Photo: Unsplash. The most common analytical method within population genetics is deeply flawed, according to a new study from Lund University. This may have led to incorrect results and misconceptions about ethnicity and genetic relationships. The method has been used in hundreds of thousands of studies, affecting results within medical genetics and even commercial ancestry tests. The study is pub

https://www.science.lu.se/article/study-reveals-flaws-popular-genetic-method - 2025-09-09

Photo: Albin Belsing. Solitary bees that ingested the pesticide clothianidin when foraging from rapeseed flowers became slower. In addition, the strawberries pollinated by these bees were smaller. This is shown by a new study from Lund University in Sweden. Strawberries are known to become bigger if bees have visited their flowers, but how strawberry growth is affected if the bees have been expose

https://www.science.lu.se/article/strawberries-were-smaller-when-bees-ingested-pesticides - 2025-09-09

Illustration: NASA JPL-Caltech R. Hurt (SSC Caltech). Using data from the Gaia space telescope, a team led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden has shown that large parts of the Milky Way's outer disk vibrate. The ripples are caused by a dwarf galaxy, now seen in the constellation Sagittarius, that shook our galaxy as it passed by hundreds of millions of years ago. Our cosmic home, the Milk

https://www.science.lu.se/article/mysterious-ripples-milky-way-were-caused-passing-dwarf-galaxy - 2025-09-09

Photo: Tariq Sulemani/Istockphoto. A new study led by Lund University in Sweden shows that cities negatively affect the diversity of birds. There are significantly fewer bird species in urban forests compared with forests in the countryside - even if the forest areas are of the same quality. The researchers examined 459 natural woodlands located in or near 32 cities in southern Sweden. They counte

https://www.science.lu.se/article/less-bird-diversity-city-forests - 2025-09-09

Markku Rummukainen. Photo: Kennet Ruona. The UN’s annual climate change conference is currently ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Over the course of two weeks, representatives of the world’s nations will gather to discuss how to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and contribute to the climate transition. At this year’s COP, the focus will be on topics such as climate finance, damage

https://www.science.lu.se/article/uns-climate-change-conference-cop27-topics-agenda - 2025-09-09

Photo: Ulrika Ervander. Almost one fourth of Sweden’s last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019. At this rate, all of these ecologically unique and valuable forests will be lost in about 50 years. These findings add to the growing body of evidence for widespread cryptic forest degradation across the global north. A small fraction of Sweden’s forests consists of older fore

https://www.science.lu.se/article/study-uncovers-widespread-and-ongoing-clearcutting-swedish-old-forests - 2025-09-09

The winning picture: The eyes of a Helena's treefrog seem to glow in the dark. Photo: Roberto García-Roa. Roberto García-Roa, postdoc at the department of Biology has won yet another prestigious photo award. This time he’s the overall winner of “Capturing Ecology”, the British Ecological Society photo competition. Congratulations Roberto, what does this award mean to you? – It’s very special! Firs

https://www.science.lu.se/article/sharp-shooting-biologist-winner-international-photography-award - 2025-09-09

The researchers used ultrafast laser spectroscopy. Photo: Pavel Chabera. With the help of mirrors, placed only a few hundred nanometers apart, a research team has managed to use light more efficiently. The finding could eventually be useful for controlling solar energy conversion during photosynthesis, or other reactions driven by light. For example, one application could be converting carbon diox

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-take-first-step-towards-controlling-photosynthesis-using-mirrors - 2025-09-09

Jan Dhont. Jan Dhont, a chemist whose major achievements have been significant for life science and food science, has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the Faculty of Science at Lund University. Jan Dhont is a professor at the Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf and Director of the Institute of Biomacromolecular Systems and Processes at Forschungszentrum Jülich in Germany. He is a prominent

https://www.science.lu.se/article/colloid-chemist-new-honorary-doctor-science - 2025-09-09

Christoffer Johansson with the robotic wing. Photo: Anders Örtegren. Birds fly more efficiently by folding their wings during the upstroke, according to a recent study led by Lund University in Sweden. The results could mean that wing-folding is the next step in increasing the propulsive and aerodynamic efficiency of flapping drones. Even the precursors to birds – extinct bird-like dinosaurs – ben

https://www.science.lu.se/article/feathered-robotic-wing-paves-way-flapping-drones - 2025-09-09

Photo: Jörgen Wiklund. Only males among the fish species crucian carp have developed a strategy to protect themselves from hungry predators, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. The explanation could lie in that the surrounding environment affects the stress system in males and females differently. Some animals have evolved the ability to swiftly change appearance to defend the

https://www.science.lu.se/article/stress-may-trigger-male-defence-against-predators - 2025-09-09

Martin Bech in the X-ray microscopy lab, which is now set to be updated. Photo: Till Dreier. Martin Bech, senior lecturer in medical radiation physics, has been awarded a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant. Over a five-year period, he will conduct several exciting projects within X-ray microscopy which, among other things, can be used to generate 3D images of human tissue. Over the past decade, th

https://www.science.lu.se/article/radiation-physicist-receives-sek-20-million-grant-european-research-council-erc - 2025-09-09

Adding "mini-meadows", seen here in Malmö, Sweden, is one way of helping pollinators. Photo: Private/Lund University. Have you made adjustments to your garden to make it more welcoming for pollinators? If so, you have probably made a valuable contribution, according to a new study from Lund University. The researchers evaluated the national ‘Operation: Save the Bees’ campaign, and their results in

https://www.science.lu.se/article/what-you-do-your-garden-help-pollinators-works - 2025-09-09

Photo: Harald Ris. Since antiquity, humans have been fascinated by birds’ intercontinental migratory journeys. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that two areas in their genome decide whether a willow warbler flies across the Iberian Peninsula to western Africa, or across the Balkans to eastern and southern Africa. Researchers have long known that the behaviour that causes songbirds

https://www.science.lu.se/article/genes-decide-willow-warblers-migration-routes - 2025-09-09

Urban great tits prefer native trees for breeding. Photo: Caroline Isaksson. Small passerine birds, such as blue and great tits, avoid breeding in urban areas where there are many non-native trees. Chicks also weigh less the more non-native trees there are in the vicinity of the nest. This is shown in a long-term study from Lund University, Sweden. City trees contribute to several important ecosys

https://www.science.lu.se/article/urban-birds-prefer-native-trees - 2025-09-09

Maria Blasi Romero took her strong drive and engagement to the UN Conference of the Parties on Biodiversity, COP15, in Montreal. Photo: Kennet Ruona. We need to prioritise nature even if there are other conflicting interests – biodiversity is essential to all of us on the planet and ultimately to our health and wellbeing. The statement comes from Maria Blasi Romero, researcher in Biodiversity and

https://www.science.lu.se/article/young-scientists-eager-influence-policy-makers-biodiversity - 2025-09-09

A Bombus terrestris queen, one of the bumblebees that usually fly earliest in spring. Photo: Maria Blasi Romero. With the arrival of spring, bumblebee queens take their first wing beat of the season and set out to find new nesting sites. But they are flying earlier in the year, as a result of a warmer climate and a changing agricultural landscape, according to new research from Lund University in

https://www.science.lu.se/article/earlier-take-could-lead-fewer-bumblebees-and-less-pollination - 2025-09-09

Markku Rummukainen. Photo: Kennet Ruona. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has released a synthesis report summarizing the reports of recent years. Markku Rummukainen, Sweden's contact person for the IPCC and also Professor of Climatology at the Center for Environmental and Climate Science at Lund University, answers five question about the new report. What does the new syn

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-climate-report-near-term-action-crucial - 2025-09-09

A dunnock. Photo: Kathy Blücher/Pixabay. Exercising too much and not getting enough rest is bad for your health. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the same is true for migratory birds. They need to rest not only to renew their energy levels but also in order to boost their immune system. After a period of physical exertion, vertebrates, including humans, usually need a period o

https://www.science.lu.se/article/migratory-birds-take-breaks-boost-their-immune-system - 2025-09-09

Sara Linse. Photo: Johan Joelsson. Sara Linse, Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant worth 2.5 million euro. Chemistry professor Sara Linse’s research project, CHAPLIN, is to investigate the thermodynamic basis for how a group of chaperone proteins work. This applies to chaperone proteins that increase other proteins’ solubility and thereby protec

https://www.science.lu.se/article/chemist-receives-prestigious-grant-european-research-council - 2025-09-09