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Topics: Natural science

  • Better Water Purification with Seeds from Moringa trees

    Seeds from Moringa oleifera trees can be used to purify water. Uppsala University leads a research group which has discovered that seed material can give a more efficient purification process than conventional synthetic materials in use today.

  • How bacteria respond so quickly to external changes

    A research study from Uppsala University, Sweden, is now presenting a model of how bacteria can rapidly adapt to environmental changes through smart regulation of their gene expression. This is important not least for our understanding of resistance to antibiotics.

  • Errant gliding proteins yield long-sought insight

    In order to react effectively to changes in the surroundings, bacteria must be able to quickly turn specific genes on or off. Although the overall mechanisms behind gene regulation have long been known, the fine details have eluded scientists for decades. Researchers at Uppsala University can now provide a picture of how proteins regulate genetic expression at the atomic level.

  • Grazers and pollinators shape plant evolution

    It has long been known that the characteristics of many plants with wide ranges can vary geographically, depending on differences in climate. But changes in grazing pressure and pollination can also affect the genetic composition of natural plant populations, according to a new study.

  • 3D model reveals new information about iconic volcano

    The volcano on the Scottish peninsula Ardnamurchan is a popular place for the study of rocks and structures in the core of a volcano. Geologists have been certain that the Ardnamurchan volcano have three successive magma chambers. However, an international group of researchers, lead from Uppsala University, Sweden, has now showed that the volcano only has one single magma chamber.

  • Lifespan of fruitflies is primarily inherited within the sexes

    An individual’s lifespan is to some extent determined by genetic factors. These can affect disease risk and are in general believed to have the same effect on males and females. A new study on fruit flies, by researchers based in Germany and Sweden, overthrows this view and demonstrates that genetic factors commonly have radically different effects on lifespan in the two sexes.

  • Putting flesh on the bones of ancient fish

    This week in the journal Science, Swedish and Australian researchers present the miraculously preserved musculature of 380 million year old fossil fishes, revealed by unique fossils from a locality in north-west Australia. The finds will help scientists to understand how neck muscles and abdominal muscles – “abs” – evolved.

  • The mechanism that puts the curl in the curling stone revealed

    Researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden can now reveal the mechanism behind the curved path of a curling stone. The discovery by the researchers, who usually study friction and wear in industrial and technical applications, is now published in the scientific journal Wear.

  • Surprising findings on hydrogen production in green algae

    New research results from Uppsala University instil hope of efficient hydrogen production with green algae being possible in the future, despite the prevailing scepticism based on previous research. The study, which is published today in the esteemed journal PNAS, changes the view on the ability of green algae – which is good news.

  • Carin Göring’s remains identified by researchers at Uppsala University

    The putative remains of Carin Göring, wife of Nazi leader Herman Göring, were found in 1991 at a site close to where she had been buried. In a recently published article, Marie Allen, professor of forensic genetics at Uppsala University, and her associates present evidence supporting that it is Carin Göring’s remains that have been identified.

  • Male competition an evolutionary engine of genital evolution

    When a female mates with several males, these will compete over the fertilization her eggs. This is an important evolutionary force that has led to the evolution of a diversity of male sexual organ morphologies. This is revealed in a study of seed beetles published today in the leading scientific journal Current Biology.

  • Flycatchers’ genomes explain how one species became two

    In an article in the leading scientific journal Nature, researchers at Uppsala University in Sweden describe how they mapped the genomes of the European pied flycatcher and the collared flycatcher and found that it is disparate chromosome structures rather than separate adaptations in individual genes that underlies the separation of the species.

  • Migratory birds’ ticks can spread viral haemorrhagic fever

    A type of haemorrhagic fever (Crimean-Congo) that is prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Balkans has begun to spread to new areas in southern Europe. Now Swedish researchers have shown that migratory birds carrying ticks are the possible source of contagion. The discovery is being published in the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

  • Uppsala researchers looking for life outside our solar system

    Astronomers at Uppsala University in Sweden will receive a grant of more than SEK 23 million from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to search and analyse atmospheres surrounding earth-like exoplanets. Ultimately these researchers hope to find traces of life on these planets.

  • New DNA study shows humankind’s complex origins in Africa

    The Khoe and San peoples in southern Africa play an important role for our understanding of the evolutionary history of humans. These peoples are directly descended from the first branching of the genealogical tree for today’s humans. This is shown in a study led by Uppsala University and being presented in the Web version of the journal Science today.

  • A single gene has a major impact on gaits in horses and in mice

    Researchers have discovered a mutation in a single gene in horses that is critical for the ability to perform ambling gaits, for pacing and that has a major effect on performance in harness racing. The study, which is published in Nature today, is a breakthrough for our understanding of spinal cord neuronal circuitry and its control of locomotion in vertebrates.

  • How proteins find their way on chromosomes

    A research team at Uppsala University has managed to clarify how proteins that regulate the activity of genes quickly find their way on chromosomes among millions of possible binding sites. The study also confirms a more than 30-year-old theory about the process. The findings are being published today in the scientific journal Science.

  • Genes shed light on spread of agriculture in Stone Age Europe

    One of the most debated developments in human history is the transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies. This week’s edition of Science presents the genetic findings of a Swedish-Danish research team, which show that agriculture spread to Northern Europe via migration from Southern Europe.

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