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The students net for amphipods
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

From simple nets to high-tech tools as future environmental specialists sample the sea

A textbook is one thing – reality another. In the master's course ‘Environmental field studies’ students learn how to assess the marine environment in practice, using both simple and advanced methods.

From simple nets to high-tech tools as future environmental specialists sample the sea - Read the full article
Climate and Environment - Theme page Sustainable Chemistry - Theme page Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Oceans and Lakes - Theme page
Tractor spraying pesticides at soy bean field

Companies withhold studies of potential harm from pesticides

One in four industry-funded studies examining the potential harm from pesticides on the developing brain were not shared with EU authorities by the producing companies. This finding raises concern about the reliability of EU safety evaluations of pesticides and undermines trust in the system designed to protect European consumers.

Companies withhold studies of potential harm from pesticides - Read the full article
Chemistry - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Health and Living Conditions - Theme page Sustainable Chemistry - Theme page
Department of Social Anthropology

Anthropologist admitted to the Pro Futura programme

Chakad Ojani has been admitted to the Pro Futura Sciencia programme for promising early-career scholars. In the coming five years he will be working on the project ‘Oceans in the sky’ that deals with fog capture in coastal Peru.

Anthropologist admitted to the Pro Futura programme - Read the full article
Atmosphere and Weather - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Economy and Society - Theme page Geology, Geography and Landscapes - Theme page Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page
Örjan Gustafsson i tornet på luftmätningsstationen Hanimaadhoo på norra Maldiverna.

Reduced emissions during the pandemic led to increased climate warming

The Covid pandemic shutdowns in South Asia greatly reduced the concentration of short-lived cooling particles in the air, while the concentration of long-lived greenhouse gases was barely affected. Researchers were thus able to see how reduced emissions of air pollution leads to cleaner air but also stronger climate warming.

Reduced emissions during the pandemic led to increased climate warming - Read the full article
Atmosphere and Weather - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

Animals that feed on cyanobacteria

The Baltic Sea is affected by eutrophication and climate change and both the spring phytoplankton bloom and the summer cyanobacteria bloom start earlier today than in the 1980s. Diatoms have decreased while nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria have increased. How does all this affect food chains in the Baltic Sea?

Animals that feed on cyanobacteria - Read the full article
Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Oceans and Lakes - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page
Photo: Camille Akhoudas
Department of Geological Sciences

Study shows increased intensity of the atmospheric hydrological cycle in the Southern Ocean

Researchers have used a 30-year time series to analyze how surface salinity in the Southern Ocean has changed. By studying changes in ocean surfaces properties the researchers were able to trace back to the processes behind salinity changes.

Study shows increased intensity of the atmospheric hydrological cycle in the Southern Ocean - Read the full article
Oceans and Lakes - Theme page Geology, Geography and Landscapes - Theme page
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

Alumnus portrait: "Important to implement the knowledge in a valuable way"

Alexander Stockhaus has a master's degree in marine biology from Stockholm University and now works as an environmental consultant specialising in pollution in aquatic environments at the engineering consultancy Niras. He found the field studies to be one of the most fun and important parts of his education.

Alumnus portrait: "Important to implement the knowledge in a valuable way" - Read the full article
Climate and Environment - Theme page Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Oceans and Lakes - Theme page
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

Baltic Breakfast: Action needed to reduce impact from shipping

Shipping causes a number of pressures on the marine environment, including the discharge of tank cleaning residues into the water. Action is needed to reduce this problem, stated the Baltic Breakfast speakers who presented a policy brief on the subject.

Baltic Breakfast: Action needed to reduce impact from shipping - Read the full article
Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Oceans and Lakes - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Sustainable Chemistry - Theme page
Sebbe Blokhuizen, masterstudent i beräkningsfysik
Department of Physics

Sebbe Blokhuizen studies computational physics and researches about DNA origami

During his internship project he worked with DNA origami which is a technique for creating nanoscale structures. The result can be used in various fields, such as drug delivery, biosensing, and nanoelectronics. Sebbe is a Dutch student and when he's done with his thesis he will go on a trip to the Andes Mountain before going back to the Netherlands.

Sebbe Blokhuizen studies computational physics and researches about DNA origami - Read the full article
Physics - Theme page
Professor Mohamed Bourenanne and PhD student Thomas Daugey
Department of Physics

New quantum communication infrastructure

Mohamed Bourenanne is part of the National Quantum Communication Infrastructure in Sweden (NQCIS) project, which received SEK 30 million from Vinnova and is coordinated by KTH. His research group works in the field of quantum communication and their laboratory is located at AlbaNova. - All eavesdropping attempts can be revealed thanks to the basic theories of quantum mechanics, thus increasing information security.

New quantum communication infrastructure - Read the full article
Physics - Theme page
Close-up shot of two women expecting a baby.
Department of Public Health Sciences

Fewer cases of adverse birth outcomes for lesbian couples who received IVF treatment

Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and/or pre-term birth occur to a lesser extent in children of lesbian couples who have undergone IVF treatment (in vitro fertilization) compared to heterosexual couples who received the same fertility treatment. This according to researchers from Sweden, the United Kingdom and Finland. These research results were published in an a research article in Journal of the American Medical Association.

Fewer cases of adverse birth outcomes for lesbian couples who received IVF treatment - Read the full article
Health and Living Conditions - Theme page
Professor Afzal Siddiqui in a panel discussion on energy and sustainability in Sveriges Riksdag.
Department of Computer and Systems Sciences

“We can’t rely on technology alone to decarbonise”

New tech solutions will not solve all our energy problems. To become more sustainable, most of us need to change our lifestyles too. Professor Afzal Siddiqui was very clear when he delivered this message to members of the European parliament.

“We can’t rely on technology alone to decarbonise” - Read the full article
Digitalization and AI - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page
Armita Golkar

Researching the teenage brain to reveal the causes of anxiety

Mental health issues affect quality of life for millions of people. Many people first experience anxiety in their early teen years as their brain rapidly develops. Armita Golkar is doing research on this sensitive period in the hope that new findings will improve the treatment of mental illness.

Researching the teenage brain to reveal the causes of anxiety - Read the full article
Brain Research - Theme page Children and Young People - Theme page Psychology and Human Behaviour - Theme page
family

Lower mortality risks for parents of young children

The age of the youngest child impacts parental mortality, with a significant survival advantage observed for parents of newborns due to both selection and behavioral changes, while controlling for parental age. This is revealed by a Swedish study published in the scientific journal Genus.

Lower mortality risks for parents of young children - Read the full article
Children and Young People - Theme page Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page Health and Living Conditions - Theme page
Hedersdoktorer nationalekonomi
Department of Economics

Jim Albrecht and Susan Vroman new honorary doctors at Stockholm University

Stockholm University has appointed Jim Albrecht and Susan Vroman as honorary doctors 2023. Both are professors of Economy at Georgetown University, USA, and have collaborated with Peter Skogman Thoursie, Professor of Economics at Stockholm University, for more than a decade.

Jim Albrecht and Susan Vroman new honorary doctors at Stockholm University - Read the full article
Economy and Society - Theme page Gender and Equality - Theme page Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page
framsida på boken
Department of Law

New book about The Rights of the Child

The anthology ”The Rights of the Child: Legal, Political and Ethical Challenges” is volume 7 in the book series Stockholm Studies in Child Law and Children's Rights, published by the Stockholm Centre for the Rights of the Child at the Faculty of law, Stockholm University. The volume editor is Rebecca Adami, Anna Kaldal and Margareta Aspán.

New book about The Rights of the Child - Read the full article
Law, Crime and Justice - Theme page Children and Young People - Theme page
Laura Babcock
Institute for Interpreting and Translation Studies

The neurobiology of simultaneous interpreting

"Minds Between Languages" is a series on translation, interpreting and cognition. Listen to Dr. Laura Babcock, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Interpreting and Translation studies, discussing various aspects of the neurobiology of simultaneous interpreting.

The neurobiology of simultaneous interpreting - Read the full article
Language and Language Learning - Theme page Brain Research - Theme page
Woman, seen from the side, leans forward with hand over eyes.
Department of Public Health Sciences

Women’s suicide risk increases around the anniversary of a parent’s death

Women who have lost a parent run a higher risk of suicide around the anniversary of the death of a parent, according to researchers from the Department of Public Health Sciences at Stockholm University. For men there does not seem to be a similar pattern. The research results were published recently in the medical journal Jama Network Open.

Women’s suicide risk increases around the anniversary of a parent’s death - Read the full article
Health and Living Conditions - Theme page
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

Scientists in Brussels call for cautious Baltic Sea fisheries

Since the EU's fisheries policy was reformed in the 2010s, three of the seven fish stocks in the Baltic Sea have collapsed, and there are worrying signs for two more. A team from Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre recently attended a hearing at the European Parliament in Brussels to explain why politicians should be more restrictive on fishing quotas.

Scientists in Brussels call for cautious Baltic Sea fisheries - Read the full article
Oceans and Lakes - Theme page Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page

Ten new Honorary Doctorates at Stockholm University

Stockholm University has chosen this year’s honorary doctors, all of whom have contributed in distinctive ways to the University’s activities in research and education. The ten new honorary doctors are: Jim Albrecht, Ian Brooks, Richard Dyer, Jan Ellenberg, Janet Gornick, Birke Häcker, Susanne Ljung, Peter Sarnak, Janet M. Thornton and Susan Vroman. They will be conferred their honorary doctorates on 29 September 2023.

Ten new Honorary Doctorates at Stockholm University - Read the full article
Atomic Motion in Liquid Water Molecules
Department of Physics

Importance of Quantum Effects in Water

Using ultrafast electron diffraction, Anders Nilsson at Stockholm University have participated in a study lead by colleagues at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in California on how the structure of water changes after a fast change in the quantum distribution of distances in the internal bond. Upon increasing the quantum number by one unit of the internal OH stretch the team surprisingly found that the hydrogen bond becomes strengthen. The finding is published this week in Nature.

Importance of Quantum Effects in Water - Read the full article
Physics - Theme page
Handwritten page from the Ormulum

“A book you can be single-mindedly obsessed with”

A repetitive and fairly boring book, written on scrap bits of poor quality parchment. Still, the ‘Ormulum’ has fascinated linguists for hundreds of years. After 30 years of work at the English Department at Stockholm University, a new critical edition of the book is now being released, the first one since 1878.

“A book you can be single-mindedly obsessed with” - Read the full article
Language and Language Learning - Theme page

Lab-on-a-Chip, a new way of understanding the spread of environmental pollutants

Water pollution from industry, agriculture and cities puts pressure on both humans and the environment. Monitoring water quality, using lab-on-a-chip and citizen science may be a new way of safeguarding our water supply and is also the scope of this new project from professor Nicole Pamme’s group within the WISE collaboration.

Lab-on-a-Chip, a new way of understanding the spread of environmental pollutants - Read the full article
Chemistry - Theme page Sustainable Chemistry - Theme page
Illustration of a black hole engine emitting focused radiation giving rise to the gamma ray burst
Department of Astronomy

New Study Questions Decades-Long Understanding of Gamma Ray Bursts

On Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, a pulse of intense gamma-ray radiation swept through our solar system, saturating detectors on numerous spacecraft, and sending astronomers across the world scurrying to train their fastest and most powerful telescopes on it. The new source, dubbed GRB 221009A, turned out to be the brightest gamma-ray burst (GRB) ever observed. In a new study that appeared yesterday in the Astrophysical Journal Letters, multi-wavelength observations of this extraordinary event are questioning our decades-long understanding of how these events explode into their multi-coloured fireworks.

New Study Questions Decades-Long Understanding of Gamma Ray Bursts - Read the full article
Astronomy and Cosmology - Theme page
An elderly woman seen from behind
Swedish Institute for Social Research

How are private pensions associated with income inequality among retired elderly?

It is often assumed that the expansion of private pensions is likely to increase income inequality among retired elderly. But in countries where private pensions have expanded the most, income inequality has not. This is one of the results of a new dissertation in sociology at SOFI.

How are private pensions associated with income inequality among retired elderly? - Read the full article
Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page Economy and Society - Theme page
Political Dimensions of Entrepreneurship
Stockholm Business School

Political dimensions of social entrepreneurship

A new thesis shows the political context in social entrepreneurship. The study explores the political dimension of entrepreneurship emerging within the context of a subaltern counterpublic (a form of community cultivating contestation of current social structures) primarily consisting of second-generation Swedes with connections to marginalized suburbs in Stockholm.

Political dimensions of social entrepreneurship - Read the full article
Krishnakant Budhavant and Prof Örjan Gustafsson at the station in the Maldives

Measurements reveal the impact of air pollution on climate and health in southern Asia

Researchers from Stockholm University are involved in the operation of two strategically placed measurement stations in the Maldives and Bangladesh, which capture air pollutants that affect people’s health and the climate. These pollutants come from diverse sources across the Indian subcontinent, which the research is seeking to pinpoint.

Measurements reveal the impact of air pollution on climate and health in southern Asia - Read the full article
Atmosphere and Weather - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page
Doctor and patient in a hospital room
Swedish Institute for Social Research

Countries with strong primary care show more equity in health

The health level among highly- and low-educated people is more equal in countries with a high-quality primary care. For people with low education, primary care can function as a gatekeeper, reducing the correlation between education level and health. This is shown in a new dissertation in sociology from the Swedish Institute for Social Research (SOFI) at Stockholm University.

Countries with strong primary care show more equity in health - Read the full article
Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page
Camera lens with healthcare-related icons above. Processed image.
Department of Law

VisuAAL-projects at SU Law examine legal aspects of AAL technologies

Video-based technology can be of great help in the care of older adults, but at the same time raises several questions of a legal nature. At SU Law, two PhD students are currently studying these issues within the framework of an EU major research program.

VisuAAL-projects at SU Law examine legal aspects of AAL technologies - Read the full article
Law, Crime and Justice - Theme page Digitalization and AI - Theme page Health and Living Conditions - Theme page
KS18 and its graph of compatibility
Department of Physics

Quantum mechanics predicts effects that are counter-intuitive

Quantum mechanics predicts effects that are counter-intuitive and impossible to reconcile with our daily experience. One of the most intriguing examples of these predictions is that a pair of particles can be entangled. When two particles are entangled we cannot describe the properties of one of them without referring to the other, they behave as a single entity.

Quantum mechanics predicts effects that are counter-intuitive - Read the full article
Physics - Theme page
Optik experiment med ett prisma. Två studenter syns suddiga i bakgrunden.
Department of Physics

Fysikum at SU Open Day

On March 22 between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., it's time for the Open Day at Stockholm University in Aula Magna. Where you will be able to meet students and the academic advisor Filippa Koskelainen and the study administrator for the foundation year, Alexandra Lundholm. We're from Fysikum and you're welcome to find out what it is like to study physics.

Fysikum at SU Open Day - Read the full article
Physics - Theme page
Child with parents, holding hands
Swedish Institute for Social Research

How are children influenced by their parents’ separation?

What are the circumstances that make some children more resilient to a parental separation than others? A new dissertation in sociology from Stockholm University investigates the heterogeneity in children’s outcomes after a parental separation. Among other things, the studies show that children with separated parents, living in shared parental residence, are doing nearly as well as children whose parents stay together.

How are children influenced by their parents’ separation? - Read the full article
Society, Democracy and Welfare - Theme page Health and Living Conditions - Theme page Children and Young People - Theme page
Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre

Bottom fauna in Bothnian Sea adapts to new diet

A recently published doctoral thesis shows Monoporeia affinis, a small, benthic amphipod and key marine species in the Baltic Sea, benefit from eating cyanobacteria. This is good news as cyanobacteria will both increase and spread northwards with the ongoing climate change. But the thesis also showed that amphipods living in the Bothnian Sea seem to be particularly sensitive to environmental toxins.

Bottom fauna in Bothnian Sea adapts to new diet - Read the full article
Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Oceans and Lakes - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page

Aspirin protects against genotoxicity by promoting genome repair

Acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) is arguably the oldest drug in the history of medicine. In a study published in Cell Research, researchers at Stockholm University and the University Medical Center Freiburg, have identified a new mechanism of aspirin. They show that aspirin promotes genome repair and can protect mice and cells against the toxic effects of irradiation and mutagenic chemicals. This new mechanism may help explain many of the health benefits of aspirin including cancer prevention.

Aspirin protects against genotoxicity by promoting genome repair - Read the full article
DNA Research - Theme page Health and Living Conditions - Theme page Life Science - Theme page

SU researchers will lead the development of new sustainable fibers for consumer use

The BIO-Lush consortium led by professor Aji Mathew from MMK/SUCCeSS has been awarded almost 5 M€ in funding from the EU-call Circular Bio-based Europe (CBE). The four-year project is planned to start in 2023 and will address a growing need to utilize biomass for sustainable and high-quality fibre extraction.

SU researchers will lead the development of new sustainable fibers for consumer use - Read the full article
Chemistry - Theme page Climate and Environment - Theme page Plants, Animals and Nature - Theme page Sustainable Chemistry - Theme page
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