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Many claim that people too easily anthropomorphise animal behaviour. But what’s the story regarding laughter – is it something unique to humans? Cognitive scientist Peter Gärdenfors explains why we often overlook the laughter of a parrot and why slapstick is a type of humour appreciated by both humans and animals. ”Aristotle thought that it was only humans who laugh, but he was wrong,” says Peter
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/can-animals-laugh - 2026-07-19
By reprogramming tumour cells to become the body’s defenders, Filipe Pereira and his colleagues hope to improve current cancer treatments. Right now, some of the immune system’s most important players, the dendritic cells, are patrolling your body in search of foreign substances. If they find something suspicious, they break it down into smaller pieces, called antigens, which are presented to the
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/reprogramming-cancer-cells-immune-defenders - 2026-07-19
Passports issued by fallen empires, decks of cards from the Iraq war, deceased Ukrainian students’ uncollected diplomas and much more. A new museum in Lund is collecting artefacts that show how international law affects people's lives. The initiative is being led by international law researchers who argue that we are currently witnessing a crisis of the entire international system. “International
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/unique-museum-displays-war-artefacts-and-human-side-international-law - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. A major international study led by researchers from Lund University in Sweden has proven for the first time that certain nocturnally migrating insects can explore and navigate using the Earth’s magnetic field. Until now, the ability to steer flight using an internal magnetic compass was only known in nocturnally migra
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/watch-insects-also-migrate-using-earths-magnetic-field - 2026-07-19
Unless Sweden and the EU strengthen their digital autonomy, there is a risk of catastrophic consequences. That is the conclusion of Lund University researcher in computer science, Johan Linåker, who considers that we must begin to think about control and maintenance of digital infrastructure in the same way as critical physical infrastructure such as seaports, airports, roads, and water and power
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/how-make-eu-more-digitally-independent - 2026-07-19
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed an algorithm that combines data from a simple blood test and brief memory tests, to predict with great accuracy who will develop Alzheimer's disease in the future. The findings are published in Nature Medicine. Approximately 20–30% of patients with Alzheimer's disease are wrongly diagnosed within specialist healthcare, and diagnostic work-up
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/simple-diagnostic-tool-predicts-individual-risk-alzheimers - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. Swimming fish do not appear to use their collision warning system in the same way as flying insects, according to new research from Lund University in Sweden that has compared how zebra fish and bumblebees avoid collisions. The fish surprised the researchers. All animals need some form of warning system that prevents
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/fish-more-inclined-crash-bees - 2026-07-19
Singing can be a real health boost. Song involves your emotions, thoughts and body; the feelgood hormone oxytocin surges and the stress hormone cortisol declines. Singing accompanies us from the cradle to the grave, and binds us together as human beings. But what do kids sing in school, how much, and in what way? David Johnson, researcher at the Malmö Academy of Music, investigates this in his the
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/childrens-songs-link-ones-inner-self-and-others - 2026-07-19
Gabriel Börner preferred playing pinball to studying at upper secondary school and therefore failed to get into a medical programme. Today, he is a senior consultant in surgery at Helsingborg Hospital and a researcher at Lund University. He has invented a “sewing machine” to suture patient’s wounds after abdominal surgery. Although the journey there was longer than he could ever have imagined, he
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/needlework-surgery - 2026-07-19
Universal school lunch programs make students healthier, and increase their lifetime income by 3%, according to a unique study from Lund University in Sweden published in The Review of Economic Studies. Health disparities arise early in life and play a major role in economic outcomes among adults. Yet there are few studies on the long-term effects of school-based nutrition policies aimed at counte
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/free-and-nutritious-school-lunches-help-create-richer-and-healthier-adults - 2026-07-19
Despite harsher sentences and increased resources for the criminal justice system, research shows nothing to indicate that this leads to reduced criminality. “We wanted to problematise the notion that punishment is the best option,” says Tova Bennet, researcher in Criminal Law at Lund University. Over the past 15 years, tougher sentencing has been a popular tool in Swedish law and order politics.
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/research-offers-no-evidence-support-tougher-sentencing - 2026-07-19
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a digital cognitive test for diagnosing Alzheimer's disease that is intended for use in primary care. “This digital test, which patients perform on their own with minimal involvement from healthcare personnel, improves the primary care physician's ability to determine who should be further examined by blood tests for Alzheimer's pathology ear
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/new-digital-cognitive-test-diagnosing-alzheimers-disease - 2026-07-19
Most women will experience menopause at some point in their working lives. How can a workplace be set up to make things easier for employees going through their menopausal transition? A pilot project at Lund University is investigating the issue. Sweating, mood swings and poor sleep. Many women are adversely affected by menopause. According to a 2021 study published by the Swedish National Board o
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/how-can-lund-university-become-more-menopause-friendly-workplace - 2026-07-19
Eating cheese and cream with a high fat content may be linked to a lower risk of developing dementia. This is shown by a new large-scale study from Lund University. The researchers analysed the dietary habits of more than 27,000 people and linked these to the occurrence of dementia over a follow-up period of up to 25 years. The debate about low-fat diets has long shaped our health advice and influ
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/full-fat-cheese-linked-lower-risk-dementia - 2026-07-19
In connection with a new report on measures to mitigate climate change, researchers at Lund University in Sweden see some hopeful signs. Among other things, Lars J Nilsson, Professor of Environmental and Energy Systems at Lund University, thinks there are good prospects for achieving zero emissions by 2050 in industries such as steel, cement, and chemicals, which are currently responsible for majo
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/un-climate-report-april-4th-what-matters-now-zero-emissions - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. Carbon offsetting can be strongly questioned as an environmental strategy, due to major challenges in reconciling climate benefits with local needs, participation and development. This is the view taken by researchers from Lund University in Sweden, who studied a tree-planting project in Uganda, through which a number
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/planting-trees-africa-dubious-environmental-strategy-study - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. Psychotherapy for panic disorder produces good results, and the effects are lasting. That is the result from a large long-term study from Lund University in Sweden. Two years after treatment were 70 per cent of the patients clearly improved and 45 per cent were remitted. Panic disorder is one of the most common causes
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/psychotherapy-panic-disorder-shows-positive-long-term-effects - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. Can tumors teach us about animal evolution on Earth? Researchers believe so and now present a novel hypothesis of why animal diversity increased dramatically on Earth about half a billion years ago. A biological innovation may have been key. A transdisciplinary and international team, from Lund University in Sweden an
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/novel-hypothesis-why-animals-diversified-earth - 2026-07-19
Seeing a lot of talk about the importance of gut health? These are the latest findings, including those on food and supplements Weighing in at nearly two kilos, our gut bacteria seem to play an even bigger role than was previously thought. These bacteria can influence our mood and act as a communication centre. Gut microbiota researchers Åsa Håkansson and Frida Fåk Hållenius at Lund University in
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/key-takeaways-latest-research-gut-bacteria - 2026-07-19
This article is over 5 years old, and the information may therefore be outdated. A new trend among the food-conscious is to adopt a gluten-free diet. However, according to LU researchers studying coeliac disease (gluten intolerance), the trend is not solely a good thing as it may blur the line between illness and health. “The fact that patients with coeliac disease now have more food products to c
https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/article/gluten-riddle-searching-triggers-coeliac-disease - 2026-07-19
