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Topics: Science, technology

  • Local community group activities may help reduce neonatal mortality in Vietnam

    Community groups in rural Vietnam comprised of local health workers, politicians and laywomen (Maternal and Newborn Health Groups) set up to tackle challenges to maternal and neonatal health may reduce the neonatal death rate after three years and increase antenatal care attendance, according to a study by researchers from Sweden and Vietnam published in this week’s PLOS Medicine.

  • 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.

  • Researchers identifies gene associated with eczema in dogs

    A novel gene associated with canine atopic dermatitis has been identified by a team of researchers led by professors at Uppsala University and SLU, Sweden. The gene encodes a protein called plakophilin 2, which is crucial for the formation and proper functioning of the skin structure, suggesting an aberrant skin barrier as a potential risk factor for atopic dermatitis.

  • EU project will increase researcher access to biobanks

    All of us stand to benefit from large European health studies, but it is not always easy for researchers to collaborate across national borders. To help enable collaboration, the international EU-funded project BBMRI-LPC will spend the next four years working to increase researchers’ access to samples and data. Researchers at Uppsala University have a key role in the project.

  • This year’s Johan Skytte Prize winner announced

    Professor Robert Axelrod at Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, University of Michigan, is the winner of the 2013 Johan Skytte Prize in political science. He is awarded the prize for “profoundly having changed our presumptions about the preconditions for human cooperation”. The Johan Skytte Prize is one of the finest and most prestigious prizes in political science.

  • 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.

  • Genes behind obesity mapped in large-scale study

    An international research team has identified seven new gene loci linked to obesity. Researchers were also able to show that the genetic mechanisms that cause extreme obesity are similar to those that cause milder forms of overweight and obesity.

  • PCBs can increase risk of lowered heart function

    There is a connection between high levels of PCBs and the heart’s ability to pump. The study is the latest of several from the Uppsala University research group showing health issues caused by PCBs, even though their use has been banned for some time.

  • New technology platform launched at SciLifeLab in Uppsala

    An advanced chip that swiftly and with extremely high sensitivity can measure 92 different tumour proteins from 92 different patients is now available at SciLifeLab in Uppsala. The new technology will become an important resource for researchers and companies developing diagnostics for different illnesses.

  • Carl Thunberg's Japanese plants to be digitised

    In stiff competition the Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University, Sweden, has been granted funding for digitising the Japanese parts of the Thunberg collection. The project will make the valuable plants available to the whole world, online

  • Scientists have a responsibility for research that can be used to harm

    Do scientists have a responsibility for research that is used to harm others? In a doctoral thesis from Uppsala University, Frida Kuhlau discusses to what extent Life Science researchers have a responsibility to prevent their research from being used to develop biological weapons.

  • First experimental plant for marine current power to be installed in Dalälven

    Journalists are welcome to the river Dalälven, in the rural Swedish town of Söderfors, when the first experimental plant for marine current power will be installed on March 7. The aim is to develop new technology for utilising renewable marine current power as a means for producing electricity.

  • The ‘no worries’ approach fails to identify Australian women with childbirth fear

    Having a fear of birth has a negative impact on women’s pregnancy and birth. In recently published research from a collaboration of The University of Melbourne, Australia, and Uppsala University, Sweden, doctoral student Helen Haines draws the conclusion that the ‘no worries’approach to this issue in Australia has underestimated the needs of a considerable number of pregnant women.

  • Lack of sleep? Keep away from the buffet

    New research from Uppsala University shows that sleep-deprived people select greater portion sizes of energy-dense snacks and meals than they do after one night of normal sleep. Poor sleep habits can therefore affect people’s risk of becoming overweight in the long run. The findings are published in Psychoneuroendocrinology.

  • Researchers guardians of trust in biobank research

    Do we trust biobank researchers? In a doctoral thesis from Uppsala University, medical doctor and bioethicist Linus Johnsson claims that we do: At least in Sweden. And since we do, researchers in turn have a moral responsibility towards us.

  • Ethical challenges of human brain simulation

    One of the greatest challenges of modern science is understanding the human brain. Uppsala University’s Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics (CRB) is part of the European Commission flagship initiative to simulate the human brain and will look at the philosophical and ethical implications of this.

  • Peace researchers worried over decrease in peace agreements

    Over the past few years the signing of peace agreements has become an increasingly rare phenomenon, while the number of armed conflicts has increased. This is described by peace researchers at Uppsala University’s Conflict Data Program (UCDP) in the latest report on states in armed conflict, States in Armed Conflict 2011. This is a cause for serious concern.

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