Press releases

In a new study published in PNAS, an international research team, led from Uppsala University, discovered kin relationships among Stone Age individuals buried in megalithic tombs on Ireland and in Sweden. The kin relations can be traced for more than ten generations and suggests that megaliths were graves for kindred groups in Stone Age northwestern Europe.

The origin of giant apatite-iron oxide ores of the so-called ‘Kiruna-type’ has been the topic of a long standing debate that has lasted for over 100 years. In a new article, published in Nature Communications, a team of scientists presents new and unambiguous data in favour of a magmatic origin for these important iron ores. The study was led by researchers from Uppsala University in Sweden.

There are no signs that hybrids of dog and wolf have contributed to the Scandinavian wolf population – a matter that has been discussed, especially in Norway. These wolves appear to have originated from the Nordic region or adjacent parts of Northern Europe, new genetic research from Uppsala University shows.

Markus Franzén, doctor in ecology at the department of biology and environmental science at Linnaeus University, has been granted SEK 3 million by Formas for his research project Cascading effects of drought on farming/grazing and farmland biodiversity. The drought in Sweden during the summer of 2018 led to acute food shortage for livestock and became […]

How are reptiles capable of generating such a diversity of bright colors? And how is it possible that within a single population of the same species, different individuals exhibit strikingly different coloration patterns? A team of scientists reveal two genes implicated in yellow to red pigmentation in reptiles, and demonstrate that these “pigmentation genes” also affect behavior and other traits.

Should public health-care systems provide couples with expanded screening for genetic disorders before they decide to become pregnant? Screening programmes could increase our reproductive choices and autonomy. But there are ethical issues at stake.

A new study performed by the Swedish Institute of Space Physics in Uppsala, in collaboration with the University of Sheffield and other groups, uses data from the European Space Agency’s Cluster spacecraft to reveal new insights into the inner workings of the bow shock when it becomes non-stationary and its structure starts to break down.

It is with great sorrow that we report that Professor Emeritus Bengt Hultqvist, the founder of the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, has passed away at the age of 91.

How did European megalith graves arise and spread? Using radiocarbon dates from a large quantity of material, an archaeologist at the University of Gothenburg has been able to show that people in the younger Stone Age were far more mobile than previously thought, had quite advanced seafaring skills, and that there were exchanges between different […]

When antibiotics are used to treat bacteria susceptible to them, the treatment usually works. Nevertheless, the antibiotic chosen is sometimes ineffective. One of the reasons for this is heteroresistance, a phenomenon explored in depth by Uppsala and Emory University researchers in a new study.