Published 16 December 2015 Nowadays it is possible to produce plastics from sugar or vegetable oils, but up to now fossil oil has been too cheap for the production of bioplastics to be profitable. That explains why the plastic-producing bacteria, developed some years ago by researchers at the Centre for Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (Kemicentrum), are still waiting in the freezer. Professor R

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/huge-potential-bioplastics - 2025-05-13

Published 16 December 2015 Lars J Nilsson is Professor of Environmental and Energy Systems Studies at LTH and a member of the Seoul International Energy Advisory Council, an advisory body working on energy-efficiency enhancement and sustainable development in South Korea’s capital. Lars J Nilsson. What have you learned from your work on sustainable development in a megacity like Seoul? I have lear

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/lund-researcher-gives-seouls-mayor-advice-energy-efficiency - 2025-05-13

Published 16 December 2015 Meet Ellen Hillbom, the economic historian, who, in cooperation with a Dutch and a German colleague, has created an online textbook on trends in Africa’s economic history. The book, which can be downloaded free of charge from the internet, has so far reached over 4,000 readers. Ellen Hillbom. Where did you get the idea for a free digital textbook about Africa? “At a worl

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/ellen-hillbom-about-free-digital-textbook-about-africa - 2025-05-13

Published 16 December 2015 Johannes Stripple was one of nearly 1,000 people who ran a relay race, organised by the Swedish theatre company Riksteatern, from the Arctic to Paris – for life and the climate. Each participant had their own reasons why they wanted to participate in this climate initiative. For Johannes Stripple, it was about the frustration that so little progress has been made in the

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/he-runs-climate - 2025-05-13

Published 5 February 2016 Researchers now believe that epigenetic changes, determining which genes are active and which are not, are involved in a number of conditions. These include everything from addiction and depression to cancer and blood disorders. David Bryder. “The research community has long focused on DNA alone. But the genome in itself is like a closed instruction manual, which only bec

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/epigenetic-disorder-can-be-eliminated - 2025-05-13

Published 5 February 2016 “It was previously believed that you are stuck with the genes you were born with, regardless if they are favourable or unfavourable. But now it seems that you can affect how your inherited genes manifest themselves”, says diabetes researcher Charlotte Ling. Charlotte Ling. Because all the cells in the body have the same genetic makeup, epigenetics – when different genes a

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/lifestyle-can-affect-our-genes - 2025-05-13

Published 5 February 2016 Within 100 years, approximately half of the 6,000 languages in the world will become extinct. A window to the past is currently being opened in Lund, where you can listen to languages that are no longer spoken thanks to a special resource for digital language documentation. Niclas Burenhult. Every two weeks, a language is lost. Through an infrastructure project funded by

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/language-collectors - 2025-05-13

Published 5 February 2016 Professor Stina Oredsson and the owner of the women’s underwear store Kvinnligt under, Carolina Le Prince, have together created a calendar of partially nude women. This unusual way to raise money for cancer research resulted in SEK 235,000. Stina Oredsson (right) receives the collected money from Carolina Le Prince (in the middle). Carolina Le Prince shows us the calenda

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/calendar-girls-promote-cancer-research - 2025-05-13

Published 5 February 2016 Kimberley Nicholas is a researcher from California who came to Lund with a passionate commitment to climate issues and strong interest in food and wine. “What nature gives us is what makes life worth living”, she says. She was in Paris for the climate conference that generated hope for the future, and she is successful in sharing her thoughts and research through social m

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/working-healthy-planet - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 “Yes, academic life is uncertain and competitive. However, that’s the case even for those who don’t have families. I don’t think it’s any harder to have children if you are a researcher than in any other line of work.” Olga Göransson is also a member in the network WINGS (Women in Great Sciences). So says Olga Göransson, who heads a research group at the Department of Exper

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/its-no-harder-researchers-combine-career-and-family - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 15 per cent of the population – almost one in seven Swedes – suffer from digestive problems in the form of bloating, abdominal pain, constipation and diarrhoea. But since these problems are not life-threatening, and the status of the digestive tract is low, medical researchers and funders have shown only moderate interest. Now this seems to be changing. Bodil Ohlsson gives

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/research-gives-hope-gastric-patients - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 Curiosity and the desire to learn are strong driving forces behind Almut Kelber’s research and her work as Pro Dean for research at the Faculty of Science. Almut Kelber says that knowledge about the animals’ solutions can also provide answers to general problems. “In my work as pro dean, it is important that I also continue with my own research – not least in order to subje

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/captivated-colour-vision-birds-and-moths - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 Synchrotron radiation helps vision researcher Emily Baird create three-dimensional images of how insects see the world. In the future, this could lead to sighted drones that navigate through the air like insects, without being remote controlled from the ground. “I enjoy research more than anything, and the most fun part is that I am forced to be creative and make constant p

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/studies-bees-can-enable-drones-see - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 “Do you want to see what a box jellyfish sees and experiences when it rides a roller-coaster?” “We humans believe that what we see is reality, but it isn’t. It is an eminently human reality, filtered through our eyes. The visual world of animals shows different realities”, says Dan-Eric Nilsson. Almost 40 years have passed since Dan-Eric Nilsson arrived in Lund from Gothenb

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/animal-eyesight-needs-driven - 2025-05-13

Published 18 March 2016 As soon as the guns fall silent in Syria, the people will begin to rebuild their country and their lives – this is the strong conviction of Tareq Emtairah, a reader at the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE). For that reason, he and his colleagues are starting visionary workshops in which exiled researchers and Lund University researchers

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/researchers-exile-meet-visionary-workshops - 2025-05-13

Published 2 May 2016 In late May–early June, Lund University will hold a Nobel Symposium in Physics and Chemistry where newly discovered super-heavy elements will be discussed. The possibility for a Nobel Prize looms on the horizon, but the road ahead is not straightforward and competition between countries and researchers is fierce. Dirk Rudolph in front of the updated nuclide chart. The yellow f

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/new-elements-be-discussed-lu-nobel-symposium - 2025-05-13

Published 2 May 2016 ”Not everyone can become a professor, and then it’s good to know how to get a job within the industry”. So says Sandra Capellera Garcia, doctoral student in stem cell biology and member of the network MentLife that promotes close relationships between industry and science. Sandra Capellera Garcia and Michael Wilsterman. The network focuses on students interested in a career ou

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/mentlife-opens-doors-research-departments-companies - 2025-05-13

Published 2 May 2016 Deputy Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg represents Lund University all over the world – from Europe to Indonesia and Saudi Arabia. She argues that global challenges and dwindling EU funding call for more intense collaborations with a few carefully selected international partners. Eva Wiberg together with the students Jens Worning and Ida Olsson. The internationalisation activities a

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/deputy-vice-chancellor-eva-wiberg-international-collaboration-strengthens-economy - 2025-05-13

Published 2 May 2016 When physical geographer Daniel Metcalfe explains what he does in the simplest possible way, he says he examines holes in leaves. However, the project is far more sophisticated than that, and could lead to a better way of caring for the forests of the world in the future. Hanging bridges are practical when studying leaves in tree crowns. Photo taken in Peru. Photo: Jake Bryant

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/examining-forests-world - 2025-05-13

Published 2 May 2016 Statins are a cholesterol-lowering drug that almost one million Swedes take to reduce their risk of cardiovascular disease. But could perhaps statins also be used against breast cancer? Cancer researcher Signe Borgquist at least hopes so. Signe Borgquist and her colleagues found that statins had a tumour-inhibiting effect in a study they conducted of 50 women in Lund. With 9,0

https://www.staff.lu.se/article/common-drug-may-have-effect-breast-cancer - 2025-05-13