Why aren’t house sparrows as big as geese?
A group of researchers spent twelve seasons making some house sparrows bigger and others smaller. Their experiment yielded some important answers.
Natural science
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The enigma of early Norwegian iron production
Ancient Norwegians made top-quality iron. But where did the knowledge to make this iron come from? An NTNU professor emeritus may have solved this riddle.
Gunnerus Sustainability Award goes to pioneering researcher
Carl Folke, a groundbreaking researcher in his field, has been awarded the Gunnerus Sustainability Science Award for 2017.
What happens at home also comes to school
The relationship children have with their parents can sometimes influence the relationship they have with their teachers. Now we know more about why.
Reveals the real greenhouse gas footprints of reservoirs
When hydropower reservoirs traps organic matter, it leads to higher local greenhouse gas emissions. But the emissions are not increased but displaced. A new tool calculates the real greenhouse gas footprints of reservoirs.
Stress in the nest can have lifelong effect
Why do some sparrows hatch six chicks while others don’t hatch any? How does upbringing affect the remainder of their lives? Physiological stress in the nest can actually affect birds’ DNA and possibly their lifespan.
Human Evolution in the Sea at Bioko
Did some of our human features evolve while our ancestors were living in water? The aquatic ape theory has been disregarded by paleoanthropologists, but it deserves another chance.
Avian songsters
Bird songs have many functions, but their main purpose is to attract a mate. Some of the best avian singers are described below.
The astronaut’s extra nose
How do we protect astronauts in space from breathing dangerous gases? A German-Norwegian hi-tech optical gas sensor provides a solution.
Snake robots in space
Norwegian researchers are investigating how a snake robot might carry out maintenance work on the International Space Station (ISS), study comets, and explore the possibility of living and working in lava tunnels on the Moon.
Fuel of the future
Heavy-duty trucks will soon be driving around in Trondheim, Norway, fuelled by hydrogen created with solar power, and emitting only pure water vapour as “exhaust”. Not only will hydrogen technology revolutionize road transport, it will also enable ships and trains to run emission-free.
Earth to ISS: Norway calling
Norway has direct contact with the ISS space station. Now CIRiS – the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space – is opening a new control room.
Norway leads the way in CO2 capture
This week, scientists from all over the world meet in Trondheim to learn about the technology of CO2 capture.
Astrophysics a field for great discoveries
As a child, Professor Myrheim wondered what the far side of the Moon looked like. Trondheim’s Starmus festival will welcome a trio who has actually been on the moon, and the astrophysicist is excited to hear their lecture. “Perhaps it’s the magic of childhood that lingers on,” he says.
Moonwalkers three
Just 12 Americans have set foot on the lunar surface, and of those, only six are still alive. Three—Buzz Aldrin, Charlie Duke and Harrison “Jack” Schmitt — will be in Trondheim at the Starmus Science Festival to talk about the future of humankind in space.
Two prestigious awards for research on interfaces
Two international professional organizations recognize PhD research that could improve everything from weather forecasts to the prediction of volcanic eruptions.
Climate change, ocean diversity and women in science
Science has made great strides since Svante Arrhenius, the Swedish Nobel Laureate who in 1896 first determined that carbon dioxide from human activity could warm the planet. The same progress hasn’t been made in increasing the number of women in the sciences.
Award-winning science communicator “not surprised” that Trump pulled out of Paris climate agreement
This year’s winners of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication 2017 were announced yesterday at a press conference in New York. The winner of the science communicator award is astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. The medal itself will be awarded on 20 June during the Starmus Science Festival in Trondheim.
Will send a giant sunflower into space
Imagine a firefly fluttering near a floodlight. Can you see it? Not unless you shade the light coming from the glare of the lamp. This is where the sunflower screen enters the picture.
Religious individuals regret having casual sex only slightly more
Whether you are religious or not does not matter so much. You regret one-night stands about as much as other people do.
Popularizing science the Brian Cox way
Many of the speakers at the Starmus Festival are superstars in their fields of expertise. But few have as many fans as Brian Cox, the researcher who also feels at home in popular culture.
Black holes and other star remnants
Imagine a dog owner with a reflective vest and a black dog without one. In the dark we can see how the dog owner moves, but not the dog. That’s how black holes work, too.
Love hormone is released during crises
When you notice your partner is less interested than you are, your brain may send out a hormone that can help you fix the relationship.
Medicine factories in space to shape the future of space travel
He was the very first person to walk in space. A rescue team on skis brought him to safety after an emergency landing in the Siberian forest. Now, Alexei Leonov is coming to Trondheim.