By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 7 September 2023 Even mild ailments and short disease spans can have far-reaching consequences for animals, not least because it affects their everyday life. Photo: Hermann Kneuwer. When humans are ill, we tend to be less active. This also applies to wild animals, but so far, it has not been known how long the reduc

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/disease-affects-blackbirds-more-previously-thought - 2025-07-03

By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 25 September 2023 The Pied Flycatchers were transported by car from The Netherlands to Lund. Photo: Viiru Pesonen/Wikimedia Commons. One result of climate change is that spring is arriving earlier. However, migratory birds are not keeping up with these developments and arrive too late for the peak in food availabili

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/migratory-birds-can-be-taught-adjust-climate-change - 2025-07-03

By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 25 October 2023 Plastic waste is a huge global problem, as large amounts of micro- and nanoplastics end up in our soils. Photo: Flockine/Pixabay. Using micro-engineered soil models, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have investigated the effect of tiny polystyrene particles on bacteria and fungi. While these

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/vacuum-cleaner-effect-fungi-can-hold-nanoplastics-bay - 2025-07-03

By johan [dot] joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 17 November 2023 Pictured is the male, blue variant of the bluetail damselfly. Photo: Erik Svensson. For over 20 years, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has studied the common bluetail damselfly. Females occur in three different colour forms – one with a male-like appearance, something that protects the

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/scientists-have-solved-damselfly-colour-mystery - 2025-07-03

By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 30 November 2023 Bumblebees are a key wild and commercial pollinator. Yet commonly used farmland pesticides continue to harm bumblebee colonies. Photo: Maj Rundlöf. A new study from Lund confirms that pesticides commonly used in farmland significantly harm bumblebees. Data from 106 sites across 8 European countries

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/commonly-used-pesticides-are-still-harming-bees - 2025-07-03

By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 8 March 2024 "Our medium is open source," says Stina Oredsson, the researcher behind the breakthrough who chose to give away the "recipe" so that more researchers can work with more scientifically accurate and animal-free methods. Photo: Private. It is now possible to test chemicals and makeup without using products

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/she-has-developed-animal-free-preparation-cell-culture-and-giving-away-recipe - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 11 June 2024 The large-eyed bristle worm Vanadis has long been of interest to the world’s vision researchers. But the worm has been difficult to study since it lives in the open sea and is active at night. Now, a research team has succeeded in locating an Italian worm colony and is able to confirm that the worm has

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/marine-worm-outstanding-vision-fascinates-researchers - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 11 June 2024 The Hulk-like lizard. Photo: Javier Abalos. Body shape, colour and behaviour often evolve together as species adapt to their environment. Researchers from Lund University have studied this phenomenon in a specific type of large, bright green and aggressive common wall lizard found near the Mediterranea

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/incredible-hulk-lizard-provides-clues-understanding-evolution - 2025-07-03

By anders [dot] ortegren [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Anders Örtegren) - published 27 September 2024 The larvae of the invasive box tree moth are wreaking havoc in private gardens and public spaces. The box tree moth was first found in Sweden in 2016 – the invasive species is increasing very rapidly and could become a major problem in the near future. Box tree moth has so far hit the continent ver

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/scientists-reveal-invasive-box-tree-moth-rise-sweden - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 8 November 2024 A team of researchers have succeeded in creating a kind of GPS for microorganisms. Illustration: Inger Ekström/Pixabay. A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has developed an AI tool that traces back the most recent places you have been to. The tool acts like a satellite navigation system

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/new-gps-system-microorganisms-could-revolutionise-police-work - 2025-07-03

Published 20 March 2025 Comparing two unpublished datasets - one on the relationship between the number of siblings and the growth of blue tits - revealed different results. Photo: Johan Nilsson. How credible are research results? A new biology study shows that the same data can give different answers depending on the method of analysis used – raising questions about the stability of scientific co

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/reliability-scientific-methods-under-scrutiny - 2025-07-03

Published 4 April 2025 They eye of a roach with a large pupil. Photo: Kaj Hulthén. Roach that migrate between different lakes and water courses have larger pupils and better eyesight than roach that stay in one place. The adaptation makes it easier for the red-eyed freshwater migrants to find food in murky waters. This is shown in a large study from Lund University in Sweden. Animals’ eyes, just l

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/migrating-roach-have-sharper-eyesight - 2025-07-03

Published 12 May 2025 Researchers Maria Svensson Coelho and Hannah Blossom perform winter sampling of the green alga Chlamydomonas in Lake Krageholmssjön. Photo: Karin Rengefors. Humans and animals are not the only ones affected by viruses. Unicellular organisms can also be attacked. In a new study, scientists establish that green algae can carry latent giant virus DNA in their genome. Biology res

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/unicellular-green-algae-may-carry-giant-virus-dna-their-genome - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 5 September 2024 Øystein Opedal, associate senior lecturer at the Department of Biology, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. Congratulations, Øystein! Can you tell us a little about your project?“The project aims to better understand how plants adapt to new pollination environments, such as declining pollinator

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/biologist-receives-erc-starting-grant - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 24 September 2024 Film: Johan Nyman. Dung beetles are among the strongest animals in the world. They also possess an exceptional ability to cooperate. Research shows that female and male spider dung beetles together are able to move large dung balls across difficult obstacles. However, same-sex attempts to do the s

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/beetles-cooperate-tricky-dung-moves - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 6 December 2024 Andreas Nord. Photo: Erik Thor. Andreas Nord, a researcher at the Department of Biology, will receive EUR 2 million to study how warm-blooded animals are affected as the climate becomes warmer and more unpredictable. As part of the project, he will study different species of birds to determine how q

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/researcher-receive-erc-consolidator-grant - 2025-07-03

By Lena [dot] Bjork_Blixt [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Lena Björk Blixt) - published 16 August 2024 In the study, each bumblebee had a small tag attached to its back so that the researchers could distinguish the various individuals when testing their navigation ability. Photo: Rickesh Patel. Bumblebees have a great capacity to navigate despite their small brain size. This is borne out of new re

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/bumblebees-sense-direction-rivals-humans - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] biol [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 11 October 2024 Grazing zooplankton, daphnia, which are an important source of food for fish, were found to be particularly vulnerable. Photo: Erik Selander/Lund University. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. The results are surprising,

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic-particles - 2025-07-03

By Johan [dot] Joelsson [at] science [dot] lu [dot] se (Johan Joelsson) - published 17 June 2025 Professor Eric Warrant. Photo: Inger Ekström. Eric Warrant, a professor at the Department of Biology, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Incredible journeys: How do multiple sensory cues allow animal migrants to precisely navigate to a distant goal?” Congratulations Eric, how does it f

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/biology-professor-receives-prestigious-eu-grant - 2025-07-03

Published 19 June 2025 Photo: Ajay Narendra. A groundbreaking study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the Australian Bogong moth uses the stars and the Milky Way as a compass during its annual 1,000-kilometre journey to cool inland caves. It also reveals that the Earth’s magnetic field plays an important role in the enigmatic moth’s navigation. It is absolutely amazing considering the leng

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/moths-use-stars-and-earths-magnetic-field-compass - 2025-07-03