The next solar storm is on its way – and may cause more problems than you think
Solar storms are no joke. It may get cold and it may get very dark. Our mobile networks may be severely disrupted.
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Stopping industrial hackers needs more know-how
Plant managers used to be kept awake at night by the fear of unintended incidents. But their new nightmares are much worse.
What happens when artificial intelligence is used in public administration?
Data-driven public administration changes the public sector in a fundamental way. But what does this mean for you as a citizen?
We need to adapt our cities to a changing climate. But in Norway it’s still business as usual
If we are to avoid our cities becoming ‘heat magnets’ one day, and overwhelmed by flooding the next, we have to incorporate wetlands and ditch systems into our urban infrastructure.
Artificial intelligence could secure the power supply
Managing hydropower production is complicated. Artificial intelligence can help ensure that we don’t run out of power.
What do you do if a hacker takes over your ship?
The risk of cyber attacks against a ship is real. The working crew on board must be allowed to practice handling these risks in a realistic way. Now they can.
Who has died from COVID-19?
At least six million people have died from COVID-19 to date. But who dies is often not random. The same pattern is found around the world.
A minute sensor to the rescue
Ships, bridges and wind turbines can all be made safe using sensors that are just a few millimetres across. Researchers have borrowed the principle behind the technology from a vibrating guitar string.
How do you create buildings that can withstand the most extreme stress loads?
An explosion can hurtle fragments and debris at enormous velocities so they strike the surroundings. Then comes the shock wave. It’s a scary combination.
The robot inspectors have arrived
Autonomous aerial and ground-based robots have been designed to do the work needed to protect critical infrastructure – quicker and more cheaply than traditional methods.
Not all social media fuel conspiracy theories in the same way
Conspiracy theories spread quickly early on in the pandemic, and social media received a lot of the blame. But not all social media are the same.
How terrorism affects our attitudes
Some types of terrorist acts affect people much more than others. Islamist violence apparently produces the strongest counter-reactions.
Is it really selfish to complain about electricity prices?
Norwegians are not necessarily being selfish by wanting to go back to the good old days of cheap electricity. Nor do people think it is acceptable to use the situation for some to enrich themselves at the expense of others, says the researcher.
Better cyber security at sea
Drug dealers have tricked shipping cargo tracking systems to think drugs are “bananas” and unknown actors have jammed GPS signals in northern Norwegian waters. Fixing these problems requires understanding how seafarers themselves perceive cyber risks — so they can do a better job protecting themselves and their vessels.
The computing industry can assist Polish refugee centres
Speedy work carried out for free in Norway resulted in an IT system that protects refugees against human traffickers at the Polish-Ukrainian border. This type of aid work may become financially self-supporting.
Authorities concealed fallout from atomic bombs
France covered up the consequences of their nuclear tests in the Pacific. As many as 110 000 people may have been exposed to radioactive fallout above the assumed safe levels.
Social media’s echo chambers not such a big problem
Most people obtain their information from multiple sources. Social media’s dreaded “echo chambers” have little significance for most of us, a new study shows.
Which conspiracy theory do you believe in?
Everyone believes in at least one conspiracy theory, according to conspiracy researchers. Conspiracy theories aren’t reserved for angry Republicans in the United States. Do you think Biden stole the election?
How are the busiest among us dealing with COVID-19?
COVID-19 has created an extra workload for people in socially critical professions. How does this added strain affect them and how do they handle it?
Researchers find commonalities in all crises
In the aftermath of a crisis, it is always easy to see how the crisis could have been better handled, and then we put new measures into place. But do these measures set us up to solve the next crisis – the one we don’t yet know about?
From coronavirus to a greener society?
Governments across the globe are funding record-breaking crisis packages to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Is this the time to fund greener, more climate-friendly industries and investments?
Climate change fuels Australia’s enormous wildfires
Bushfires are a normal part of the cycle of nature in Australia. But not like this. And it is going to get worse.
A whistleblower’s tale
The American whistleblower Edward Snowden paints a frightening vision of the world we live in, where abuses of power extend far beyond the reaches of law and affect us all.
Basic safety measures will save lives in tunnels
What has to happen to facilitate more effective rescues from tunnel fires? Researchers have been investigating how 80 research subjects wearing VR glasses reacted in a virtual tunnel fire. Their conclusion is that basic measures can save lives.