The weeds that settlers spread
Why has ragweed – a highly allergenic plant – been spreading so quickly?
Natural science
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Researching the dark side of microplastics
Minute particles of plastic, called microplastics, are everywhere. An international research team is now about to investigate how toxic microplastics are to marine animals such as plankton, crabs and fish, and to find out if such plastics accumulate in the food chain.
Charting riches in the ocean depths
The deep sea contains mineral riches that offers a new frontier for research and exploration — and a new way to employ Norway’s deep sea expertise.
Bombs away— WWII bombs provide living laboratories for cold-water coral reefs
Ocean dumping of munitions from WWII was common in Norway and along the European coast. Some of these bomb dumps offer a natural living laboratory where biologists can study cold-water coral reefs.
NTNU builds bridges to Japan
Starting today, Hiroshito Matsumoto will work from a base in Toyko on behalf of NTNU and the University of Bergen to build new research partnerships between Japan and Norway.
Dark lords, werewolves and Indiana Jones in the polar night
The polar night descends on the arctic archipelago of Svalbard for more than 100 days a year. But even in the depths of this darkness, the oceans are churning with activity.
Kon-Tiki2 expedition in Heyerdahl’s wake
The Kon-Tiki2 expedition aims to both reinforce and challenge Heyerdahl’s theories – and NTNU will gather unique research material from the major oceans that the expedition crosses
Timing is everything for renewable energy use
There’s no time to waste in shifting to renewable energy sources if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. That’s especially true when it comes to bioenergy, which causes a temporary increase in CO2 levels that is later removed as replacement biostocks grow.
Uncovering secrets of ice that burns
Methane hydrates can be seen as a potential energy source or as a dangerous source of methane – a greenhouse gas that is 20 times more potent than CO2. With the help of a supercomputer and an interdisciplinary team, scientists have uncovered important details about their stability if they are disturbed by human-induced or natural forces.
Turning political pledges into action on climate change
Beginning on 30 November, the nations of the world will gather in Paris to discuss a new global agreement on climate change. But what will it take to transform international political will into real action to curb global warming?
Peering into fish brains to see how they work
Transparent fish and an ability to work in the dark are key to the research of the newest group at the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience.
A new twist in understanding the brain’s maps
The brain’s GPS would be worthless if it simply contained maps of our surroundings that were not aligned to the real world. But we now know how this is done.
Many memories, many rooms
2014 NOBEL PRIZE: The brain has an enormous capacity to store memories and to keep memories from getting mixed up in part because of how these memories are stored in the hippocampus, researchers from NTNU’s Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience have shown.
Extreme weather in the Arctic causes problems for people, wildlife
The last week of January 2012 brought wild weather to the Norwegian arctic island archipelago of Svalbard and its largest town, Longyearbyen. A new cross-disciplinary study provides a comprehensive look at the effects of this extreme weather event on everything from town infrastructure to the natural environment.
A new solution to an age-old equation can improve ship efficiency
It’s been this way for 127 years— the V-shaped wake pattern behind a ship moving in a straight line always has the same central angle. But a Norwegian armed with a pen and a piece of paper has discovered that in certain situations, a boat’s wake can actually be found in front of the boat.
Capturing false hormones
They damage our ability to reproduce, and they pollute the natural environment. Yet chemicals known as hormone mimics can be found in consumer goods. Eventually they end up in our water. But we now have a way of capturing them.
The secret life of the sea trout
Armed with special acoustic tags, a team of researchers is following 50 individual fish for as long as seven months to learn more about their life – and death — in Norwegian fjords.
“Super bacteria” cleaning up after oil spills
Researchers in Trondheim have achieved surprising results by exploiting nature’s own ability to clean up after oil spills.
Secrets of the High North
The Norwegian arctic island archipelago of Svalbard offers scientists the chance to investigate some of the most intriguing – and perplexing – puzzles facing the high north.
An arctic animal community crashes in response to extreme weather events
What happens when animals in harsh environments are exposed to extreme weather? Scientists found that extreme icing caused widespread die-offs in one arctic animal community. Climate change may cause more such extremes.
Thwarting invaders
Predicting risks from invasive species – before it happens.
Ocean prophets
These scientists can predict the direction an oil spill will take, or if salmon lice will infect a neighbouring fish farm.
Save the planet? Stop eating meat.
Growing and producing food make agriculture and food consumption among the most important drivers of environmental pressures, including climate change and habitat loss.