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Topics: Environment, Energy

  • The secret of the supervolcano

    Researchers have now found an explanation for what triggered the largest volcanic eruption witnessed by humankind. The volcano’s secret was revealed by geochemical clues hidden inside volcanic quartz crystals.

  • Climate change altered the natural selection – large forehead patch no longer a winner

    In a new study, researchers at Uppsala University have found evidence of that climate change upends selection of face characteristics in the collared flycatcher. During the study the annual fitness selection on forehead patch size switched from positive to negative, a reversal that is accounted for by rising spring temperatures at the breeding site.

  • Studies of one of the world’s rarest birds, the Rufous-headed Robin

    Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden have put together all known information about the endangered Rufous-headed Robin. Very few observations have been made since it was first discovered in 1905. The researchers suggest that its distribution might be larger than previously thought.

  • Watching how plants make oxygen

    In a new study, an international team of researchers made significant progress in visualizing the process how plants split water to produce oxygen. The results are published in Nature.

  • ​Cooperation profitable for sailfish

    Cooperating sailfish catch more fish per time than if they hunt individually, a new study from Uppsala University, published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B has shown.

  • The psychology behind climate change denial

    In a new thesis in psychology, Kirsti Jylhä at Uppsala University has studied the psychology behind climate change denial. The results show that individuals who accept hierarchical power structures tend to a larger extent deny the problem. The papers in the thesis are published in the scientific journal Personality and Individual Differences.

  • Microplastic particles threaten fish larvae

    In a new study, published in Science, researchers from Uppsala University found that larval fish exposed to microplastic particles during development displayed changed behaviors and stunted growth which lead to greatly increased mortality rates. Larval perch that had access to microplastic particles only ate plastic and ignored their natural food source of free-swimming zooplankton.

  • Mille-feuille-filter removes viruses from water

    A simple paper sheet made by scientists at Uppsala University can improve the quality of life for millions of people by removing resistant viruses from water. The sheet, made of cellulose nanofibers, is called the mille-feuille filter as it has a unique layered internal architecture resembling that of the French puff pastry mille-feuille (Eng. thousand leaves).

  • The herring genome provides new insight on how species adapt to their environment

    How species genetically adapt to their environment is a central question related to the evolution of biodiversity. In a new study scientists at Uppsala University and their colleagues report that whole genome sequencing of Atlantic and Baltic herring revealed hundreds of loci underlying adaptation to the brackish Baltic Sea or timing of reproduction. The study is published today in eLife.

  • ​New species of bird discovered in India and China by international team of scientists

    A new species of bird has been described in north-eastern India and adjacent parts of China by a team of scientists from Sweden, China, the US, India and Russia, headed by Professor Per Alström, Uppsala University, and Swedish University of Agricultural Science, SLU. The bird has been named the Himalayan Forest Thrush, Zoothera salimalii.

  • New dissertation: Windows with nanostructured coatings can cure “sick” buildings

    Harmful organic molecules in the indoor air can cause adverse health effects – a problem known as the “sick building syndrome”. A promising new solution is being developed at Uppsala University – window glass with a nanostructured coating based on titanium dioxide which uses sunlight to remove organic pollutants from the indoor air by passing it between the inner panes of the window.

  • ​Northern lakes act as CO2 chimneys in a warming world

    Many of the world’s approximately 117 million lakes act as wet chimneys releasing large amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The most recent estimates show that CO2 emissions from the world’s lakes, water courses and reservoirs are equivalent to almost a quarter of all the carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels.

  • Anti-ageing treatment for smart windows presented in a new study

    Electrochromic windows, so-called ‘smart windows’, share a well-known problem with rechargeable batteries – their limited lifespan. Researchers at Uppsala University have now worked out an entirely new way to rejuvenate smart windows which have started to show signs of age. The study, published in the distinguished science journal Nature Materials, may open the way to other areas of application.

  • Greenland map facilitates climate research

    For the first time a high-resolution map over the ground below the Greenland ice sheet is available. Researchers at Uppsala University have developed the map that will be of great importance for future possibilities to predict how the Greenland ice sheet melts and moves and that in turn has an impact on rising sea levels as a result of climate change.

  • Uppsala Health Summit publishes pre-conference report

    For the upcoming Uppsala Health Summit on antibiotic resistance, 2–3 June, a report has now been published focusing on some of the most pressing issues and challenges. The aim of the meeting is to move the discussion forward, from the ‘what’ to the ‘who’ and ‘how’.

  • Important study of how climate affects biodiversity

    A key question in the climate debate is how the occurrence and distribution of species is affected by climate change. But without information about natural variation in species abundance it is hard to answer. In a major study, published today in the leading scientific journal Current Biology, researchers can now for the first time give us a detailed picture of natural variation.

  • ​ New, useful feature of Moringa seeds revealed

    In a new study, researchers from Uppsala University show that the Moringa seeds can be used for separation of different materials. Separation processes are very important in mining industries and the new knowledge could contribute to reduce the needs for expensive synthetic chemicals.

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