Where kelp is being turned into lab-grown meat
Researchers are growing the food of the future in this laboratory: meat that uses kelp as an alternative to animal-based ingredients.
Biotechnology
LOADING CONTENT
Precautionary fundamentalism is threatening Norwegian food production
If the Norwegian government rejects the majority opinion of the Gene Technology Committee, it will miss a long overdue opportunity to boost food safety, improve animal welfare and promote more eco-friendly pesticides.
Milk analysis reveals ‘invisible’ disease in dairy cows
Researchers have developed a new method of detecting a metabolic disease that affects dairy cows after calving. The aim is to determine whether cows are at risk of contracting the disease before they actually become sick.
Ground-breaking knowledge from minute organs grown on microchips
The use of stem cells now makes it possible for us to cultivate so-called organoids, such as tiny versions of a liver, heart or small intestine, in the lab. These micro-organs can then be connected to a microchip that simulates the body’s biological processes. This ‘organ-on-a-chip’ technology opens the door to previously undreamt-of research possibilities.
A new way to get cells to spill their secrets
Countless potentially useful enzymes are hidden all around us. NTNU researchers have developed a new method that could help us find them.
Start-up takes NTNU’s Covid technology to new markets and applications
Lybe Scientific, a start-up company based on NTNU research, is entering the market as a provider of high-quality diagnostic solutions – not just for COVID-19 diagnostics, but also other areas such as the common flu and sexually transmitted diseases.
This is how the new Covid-19 vaccine works
Pfizer has recently announced that it is ready with a Covid-19 vaccine that is 90 percent effective. The vaccine is a so-called mRNA vaccine that has been developed jointly by Pfizer and BioNTech. But what is mRNA technology, and how does it work?
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!
NTNU establishes a factory to produce coronavirus tests
NTNU researchers recently figured out a whole new method for testing people for the coronavirus. The university is now producing tests on a continuous basis, under the auspices of the Norwegian Directorate of Health. Currently 100 000 tests a day are being manufactured, with production soon likely to be scaled up dramatically.
Norway to start broad-based testing by month’s end using NTNU test kits
Norway’s Ministry of Health and Care Services confirmed Friday that it will roll out coronavirus test kits developed by researchers from NTNU and St Olavs Hospital by the last week of April/early May. The kits will more than triple Norway’s testing capacity during the rollout.
Seaweed and kelp are more than food
Algae cultivation is popular, but good uses for the raw material are still lacking. Researchers in Norway are set to do something about this, with the goal of fully using this resource.
Museums can give us better beer, paint and omega-3
Natural history collections aren’t just dusty financial sinkholes. Actually, they can be gold mines for industry.
Hoping to treat osteoarthritis using artificial cartilage tissue
A Norwegian-Swiss research team has succeeded in growing cartilage tissue cells using algae. Moreover, the new cells can reduce joint inflammation. This news gives hope for people suffering from arthrosis, also known as osteoarthritis.
Finding life — and farming minerals — deep under the sea
Japanese researchers have access to the largest scientific vessel ever constructed, one that has a 120 metre tall derrick capable of drilling to 7500 metres below the seafloor. They’re using it to hunt for life deep under the seafloor and explore for mineral deposits at the bottom of the ocean — topics that are of great interest to Norwegian researchers.
Stealth medicine
Using nanocapsules containing cancer drugs, researchers have succeeded in attacking tumours with surgical precision. One of the ways to manufacture such capsules is with minute droplets of super glue.
“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.