Mini-hearts are similar to human hearts
NTNU master’s student Vanessa Solvang cultivates tiny little beating hearts in the lab. She takes good care of them, weekends included.
Health
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Twenty years of sequencing genes… for better or for worse
It’s been 20 years since the first draft sequence of the human genome was published in the journals Nature and Science. The result led then-President Bill Clinton to state that we are now learning the language in which life was written, and that “doctors will increasingly be able to cure diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes, and cancer by attacking their genetic roots.”
Sequencing 30 000 genes has changed the world, but in a different way than expected.
New NTNU method for beating back the coronavirus
NTNU researchers have started testing a COVID-19 test strategy developed in house: saliva samples you take yourself, without involving health personnel. This means that researchers may be able to knock back the coronavirus epidemic faster, more easily and much more cheaply than today. The method is now being tested on NTNU students.
Preemies at greater risk for mortality in adulthood
The risk of dying from heart disease, chronic lung disease or diabetes in adulthood is twice as high for preemies —premature infants — as for the general population. Even those who were born just two to three weeks before term have a slightly increased risk.
NTNU researchers have found promising COVID-19 drugs
NTNU researchers are on track to find drug combinations that could help stop the coronavirus across the globe.
Hospital financial performance overemphasized, say doctors
Some patients are more profitable for Norwegian hospitals than others. Most hospital physicians believe that managers care too much about the financial operation of hospitals.
Hip fracture outcomes worse during busy periods
Elderly people are at greater risk of dying from hip surgery if surgeons are in a hurry.
Where the starring role is death
Nine hundred people from Trøndelag county have donated their bodies to research when they die. Why do they do it, and what are the bodies actually used for? Come on into the anatomical laboratory at NTNU.
Not enough COVID-19 tests? No problem, we’ll make them!
The story of what happened when a molecular biologist, some engineers and PhDs and postdocs from NTNU and St Olavs Hospital put their heads together to design a completely different kind of coronavirus test.
Effective anxiety therapy changes personality
Two effective treatment methods for generalized anxiety disorders also reduces the neuroticism personality trait.
Cheaper chocolate and alcohol are a public health setback
Eliminating the sugar tax and reducing the taxes on beer and wine will have health consequences, according to Steinar Krokstad, a professor of public health at NTNU.
Newborns’ clumsy arm movements show how smart they are
For the first time, researchers are measuring the brain processes that control an infant’s first arm movements. The findings may shatter old myths about the immature baby brain.
SINTEF to head global WHO study
What assistive technologies are the world’s elderly and disabled using? And what hidden needs does this group have? SINTEF has been contracted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to find out.
Important cause of preeclampsia discovered
New findings show that cholesterol crystals in the uterine wall are the villain that researchers have been looking for. These crystals cause intensified inflammation in people who become ill.
The body’s own signalling system provides the key to new diagnostic tools and personalized medicine
Several studies have demonstrated that tiny biological particles called exosomes may carry important information about diseases. We are currently searching for these tiny particles in cooperation with our project partners. If we succeed, we can use the exosomes to predict diseases before they occur.
Trained medical staff can perform safe, effective hernia surgery
Many low and middle-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, don’t have enough surgeons to perform vital surgeries, such as groin hernia repairs. Training non-doctor associate clinicians in this procedure provides a safe and effective solution, a new study shows.
Less psychiatric coercion in the early 1900s than in the 1970s
It’s easy to believe that society’s treatment of difficult, violent and criminally mentally ill people has become more humane over time. But that’s not the case. How patients at the end of the 19th century actually felt is difficult to say, but they were at least less exposed to mechanical coercion, according to an NTNU historian.
Low socioeconomic status usually associated with more health problems
Having several chronic health problems at the same time is common – especially among people with the fewest resources.
How can we help victims of torture?
Torture victims often reap less benefit from ordinary treatment. New insight might give new hope.
Why failing hearts love hard workouts
High-intensity interval training strengthens the heart even more than moderate exercise does. Now researchers have found several answers to what makes hard workouts so effective.
Mimicking effect of exercise with gene therapy
Gene therapy is the most effective method to be able to provide health benefits you normally gain through physical exercise. This means of “training” could be helpful for folks who can’t exercise in the usual ways.
NTNU researchers among the world’s most highly cited
The 2020 ISI/Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers list includes seven researchers affiliated with NTNU. The list includes authors who have multiple articles ranked in the top 1 per cent by citation in their field over the last decade.
Virus might have mutated before it appeared in mink
It’s understandable that the Danes want to be on the safe side and exterminate the mink to stop this variant of the coronavirus, says Andreas Christensen, an associate professor at NTNU.
Trees and plants could become new additives in “light” food products
To reduce the fat content in food products, starch has to be added to achieve a good consistency. Cellulose might be able to take over this role in reduced-fat products. And it’s calorie free, too!