Belief in phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, the Great Lake monster and fortune tellers is common in all social groups in Sweden. A new study from Uppsala University shows that 41 per cent of adult Swedes believe in some form of paranormal phenomenon, and among women this figure is as high as 52 per cent. However, men are in the majority among those who believe in UFOs.
Blood relations and kinship were not all-important for the way hunter-gatherer communities lived during the Stone Age in Western Europe. A new genetic study, conducted at several well-known French Stone Age burial sites, shows that several distinct families lived together. This was probably a deliberate system for avoiding inbreeding.
Uppsala University is the new world record holder for electrical energy generation from CIGS solar cells. The new world record is 23.64 per cent efficiency. The measurement was made by an independent institute and the results are published in the journal Nature Energy.
Death is blue, or a flying animal. This is how death is most commonly illustrated in Swedish children’s literature, according to a new study from Uppsala University based on analyses of 62 books. Just six out of ten books use the word ‘dead’, which may be a problem.
Increasing access to water in extremely arid parts of sub-Saharan Africa can help nomadic livestock farmers in the short term. However, in the long run it may lead to serious consequences for their livelihoods. This is shown by new research from Uppsala University, published in Nature Climate Change.
People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected. A new study from Uppsala University confirms previous research on whether herpes can be a possible risk factor for dementia.
After the introduction of the freedom to choose between upper secondary schools in Sweden 1992, it took nearly ten years for upper secondary school heads to start seeing themselves as competitors. Any analysis of change from a later perspective needs to bear in mind that a transition of this kind takes a good deal of organising, costs a lot of money and takes many years to become established.
Using the results of a standard blood test and an online tool, you can find out if you are at increased risk of having a heart attack within six months. The tool has been developed by a research group at Uppsala University in the hope of increasing patients’ motivation to change their lifestyle.
More and more readers are opting to stream audiobooks , preferably in the crime fiction or romance genres. For many, it has become a way to fall asleep at night. "We can see this by the fact that many users start listening late at night – sleep sessions that end exactly after 30 minutes or three hours. They’ve simply fallen asleep," notes literary scholar Karl Berglund.
Upper secondary school students were less likely to seek help for mental ill health when they were forced to study at home during the pandemic. A similar decrease was not seen for secondary school students aged 14–16 who remained in school. This has been shown in a new study at Uppsala University, based on data covering all of Sweden's upper secondary school students between 2015–2021.
A new 2D quantum material has been discovered. The material consists of atom-thin layers of cerium, silicon and iodine (CeSiI) and is the first example of a 2D material with heavy fermions. It is presented in a new study by researchers in materials science at Uppsala University and others, published in the scientific journal Nature.
The most important support person for women to succeed in their ambition to breastfeed is the new mother’s partner. The partner also needs to be included through more support from healthcare professionals. For single mothers, alternative solutions must be found. “Single people are a vulnerable group and need other types of support," explains researcher Ingrid Blixt.