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Topics: Science, technology

  • Magnetic order in a two-dimensional molecular chessboard

    Achieving magnetic order in low-dimensional systems consisting of only one or two dimensions has been a research goal for some time. In a new study published in the journal Nature Communications, Uppsala researchers show that magnetic order can be created in a two-dimensional chessboard lattice consisting of organometallic molecules that are only one atomic layer thic

  • Better, cheaper healthcare with dry blood samples

    A drop of blood on filter paper, allowed to dry and stored for future diagnostic purposes – considerably easier than the present-day, resource-consuming method using frozen blood samples in plastic tubes. In a new study, Uppsala researchers measured 92 different proteins in dried samples and show the method has great potential to save resources, to the benefit of early diagnostics and treatment.

  • ​Ancient proteins studied in detail

    How did protein interactions arise, how have they developed? In a new study, researchers have looked at two proteins which began co-evolving between 400 and 600 million years ago. How did they work, and how have they changed over time? The findings, published in eLife, show how a combination of changes in the proteins’ properties created better conditions for the regulation of a cellular process.

  • Scottish badgers highlight the complexity of species responses to environmental change

    In a new study researchers have found that although warmer weather should benefit badger populations, the predicted human population increase in the Scottish highlands is likely to disturb badgers and counteract that effect. These results emphasise the importance of interactive effects and context-dependent responses when planning conservation management under human-induced environmental change.

  • Article on microplastic particles to be retracted

    ​The research article on consumption of microplastics by larval fish that was reported for misconduct in research will be retracted from the journal Science. The researchers behind the study themselves requested to retract the article at the end of last week, following sharp criticism of the study in an opinion from the Central Ethical Review Board.

  • Synthetic chemistry and biology in new method for more efficient hydrogen gas production

    Hydrogen gas has long been proposed as a promising energy carrier for future energy applications, but generating the gas from water has proved inefficient. In an article in the journal Energy and Environmental Science, scientists at Uppsala University now present an alternative, interdisciplinary method based on principles from nature.

  • Larger schooling fish found to have stronger attraction forces

    In schooling fish, collective movement emerges as a result of multiple social interactions between individuals. In a new study led by researchers at Uppsala University, larger individuals have been found to display stronger attraction forces to one another than smaller individuals. Short range repulsion forces, on the other hand, are the same regardless of fish size.

  • Potential new treatment for kidney failure in cancer patients

    Kidney dysfunction is a frequent complication in cancer patients, and is directly linked to poor survival. It is still not clear how presence of a tumour contributes to kidney dysfunction and how this can be prevented. A new study from researchers at Uppsala University shows that kidney dysfunction can be caused by the patient’s own immune system, ‘tricked’ by the tumour to become activated.

  • Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

    Amartya Sen awarded the 2017 Johan Skytte Prize in Political ScienceThe Johan Skytte Prize annually recognises the most valuable contribution to the field of Political Science. This year’s prize is awarded to Amartya Sen, Thomas W. Lamont Professor at Harvard University.

  • New study reveals how some chickens got striped feathers

    Birds show an amazing diversity in plumage colour and patterning. But what are the genetic mechanisms creating such patterns? In a new study published in PLOS Genetics, Swedish and French researchers report that two independent mutations are required to explain the development of the sex-linked barring pattern in chicken.

  • Genes key to killer bee’s success

    In a new study, researchers from Uppsala University sequenced the genomes of Africanized bees that have invaded large parts of the world to find out what makes them so extraordinarily successful. One particular region in the genome caught the researchers’ attention and the genes found there could be part of the explanation for the aggressive advances of these hybrid bees.

  • The genetic basis for timing of reproduction in the Atlantic herring revealed

    In a study published today in PNAS, scientists in Sweden and Canada have studied the genetic basis of reproduction in 25 populations of herring from both sides of the North Atlantic. They revealed a number of genes associated with the timing of reproduction, and the genetic variants associated with spring or autumn spawning were found to be largely shared between geographically distant populations

  • New tool for prognosis and choice of therapy for rheumatoid arthritis

    In rheumatoid arthritis, antibodies are formed that affect the inflammation in the joints. In an article published today in the journal Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, researchers at Uppsala University show that antibodies against the cartilage protein collagen II are associated with a good prognosis.

  • Measurements by school pupils paved way for key research findings

    With their measurements and samples, nearly 3,500 schoolchildren have assisted a research study on lakes and global warming, now published in the journal Scientific Reports. The results show that water temperatures generally remain low despite the air becoming warmer. This helps to curb the emission of greenhouse gases.

  • One in five residents overuses electricity at neighbours’ expense

    Household electricity use falls by more than 30% when residents are obliged to pay for their own personal consumption. This is shown in a new study by researchers at Uppsala University’s and the Research Institute of Industrial Economics (IFN), published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS).

  • Effects of genes often influenced by network

    When many genes regulate a single trait, they commonly work together in large clusters or ‘networks’. Taking this into account allows better predictions of how an individual’s genetic make-up affects the trait concerned. The risk of perceiving the importance of an individual gene incorrectly is also reduced.

  • Archeologists at the vanguard of environmental research

    The history of people and landscapes, whether natural or cultural, is fundamentally connected. Answering key historical questions about this relation will allow us to approach our most important environmental issues in novel ways. Today in the open access journal PLOS ONE archeologists present a list of 50 priority issues for historical ecology.

  • Genetic data show mainly men migrated from the Pontic steppe to Europe 5,000 years ago

    A new study, looking at the sex-specifically inherited X chromosome of prehistoric human remains, shows that hardly any women took part in the extensive migration from the Pontic-Caspian Steppe approximately 5,000 years ago. The great migration that brought farming practices to Europe 4,000 years earlier, on the other hand, consisted of both women and men.

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