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Biologists at Lund University, together with their colleagues from Portugal and the UK, have now proven that the endangered São Tomé grosbeak is the world’s largest canary – 50 per cent larger than the runner-up. The São Tomé grosbeak is one of the rarest birds in the world and can only be found on the island of São Tomé in the West African Gulf of Guinea. After the bird was discovered in 1888, an

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/worlds-largest-canary - 2025-11-13

Important pieces of the puzzle to understand what drives diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s are still missing today. One crucial obstacle for researchers is that it is impossible to examine a living brain cell in someone who is affected by the disease. With the help of a new method for cell conversion, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have found a way to produce diseased, aging b

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/large-scale-production-living-brain-cells-enables-entirely-new-research - 2025-11-13

The ongoing deforestation around the fringes of the Amazon may have serious consequences for the untouched deeper parts of the rainforest. A new research study shows that it is not only the climate that is adversely affected by deforestation. In fact, the very stability of the ecosystem in the entire Amazon region is altered when deforestation takes place in the outermost regions. It was previousl

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/deforestation-amazon-basin-could-disrupt-distant-rainforest-remote-climate-connection - 2025-11-13

Almost everything we do – walking, talking, or drinking coffee – is completely dependent on accurate timing when activating many muscles at once. The prevailing theory has been that the exact timing of this type of movement is not voluntarily controlled, and the timing has therefore been assumed to be fully automated when learning movements. However, researchers at Lund University in Sweden now ar

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/surprisingly-exact-timing-voluntary-movements - 2025-11-13

An influenza infection in birds gives a good protection against other subtypes of the virus, like a natural vaccination, according to a new study. Water birds, in particular mallards, are often carriers of low-pathogenic influenza A virus. Researchers previously believed that birds infected by one variant of the virus could not benefit from it by building up immunity against other virus subtypes.

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/birds-become-immune-influenza - 2025-11-13

Up to now, there has been uncertainty over whether microplastics from playgrounds is released into watercourses. A detailed study of a school playground in Lomma, Sweden, now clearly shows that microplastic is released into a nearby river. The soft rubber surfacing intended to protect our children is also threatening animal life, both at sea and on land. Rubber-based surfaces are increasingly comm

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/playground-found-release-microplastic-nearby-river - 2025-11-13

Research from King’s College in London, UK, and Lund University in Sweden could explain why diabetes drugs which have worked in animal experiments are not equally successful in humans. The researchers discovered differences – but also unknown similarities – in the function of insulin-producing beta cells. The team have mapped a category of receptors, known as G protein-coupled receptors, which con

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/new-research-describes-differences-between-mice-and-humans - 2025-11-13

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in establishing the relationships between 200-million-year-old plants based on chemical fingerprints. Using infrared spectroscopy and statistical analysis of organic molecules in fossil leaves, they are opening up new perspectives on the dinosaur era. The unique results stem from a collaboration between researchers at Lund University, the Swedish Muse

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/through-fossil-leaves-step-towards-jurassic-park - 2025-11-13

The common and highly resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterium is a fatal threat to weakened and ill patients. A new study from Lund University in Sweden now shows that a combination treatment using two different types of antibiotics can reduce mortality up to five times. The findings are part of a new doctoral thesis, which also describes some of the bacterium’s ingenious survival strategies in

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/combining-antibiotics-proves-more-effective-against-common-infection - 2025-11-13

The genetic make-up of a willow warbler determines where it will migrate when winter comes. Studies of willow warblers in Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States show that “migration genes” differ - depending on where the birds breed in the summer. The willow warblers that breed in southern Sweden migrate to West Africa, while those in northern Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States fly to southern o

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/birds-migration-genes-are-conditioned-geography - 2025-11-13

Architect student Ludvig Hofsten wanted to address the issues of rising sea levels and plastic waste in the ocean. He designed Villa Nemo, a project that sees the potential of living on water in the future; with both lifestyle and environmental benefits.  ”Our cities are becoming fairly dense, and there’s less space to build new houses. Quite a lot of cities are starting to look at the possibility

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/instead-floating-plastic-floating-houses - 2025-11-13

A new study has identified the four actions that would have the greatest impact on an individual’s greenhouse gas emissions: eating a plant-based diet, avoiding air travel, living car free, and having fewer children. The comprehensive study analysed 39 peer-reviewed articles, carbon calculators and government sources to quantify the most high-impact personal lifestyle choices in developed countrie

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/four-lifestyle-choices-most-reduce-your-carbon-footprint - 2025-11-13

Research from Lund University in Sweden shows that ravens can plan for different types of future events, while also demonstrating self-control and sensitivity to different lengths of time. Such skills are central to humans, and previous research has indicated that they are unique to humans and great apes. The new findings reveal that complex cognition can arise several times independently of commo

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/ravens-parallel-great-apes-their-planning-abilities - 2025-11-13

Many animal species display flocking behaviour, but the fact that microorganisms do is not as well known. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that algae and bacteria form flocks at very low concentrations of individuals, a finding that could increase our future understanding of how the organisms infect their host animals. Flocking behaviour in animals seemingly arises spontaneo

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/bacteria-never-swim-alone - 2025-11-13

Every year, just over 1000 people are diagnosed with kidney cancer in Sweden. The three most common variants are clear cell, papillary and chromophobe renal cancer. Researchers compare the gene expression in tumour cells from a kidney cancer patient with cells from healthy tissue to figure out in which part of the kidney the cancer began and what went wrong in these cells. Now, a research team at

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/improved-analysis-kidney-cancer - 2025-11-13

For the first time, researchers have observed that birds that fly actively and flap their wings save energy. Biologists at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that jackdaws minimise their energy consumption when they lift off and fly, because the feathers on their wing tips create several small vortices instead of a single large one. The discovery could potentially be applied within the aeron

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/jackdaws-flap-their-wings-save-energy - 2025-11-13

A new study from Lund University in Sweden increases knowledge of how boundaries and barriers are maintained between different species in the animal world. According to theory, crosses between two species, known as hybrids, may not survive encounters with natural predators to the same degree as their parents. Now, researchers at the Department of Biology in Lund show that reality confirms this the

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/predators-preserve-existing-animal-species - 2025-11-13

Biologists at Lund University in Sweden are now able to show that the receptors enabling the primitive moth species, Eriocrania semipurpurella, find an individual of the opposite sex, probably evolved from receptors which help the moth perceive the fragrances of plants. “Love is in the air” is a known expression. And it’s true, at least for moths. The female emits sex pheromones into the air to at

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/plant-odourant-detection-sex-pheromone-communication - 2025-11-13

Brain research is constantly taking new steps forward and currently permeates large parts of the University. Brain research is in a phase of rapid development, not least thanks to the continuous emergence of new technology. During the Science Week The Amazing Brain from 4 to 10 September (link to programme on lunduniversity.lu.se), Lund University will invite the public on an exciting trip into ou

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/dizzying-dive-human-brain - 2025-11-13

During Lund University’s 350th anniversary year, the whole of the King’s House will be open to the public for the first time. Starting on 6 September, the art exhibition On the Thresholds of Knowledge will display thirteen works by international and local artists throughout the building. The 16th century edifice is one of the oldest in Lund and housed the University for many years. Through the cen

https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/thresholds-knowledge-jubilee-art-exhibition-kings-house-lund - 2025-11-13