Press releases

When studying biological cells using optical tweezers, one main issue is the damage caused to the cell by the tool. Giovanni Volpe, University of Gothenburg, has discovered a new type of force that will greatly reduce the amount of light used by optical tweezers – and improve the study of all kinds of cells and particles.

The risk of developing cardiomyopathy, which often leads to heart failure, increased in adult Swedish men who were even mildly overweight around age 18. The risk steadily increased as weight increased, even among those who started out at a normal weight, according to a study published in Circulation. A large study of Swedish men found […]

One key question in evolutionary biology is how novel genes arise and develop. Swedish researchers now show how new genes and functions that are advantageous to bacteria can be selected from random DNA sequences. The results are presented in the scientific journal mBio.

New data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), Uppsala University shows that in 2018 the number of fatalities in organised violence reached the lowest level in seven years. However, the large share of internationalised conflicts, to which external states contribute troops, worries researchers. These conflicts tend to be both bloodier and longer.

Sexual violence in armed conflict does not necessarily silence women. On the contrary, sexual violence can be a driver of women’s political mobilization for peace and women’s rights, a dissertation from the University of Gothenburg shows. – The findings are encouraging for Sweden’s feminist foreign policy, which emphasizes gender-sensitive approaches to armed conflict and women’s […]

William Hogland, professor of environmental technology, has been allocated SEK 2.8 million for the EU project “CONTRA: Baltic Beach Wrack – Conversion of a Nuisance to a Resource and Asset”. The project will study how you can clean up beaches and use the waste as a future resource. Beach wrack is organic material; for instance, […]

Children and adolescents with long-term obesity have increased arterial stiffness by their late teens, a study of more than 3,000 children followed from age 9 to 17 shows. These results, in the researchers’ view, call for more initiatives to reduce teenage obesity. “The teens are a key period for measures to tackle obesity, since doing […]

Wood-living beetles that use oak trees are a species-rich and threatened animal group in modern forestry and agriculture in southern Sweden. New research from the University of Gothenburg shows that management with conservation thinning can be an effective way to promote these beetles in the long term.

A study that started in 1985 followed some 50 people who had become anorexic in their teens. It shows that 30 years later, the majority were healthy but some had persistent eating disorders. The study, published in The British Journal of Psychiatry, was carried out at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg. To lose weight, people […]

­After surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, young athletes are now recommended to undergo at least a year’s rehab and thorough testing before resuming knee-strenuous sport. Research shows that those who return to sport relatively soon after surgery incur a highly elevated risk of a second ACL injury. “What’s absolutely essential is to let […]