The Brain’s Searchlight
Grid cells were supposed to tell the brain only where it was. Now it turns out they also point towards where it wants to go.
Health
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Elderly people living at home have less control, not more
Elderly Norwegians are encouraged to stay in their homes where they can receive home care services. The idea is that living at home will give them the most control over their everyday lives. Research suggests the opposite is true.
Why some people are more bothered by low-frequency sounds
Some people are more sensitive to low-frequency noise, such as from ventilation systems, heat pumps, wind turbines and transformers. Why is that?
The other road to a mind
A small fish and a human, hundreds of millions of years apart, build the sensing brain by the same underlying logic. The finding suggests there may be rules a vertebrate brain follows.
Bariatric surgery increases the risk of alcohol problems
Your body absorbs alcohol much more rapidly after bariatric surgery. Patients need to know this when they choose the kind of surgery they will have.
New safety footwear eliminates pain – and the need for painkillers
A revolutionary protective shoe concept adapts to the needs of users in a new way and provides increased comfort and minimizes strain.
The mystery of the eye disease that can make infants blind
Why do some Norwegian hospitals treat infants’ eye disease more often than others?
The Kavli Prize: Major discoveries about the universe, materials and the brain
The Kavli Prize 2026 has been awarded to researchers who have provided us with groundbreaking knowledge in their fields.
Some brains are more similar than others when under stress
People who are resilient to psychological stress are similar to each other – not in terms of appearance, but in the brain’s response to stressful stimuli.
A strange humming phenomenon
Do you occasionally hear a low buzzing or humming sound that doesn’t have a clear source? Then you’re among the estimated 2-4 per cent of the world’s population who hear this. Scientists have been trying to figure out for decades where this sound comes from.
Buying your way to better health comes at the expense of others
Private health insurance contributes to poorer health among people with the lowest levels of education.
Patients are much more demanding than ever before
Pablo Picasso’s painting ‘Science and Charity’ from 1897 depicts a meek and compliant patient lying placidly in bed between the doctor and the nurse. Picasso would hardly recognize the modern-day patient.
How trained community health officers cut Sierra Leone’s maternal deaths by two-thirds
Maternal mortality in Sierra Leone used to be among the highest in the world. A 15-year-old non-profit programme that trains community health officers to do life-saving surgeries has helped slash that risk by two-thirds.
Body weight affects your gut microbiota
Your body weight and genes influence the types of bacteria you have in your gut. In turn, this appears to affect the risk of developing conditions such as coeliac disease and haemorrhoids.
Exercise: a very little goes a long way
Don’t have time to exercise because of a busy schedule? Or are you simply not very motivated? You’ll be pleased to learn that just 10 minutes of exercise every other day is all it takes. However, you really need to exert yourself during those 10 minutes.
Mental health study: ChatGPT advice preferred over that of professionals
Artificial intelligence provides good answers to mental health questions. Young people even like ChatGPT’s responses better than healthcare professionals’ advice.
Many young people are sexting on social media
New research shows that it is very common among Norwegian teens to both send and receive messages with a photo or video of intimate body parts.
Feeling lonely? Try a walk in the great outdoors
Even a solitary walk in the woods or by water provides a sense of connectedness. Simply spending time in natural environments can help prevent loneliness.
High levels of forever chemicals in Svalbard reindeer
Svalbard reindeer live in a place so remote they have actually evolved to become a subspecies. But that remoteness isn’t enough to protect them from contaminants from the industrial world.
Experienced therapists can give psychology students an extra boost
Psychology students who will work with patients during supervised professional training can benefit from observing experienced therapists at work.
Widespread temptations bad news for people with a high risk of diabetes
Some people have a greater genetic risk than others of developing type 2 diabetes. Now, more of these at-risk people are actually developing diabetes than previously.
Teamwork is a skill – it must be practiced
How do you talk to a colleague who is obviously making work-related mistakes? And how would you yourself want this kind of feedback?
Tundra tongue: The science behind a very cold mistake
You’ve done it too, haven’t you? Or maybe you know someone who has? Stuck their tongue to a piece of frozen metal in the winter, even though they know it’s cold? But is it dangerous?
Study finds no evidence of persistent tick-borne infection in people who link chronic illness to ticks
When researchers studied Norwegians who blamed tick bites for their chronic health problems, they found no objective evidence that ticks were the cause.