Press releases

In the 1960s Isaac Newton's Principia was stolen from the Uppsala University Library, Carolina Rediviva, and has been circulating in Europe and the U.S. since then. It was recently donated by its American owner to the friendship association American Friends of Uppsala University, which returned the book to Uppsala University today.

Until now, it has been difficult to prove that fast-swimming sperms have an advantage when it comes to fertilizing an egg. But now a research team at Uppsala University can demonstrate that unfaithful females of the cichlid fish species influence the males' sperms. Increased competition leads to both faster and larger sperms, and the research findings now being published in the scientific journal PNAS, Proceedings of the National Academy of Scien

The Augsburg Art Cabinet from 1632 contained collections of exotic items, new inventions, and technically complicated objects. The Art Cabinet originally belonged to Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus, but it was later donated to Uppsala University. Now this unique universal museum in miniature is also available in a virtual presentation on the Internet.

You notice it in your everyday life, the bewildering diversity in coat colour among our pigs, dogs and other domestic animals. This stark contrasts with the uniformity of colour within wild animals. A new study on pigs, published January 16 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics, reveals that the prime explanation for this phenomenon is that humans have actively changed the coat colour of domestic animals by cherry-picking and actively selectin

In an article in today's Nature, Uppsala researcher Martin Brazeau describes the skull and jaws of a fish that lived about 410 million years ago. The study may give important clues to the origin of jawed vertebrates, and thus ultimately our own evolution.

An international research team, in which Uppsala scientists have played a leading role, has managed to map the mitochondria DNA of the extinct Tasmanian wolf and can thereby demonstrate its relation to now living species. The findings, published today in the journal Genome Research, is of importance to our knowledge of species threatened with extinction and for conservation techniques at museums, and they pave the way for exciting museum research

A technology that is adapted to the special conditions for wave energy places the wave energy technology from Uppsala on the absolute cutting edge in the world. In his dissertation, Rafael Waters presents the findings from the experimental facility located in the sea outside Lysekil, Sweden, in which he has played a leading role in designing and constructing. He is publicly defending his dissertation at Uppsala University on December 12.

It is a well-known fact in drug trials that individuals can respond just as well to placebos, sugar pills, as to the active drug. On the other hand, it is difficult to explain why only certain people get better from placebos. A team of researchers from Uppsala University and Gothenburg University have now found gene variants that can impact the placebo effect and a mechanism in the brain that characterizes those who respond to placebos.

The influenza drug Tamiflu is a potent and important defense against future influenza epidemics. Recently, however, increased resistance to this important drug is being seen. The Swedish Research Council FORMAS has now granted SEK 5.9 million to a new research project that is to examine the development of resistance in influenza virus and how the drug Tamiflu behaves in the environment.

A protein not only has a special sequence of amino acids, it also needs to have the right folded structure in order to function as it should in the body. An international study led by Per Jemth at Uppsala University now shows how this folding occurs. The findings, published in this week's Web edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, constitute experimental proof of an existing theory and provide key knowledge of the conne

In a collaborative project between Swedish and Polish scientists large efforts has been made in a project to identify the remains of Nicolaus Copernicus.

The substance simvastatin kills cancer cells and can reduce the risk of blood clots in cancer patients. Experimental studies also show that low doses of simvastatin can lower the risk of contracting prostate cancer, for example, and of such cancer spreading throughout the body.

An article published electronically yesterday in the scientific journal Acta Paediatrica, describes how heart rate and sleep in boys are affected by violent video games.

On Sunday, November 16, the Museum of Evolution will present a whole day for English-speaking residents of Uppsala.

Uppsala University is continuing its strategic commitments, focusing on quality and renewal. Energy research, peace research, and medical research are examples of fields that can count on extra reinforcement next year. This is shown in the 2009 Operational Plan to be addressed today by the University Board.

The risk of depression is greater among Iraqi soldiers who took part in the Gulf War than among civilians. Surprisingly, on the other hand, neither of these groups showed any signs of post-traumatic stress ten years after that war-­with the exception of those Iraqis who have left Iraq. This is demonstrated in a study published in the new issue of the scientific journal New Iraqi Journal of Medicine.

A novel cell division mechanism has been discovered in a microorganism that thrives in hot acid. The finding may also result in insights into key processes in human cells, and in a better understanding of the main evolutionary lineages of life on Earth. The study is published in the online version of the journal of the American National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, this week.

Researchers from Uppsala University have discovered a mechanism that silences several genes in a chromosome domain. The findings, published in today's on-line issue of Molecular Cell, have implications in understanding the human disorder Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.

For fusion energy to be commercially viable, better methods are needed for metering the temperature and output in a fusion reactor. In his doctoral dissertation, Henrik Sjöstrand demostrates a new method for this. He is publicly defending his thesis on October 24 at Uppsala University.

Many people have noticed that as soon as you start using a skin cream, you have to continue with it; if you stop lubricating, your skin becomes drier than when you started. And now there is research to confirm for the first time that normal skin can become drier from creams. Izabela Buraczewska presents these findings in the dissertation she is publicly defending at Uppsala University in Sweden on October 24.

Why are some countries more prone to political corruption? Viviana Stechina from Uppsala University, Sweden, has investigated why corruption among the political elite was more extensive in Argentina than in Chile during the 1990s. Among other things, her research shows that greater transparency does not necessarily lead to less corruption.

Today Ericsson has announced that the company is launching a collaboration with Uppsala University and its spin-off company Vertical Wind AB to develop environmentally friendly wind-powered radio masts. This represents a major success for the research team's pioneering technological solutions for wind power.

Endorphins are well known as mediators of pain relief and the feeling of being rewarded. These and several other signal substances do this via four different receptors on nerve cells in the brain and bone marrow. Researchers at Uppsala University have now found that all four receptors existed as far back as the early vertebrates and therefore appeared at least 450 million years ago.

Aphids (plant lice) and ants carry minibacteria that produce essential amino acids and vitamins. These minibacteria have very limited genetic material and many broken genes. Now, in an article in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, Uppsala researchers are presenting experimental findings that show that repeated errors in the conversion of DNA to protein save the function of the damaged genes.

Tetrapods, the first four-legged land animals, are regarded as the first organisms that had fingers and toes. Now researchers at Uppsala University can show that this is wrong. Using medical x-rays, they found rudiments of fingers in the fins in fossil Panderichthys, the "transitional animal," which indicates that rudimentary fingers developed considerably earlier than was previously thought. The study is published in today online version of Natu

Nearly 400 students have registered for this autumn’s master’s programs taught in English at Uppsala University. Most of them are from countries in Southeast Asia.

Uppsala University has been given funding to recruit a world leader in climate research as a visiting professor every other year for a total of ten years. The donation is from Zennström Philanthropies, headed by the entrepreneur Niklas Zennström.

Violence against women in a family also has serious consequences for the children's growth, health, and survival. Kajsa Åsling Monemi from Uppsala University has studied women and their children in Bangladesh and Nicaragua and shows, among other things, that children whose mothers are exposed to violence grow less and are sick more often than other children.

In stiff international competition, Uppsala University´s research on type 1 diabetes has won a multimillion-dollar grant from the American Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The team will be one of three groups in the world selected to establish a transplant center.

The former president of Finland, Martti Ahtisaari will deliver this year´s Dag Hammarskjöld Lecture on September 18 in the presence of Crown Princess Victoria. In the last few years he has had a number of important peace assignments in Indonesia, Iraq, and Kosovo, among others.

Life is being threatened in our oceans, and many species are redlisted and in need of policies that can quickly lead to sustainable fishing. In a new book, researcher Gloria Gallardo provides a sociological and economic perspective on an issue that thus far has been primarily treated as biological.

Dental and medical care is constantly looking for new materials to improve care procedures. In his doctoral dissertation Jesper Lööf has worked with a compound that can both reduce the risk of developing tooth decay after oral interventions and repair collapsed vertebrae.

The capacity to drink and tolerate milk may have been of tremendous importance for the cultural development of Europe. In a major EU project, being launched today and coordinated by Uppsala University in Sweden, researchers will now study when and where this capacity emerged and what it entailed.

So-called intelligent computer-based methods for classifying patient samples, for example, have been evaluated with the help of two methods that have completely dominated research for 25 years. Now Swedish researchers at Uppsala University are revealing that this methodology is worthless when it comes to practical problems. The article is published in the journal Pattern Recognition Letters.

A research team at the Ludwig Institute and Uppsala University has discovered an entirely new signal path for a growth factor that is of crucial importance for the survival and growth of cancer cells. This discovery, published in today´s issue of Nature Cell Biology, opens up an entirely new landscape for research on breast and prostate cancer, among other types.

How do blood vessel cells understand that they should organise themselves in tubes and not in layers? A research group from Uppsala University shows for the first time that a special type of instructor molecule is needed to accomplish this. These findings, published in the scientific journal Blood, might be an important step towards using stem cells to build new organs.

A research team at the Ångström Laboratory at Uppsala University will be leading a collaborative project between the EU and India in theoretical materials science. The objective is to find new materials for applications in nanotechnology.

Uppsala University occupies 71st place in the major ranking of the world’s universities that is carried out every year by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in Shanghai. The result is somewhat lower than last year, when the University was ranked 66th.

The white horse is an icon for dignity which has had a huge impact on human culture across the world. An international team led by researchers at Uppsala University has now identified the mutation causing this spectacular trait and show that white horses carry an identical mutation that can be traced back to a common ancestor that lived thousands of years ago.

In today's issue of the prestigious journal Cell Metabolism Uppsala scientists are presenting new findings that shed light on the processes that determine the release of the blood sugar-lowering hormone insulin. The discovery is based on the development of image analysis methods that make possible the detailed study of events immediately inside the plasma membrane of the insulin-secreting cells.

New exquisitely preserved fossils from Latvia cast light on a key event in our own evolutionary history, when our ancestors left the water and ventured onto land. Swedish researchers Per Ahlberg and Henning Blom from Uppsala University have reconstructed parts of the animal and explain the transformation in the new issue of Nature.

Researchers from Uppsala University, Karolinska Institute, and the University of Chicago, have determined that there are hundreds of biological differences between the sexes when it comes to gene expression in the cerebral cortex of humans and other primates.

SEK 184 million over ten years in Linnaeus Grants. This is what Uppsala University received when the Swedish Research Council and the Swedish Research Council Formas revealed that 20 of 105 applications had been granted funding. Three of these go to Uppsala University, and one is a joint venture involving the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala.

An international research team led by Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Uppsala University, has demonstrated an atomistic mechanism of hydrogen release in magnesium nanoparticles - a potential hydrogen storage material. The findings have been published in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS).

Adorned helmets, magnificent swords, ceramics and everyday items. The Vendel Period, which took place before the Viking Age, takes centre stage in a new permanent exhibition at Museum Gustavianum, the University Museum of Uppsala.

Our relationship with objects is multilayered and often very emotional, and this is expressed in the way we shop. Swedish ethnologist Erik Ottoson of Uppsala University has studied the way we look for things in shopping malls, town centres and flea markets, and even in skips.

In civil war, rebel groups often target civilians despite the fact that their actual target is the government and that they are often dependent on the support of the civilian groups they attack. This may seem illogical, but there are rational reasons for this type of violence. Swedish peace and conflict researcher Lisa Hultman describes these reasons.

What research is needed to be able to create a sustainable future, and how can we attain good global cooperation? For three days, May 27-29, Uppsala will be the geographical center of a broad discussion about future global challenges under the theme "Meeting Global Challenges in Research Cooperation."