Published 18 December 2019 A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that plant-eating insects affect forest ecosystems considerably more than previously thought. Among other things, the insects are a factor in the leaching of nutrients from soil and increased emissions of carbon dioxide. The researchers also establish that the temperature may rise as a result of an increase in the amount o

https://www.science.lu.se/article/plant-eating-insects-disrupt-ecosystems-and-contribute-climate-change - 2025-05-07

Published 7 January 2020 Experiment set-up measuring how many blinks per minute a falcon perceives. Photo: Simon Potier. Extremely acute vision and the ability to rapidly process different visual impressions – these two factors are crucial when a peregrine falcon bears down on its prey at a speed that easily matches that of a Formula 1 racing car: over 350 kilometres per hour. The visual acuity of

https://www.science.lu.se/article/falcons-see-prey-speed-formula-1-car - 2025-05-07

Published 7 January 2020 Two top international researchers have been named honorary doctors at Lund University’s Faculty of Science. Mary Higby Schweitzer achieved cult status with her fossil finds, including from a pregnant Tyrannosaurus rex female. Through advanced observations, astronomer Thomas Henning gave the world an increased understanding of how stars and planets are formed. Mary Higby Sc

https://www.science.lu.se/article/dinosaur-expert-and-planet-formation-guru-are-new-honorary-doctors-science - 2025-05-07

Published 31 January 2020 Emily O'Connor. Photo: Aron Hejdström. Researchers have for the first time found a connection between the immune systems of different bird species, and the various climatic conditions in which they live. The researchers at Lund University in Sweden believe that as the climate changes, some birds may be exposed to diseases that they are not equipped to handle. The results

https://www.science.lu.se/article/immune-systems-not-prepared-climate-change - 2025-05-07

Published 13 February 2020 It has now been confirmed that Lund University will receive SEK 100 million from the EU to coordinate the international research project Interact for another four years. Among other things, the funding is to be used to send more polar researchers to the Arctic, make data available using artificial intelligence and reduce the research stations’ climate impact. “Climate ch

https://www.science.lu.se/article/lund-university-receives-sek-100-million-coordinate-major-polar-research-project - 2025-05-07

Published 19 February 2020 The ability of global ecosystems to absorb carbon dioxide is regulated to a large extent by the nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus. With lower plant access to these nutrients, greater volumes of carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere, instead of being absorbed by forests and other ecosystems. A new study has now charted the global patterns of this nitrogen and phosphorus

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-study-solves-old-climate-mystery-about-ecosystems-nutrient-limitation - 2025-05-07

Published 2 March 2020 Researchers have discovered nematodes, or worms, in the brains of lizard embryos. This is the first time they have been found in reptile eggs, and it was previously believed that egg laying prevents parasites from being transmitted in this way. The discovery was made by an international research team led by Nathalie Feiner, evolutionary biologist at Lund University in Sweden

https://www.science.lu.se/article/worms-discovered-brain-lizard-embryos-first-time - 2025-05-07

Published 6 March 2020 Grey-crowned babblers raise their chicks in family groups. Photo: Graham Lee. Bird social groups are more complex than previously thought. Now, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have established that bird species which raise their young in nuclear family groups develop greater social complexity compared with species that raise their young in groups without family ties

https://www.science.lu.se/article/raising-young-nuclear-family-groups-evolutionary-bliss-some-birds - 2025-05-07

Published 6 April 2020 An international research team from Sweden and Hungary have discovered an entirely new sense in dogs: using their cold, wet nose tips, dogs can sense the heat from other animals or a human. “It has taken a rather long time to discover this, given that dog and man have lived side by side for 15,000 years, and we have remained unaware of this ability”, says Ronald Kröger, prof

https://www.science.lu.se/article/dogs-can-detect-heat-noses-study-finds - 2025-05-07

Published 23 April 2020 Springtails. Photo: Wikimedia Commons. The earthy smell in spring when the fields are ploughed and the garden soil in flower beds is dug over has a previously unknown purpose. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and other institutions have examined the soil smell and were able to show that it is linked to intricate int

https://www.science.lu.se/article/story-behind-earthy-smell-spring - 2025-05-07

Published 24 April 2020 In an advanced experiment, researchers have established that nanoparticles made of metal and semiconductors have properties never previously observed. Among other things, the particles are extremely good at amplifying incident laser light. The new discovery could become very important for the development of optical computers in the future. In a study published in the scient

https://www.science.lu.se/article/gold-nanosponges-could-be-useful-computers-future - 2025-05-07

Published 27 April 2020 The emergence and evolution of photosynthesis played a decisive role when life on earth began four billion years ago. In the past decade, some researchers have presented claims that quantum mechanical coherence plays an important role in this complex process. These ideas have now been critically evaluated in a study published in the scientific journal Science Advances. Phot

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-study-undermines-ideas-importance-special-quantum-mechanical-effects-photosynthesis - 2025-05-07

Published 4 May 2020 The Svalbard rock ptarmigan. Photo: Andreas Nord. The extreme cold, harsh environment and constant hunt for food means that Arctic animals have become specialists in saving energy. Now, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a previously unknown energy-saving method used by birds during the polar night. Researchers from Lund University and the University of T

https://www.science.lu.se/article/arctic-wildlife-uses-extreme-method-save-energy - 2025-05-07

Published 7 May 2020 For the first time, an international research team has succeeded in quantifying the toxic oligomers that break down the nerve cells in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The discovery could be crucial in the hunt for new methods to limit the rapidly growing dementia disease. For the first time, an international research team has succeeded in quantifying the toxic oligomers th

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-discovery-facilitates-hunt-methods-limit-alzheimers-disease - 2025-05-07

Published 19 May 2020 An international research team has discovered a treatment that dramatically reduces swelling after brain and spinal cord damage. By using an already approved drug on rats, the brain’s water channels could be manipulated with positive results. The new study offers hope to the millions of people who are affected by brain and spinal cord damage. According to the World Health Org

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-study-brains-water-channels-offers-hope-those-brain-and-spinal-cord-damage - 2025-05-07

Published 19 May 2020 In a future warmer climate, evaporation from the northern hemisphere’s wetlands will increase significantly more than previously thought. This is shown by an international study involving researchers from Lund University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The new discovery provides important knowledge about how the world water balance will be affected in the

https://www.science.lu.se/article/rising-temperatures-affect-wetlands-and-disrupt-water-balance - 2025-05-07

Published 7 July 2020 A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that female birds benefit more from extra food in the winter. If females receive additional food, they do not need to reduce their body temperature as much as they would have otherwise, and the chances of surviving cold nights increase. Birds possess an extreme ability to regulate their own body temperature. On cold winter nigh

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bird-feeding-helps-females-more-males - 2025-05-07

Published 11 August 2020 Image of corona from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory showing features created by magnetic fields. Image credit: NASA. Extensive power outages and satellite blackouts that affect air travel and the internet are some of the potential consequences of massive solar storms. These storms are believed to be caused by the release of enormous amounts of stored magnetic energy due

https://www.science.lu.se/article/breakthrough-method-predicting-solar-storms - 2025-05-07

Published 12 August 2020 Martin Rey, astrophysicist at Lund University. Photo by Johan Joelsson. The question of how small, dwarf galaxies have sustained the formation of new stars over the course of the Universe has long confounded the world’s astronomers. An international research team led by Lund University in Sweden has found that dormant small galaxies can slowly accumulate gas over many bill

https://www.science.lu.se/article/how-stars-form-smallest-galaxies - 2025-05-07

Published 4 September 2020 Colourful common wall lizards and an innovative X-ray microscope. Two researchers from the Faculty of Science have been granted five-year starting grants totalling EUR 3.5 million from the European Research Council. Nathalie Feiner, researcher in evolutionary biology, will focus on parallel evolution among six species of common wall lizards found in the Mediterranean reg

https://www.science.lu.se/article/two-researchers-faculty-science-share-sek-35-million-european-research-council - 2025-05-07