Sara Linse. Photo: Johan Joelsson. Sara Linse, Professor of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant worth 2.5 million euro. Chemistry professor Sara Linse’s research project, CHAPLIN, is to investigate the thermodynamic basis for how a group of chaperone proteins work. This applies to chaperone proteins that increase other proteins’ solubility and thereby protec

https://www.science.lu.se/article/chemist-receives-prestigious-grant-european-research-council - 2025-08-25

Photo: Johan Nilsson. Seeds and fat balls do more than just fill small birds’ stomachs. New research from Lund University in Sweden shows that feeding during the wintertime causes birds to be healthier, since they do not have to expend as much energy fighting infections. A small change in body temperature can be fatal for humans. Small birds, meanwhile, lower their body temperature at night by sev

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bird-feeding-helps-small-birds-fight-infection - 2025-08-25

Photo: Charlie Cornwallis. By studying green algae in Swedish lakes, a research team, led by Lund University in Sweden, has succeeded in identifying which environmental conditions promote multicellularity. The results give us new clues to the amazing paths of evolution. The evolution of multicellular life has played a pivotal role in shaping biological diversity. However, we have up until now know

https://www.science.lu.se/article/algae-swedish-lakes-provide-insights-how-complex-life-earth-developed - 2025-08-25

Illustration: Bibiana Prinoth. The rare metal terbium has been found in an exoplanet’s atmosphere for the first time. The researchers at Lund University in Sweden have also developed a new method for analyzing exoplanets, making it possible to study them in more detail. KELT-9 b is the galaxy’s hottest exoplanet, orbiting its distant star about 670 light years from Earth. The celestial body, with

https://www.science.lu.se/article/scientists-discover-rare-element-exoplanets-atmosphere - 2025-08-25

Photo: Anders Hedenström. Small bats are bad at converting energy into muscle power. Surprisingly, a new study led by Lund University reveals that this ability increases the faster they fly. The researchers have studied the efficiency of migratory bats – a species that weighs about eight grams and is found in almost all of Europe. Efficiency, in this case, is the ability to convert supplied energy

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bats-ability-convert-energy-muscle-power-affected-flight-speed - 2025-08-25

Using samples from all across Europe, the researchers were able to show that microorganisms in soil can adapt to changes in temperature. Photo: Carla Cruz Paredes. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the ability of microorganisms to adapt to climate warming will slow down global warming by storing carbon in soil. In the study, researchers collected soil samples from across Europe

https://www.science.lu.se/article/microorganisms-climate-adaptation-can-slow-down-global-warming - 2025-08-25

A Weevil. Photo: Pixabay. Insects heavily rely on bacteria for essential nutrients that are lacking in their diet. This has allowed insects to access a wide variety of food, leading to remarkable species diversification in some cases, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. Insects are crucial for biodiversity and among the most successful species on the planet. However, until now

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bacteria-are-vital-diversity-and-survival-insects - 2025-08-25

Photo: Pixabay. Great tits in urban environments have lower levels of stress hormone than those living in woodland habitats. This according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. Certain animals are able to adjust well to environments that have been created or altered by human activity. We live in an age in which urbanisation is proceeding at an ever-faster rate, something that also affect

https://www.science.lu.se/article/urban-great-tits-less-stressed-their-countryside-cousins - 2025-08-25

Photo: Ulrika Ervander. The dry summer of 2018 hit Swedish forests hard - and hardest affected were the managed secondary forests. This according to a new study from Lund University. Northern boreal forest ecosystems are predicted to experience more frequent summer droughts in the future. The majority of Swedish forest are secondary forests that are managed commercial forests with little diversity

https://www.science.lu.se/article/secondary-forests-more-sensitive-drought - 2025-08-25

Group A streptococci growing on a blood agar plate. Photo: Fredric Carlsson. Why are certain people more severely affected than others by invasive streptococcal infections? According to a new study from Lund University in Sweden, the answer lies in our genome. Carriers of a certain variant of the STING gene are at greater risk, particularly if they encounter the bacterial strains that have increas

https://www.science.lu.se/article/why-killer-bacteria-affect-some-people-more-severely - 2025-08-25

Alfred Larsson assembles an electrochemical cell at the instrument "The Swedish Materials Science Beamline P21.2" at the PETRA III particle accelerator in Hamburg. Photo: Jinshan Pan. Corrosion-resistant metallic materials are required in applications such as rocket engines, nuclear power stations and chemical industry. An alloy of nickel, chromium and molybdenum is often used. However, a new stud

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-reveal-deficiencies-corrosion-resistant-metallic-materials - 2025-08-25

Photo: Caroline Isaksson. A new study conducted by researchers in Europe shows that urban great tits have paler plumage than their countryside counterparts. Since the yellow pigment of the breast feathers of great tits comes from the food they eat, the paler yellow plumage of urban birds indicates that the urban environment affects the entire food chain. As urban areas expand, animals increasingly

https://www.science.lu.se/article/urban-great-tits-have-paler-plumage-their-forest-living-relatives - 2025-08-25

The ERC Starting Grant is aimed at younger researchers. Milda Pucetaite and Colin Olito were two of four researchers from Lund who received the starting grant. Photo: private. Two researchers at the Department of Biology, Milda Pucetaite and Colin Olito, have been awarded starting grants from the European Research Council, ERC. The research projects aim to advance methods in microbiological ecolog

https://www.science.lu.se/article/two-biology-researchers-receive-generous-starting-grants-european-research-council - 2025-08-25

Anne L'Huillier, Professor of Atomic Physics at the Department of Physics, is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2023. Read more about Anne L'Huillier: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2023 | Lund University's main website

https://www.science.lu.se/article/nobel-prize-lund - 2025-08-25

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 availability when it is time for breeding. By getting the birds to fly a little further north, researchers in Lund, Sweden, and the Netherlands have observed that these birds can give th

https://www.science.lu.se/article/migratory-birds-can-be-taught-adjust-climate-change - 2025-08-25

Photo: Hermann Knuewer. 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 reduced activity lasts or which activities are affected the most. New research from Lund University in Sweden shows that birds' activity decreases for up to three weeks when they become ill - something that could mean the difference between life

https://www.science.lu.se/article/disease-affects-blackbirds-more-previously-thought - 2025-08-25

The Hällekis quarry in Västergötland hosts Middle Ordovician limestone layers that have been sampled and analysed in the study. Photo: Anders Lindskog. Changes in oxygenation and climate had a fundamental impact on marine environments and ecosystems during one of the most transformative times of the development of life on Earth. This according to a new study in which researchers have analysed iodi

https://www.science.lu.se/article/colder-climate-and-oxygen-rich-ocean-currents-laid-foundations-modern-marine-ecosystems - 2025-08-25

A car is refueled with a liquid containing hydrogen. The fuel passes through the catalytic converter, where hydrogen is released into a fuel cell. When the hydrogen runs out, it is drained and filled with new liquid at the gas station. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden are investigating a car fuel comprised of a liquid that is converted to hydrogen by a solid catalyst. The used liquid is th

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-catalyst-could-provide-liquid-hydrogen-fuel-future - 2025-08-25

The study shows that large herbivores have a positive impact on variation in tree cover in the world’s protected areas. The picture shows Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. Photo: Wikipedia. Using global satellite data, a research team has mapped the tree cover of the world’s protected areas. The study shows that regions with abundant large herbivores in many settings have a more variable tree c

https://www.science.lu.se/article/large-herbivores-such-elephants-bison-and-moose-contribute-tree-diversity - 2025-08-25

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 them from mating harassment. In a new study, an international research team found that this genetic colo

https://www.science.lu.se/article/scientists-have-solved-damselfly-colour-mystery - 2025-08-25