    Many people suffer from anxiety and fears, and a common treatment for these problems is exposure therapy. In a new study published in Current Biology, researchers at Uppsala University have shown how the effect of exposure therapy can be improved by disrupting the recreation of fear-memories in people with arachnophobia.

  • New study provides important insight into how tumours metastasise

    Research has shown that the growth of cancerous tumours is affected by the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in the body’s cells; TGF-beta both suppresses and stimulates tumour development, but it has not been understood how this happens. A new study published in the journal Science Signaling today reveals important details behind this process.

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