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Topics: Science, technology

  • UCDP: record number of armed conflicts in the world

    Never before have there been so many armed conflicts across the globe. This has been shown by new statistics from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program, UCDP, at Uppsala University. In 2023, the number of conflicts involving states totalled 59, the highest number ever since the data collection’s starting point in 1946. Previous peaks were seen in 2020 and 2022, each with 56 conflicts.

  • Women vulnerable in peace processes

    New research: Post-war peace processes are a dangerous period for women, who are forced to live close to men who committed serious abuse during the war, which can be stigmatising. Women safety is not a political priority after war. There is great potential for improvement, if the UN were to start making more space for women’s perspectives, writes peace- and conflict researchers in PLOS One.

  • New mechanisms behind antibiotic resistance

    Two newly discovered mechanisms in bacteria have been identified that can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistance. Changing the number of copies of resistance genes in bacteria increases antibiotic resistance. These two mechanisms, along with a third known mechanism, can occur independently of each other, even within the same bacterial cell. (published in Nature Communications)

  • Robots' sense of touch could be as fast as humans

    Research at Uppsala University and Karolinska Institutet could pave the way for a prosthetic hand and robot to be able to feel touch like a human hand. Their study has been published in the journal Science. The technology could also be used to help restore lost functionality to patients after a stroke.

  • Return of a cermic child sarcophagus to university museum Gustavianum

    Uppsala University Museum Gustavianum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston have reached an agreement on the return of an ancient Egyptian ceramic child sarcophagus, dated to the 19th Dynasty (1295–1186 BC). The sarcophagus belonged to a boy named Pa-nefer-neb.

  • Computer game in school made students better at detecting fake news

    A computer game helped upper secondary school students become better at distinguishing between reliable and misleading news. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers at Uppsala University and elsewhere. “The students improved their ability to identify manipulative techniques in social media posts and to distinguish between reliable and misleading news,” says Professor Thomas Nygren.

  • New antibiotic class effective against multidrug-resistant bacteria

    Scientists at Uppsala University have discovered a new class of antibiotics with potent activity against multi-drug resistant bacteria, and have shown that it cures bloodstream infections in mice. The new antibiotic class is described in an article in the scientific journal PNAS.

  • Vole fever spreading further south

    Researchers have discovered that bank voles in Skåne, southern Sweden, carry a virus that can cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. This finding was made more than 500 km south of the previously known range. This is revealed in a new study from Uppsala University. The researchers were surprised that such a high proportion of the relatively few voles they caught were actually carrying a hantavirus.

  • When words make you sick

    In a new book, experts in a variety of fields explore nocebo effects – how negative expectations concerning health can make a person sick. It is the first time a book has been written on this subject.

  • Lower survival rates for women than men with germ cell tumours

    Women with a type of ovarian cancer known as germ cell tumours have a worse prognosis than men with similar tumours, i.e. testicular cancer. After five years with the disease, 98 percent of men were alive while the survival rate for women was only 85 percent. This has been revealed by a new study from Uppsala University and Uppsala University Hospital published in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

  • Stone Age strategy for avoiding inbreeding

    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 sets new world record for CIGS solar cells

    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 and grief in Swedish children’s books

    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.

  • Increased access to water a threat to nomadic livestock farmers

    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.

  • Double risk of dementia after mouth ulcer virus

    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.

  • Introducing competition between schools involves a lot of work and major costs

    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.

  • A standard blood test can predict a heart attack

    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.

  • Distance education during pandemic led to less care for mental ill health

    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.

  • New 2D material with super-heavy electrons

    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.

  • Important to involve both parents in breastfeeding

    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.

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