No disadvantages to having kids early
Maturing and reproducing early hardly has any downsides. If you’re a wild boar, that is.
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Sound beacons support safer tunnel evacuation
Research conducted as part of the project EvacSound demonstrates that auditory guidance using sound beacons is an effective aid during the evacuation of smoke-filled road tunnels. This is good news. It is a fact that vehicle drivers and passengers cannot normally expect to be rescued by the emergency services during such accidents.
Bats not a threat to public health, but important for ecosystems
Bats have received a lot of negative attention, but the chances are slim that the virus that causes COVID-19 was transmitted from bats to humans. The world needs bats – in ecosystems, for pollination and for seed dispersal. On top of that, they keep harmful insects in check around our homes, on farms and in cities.
Interrupted breathing during sleep – a widespread disease with no cure
Every fifth Norwegian suffers from the widespread disease obstructive sleep apnea. Several treatment options exist, among them surgery, however results are unpredictable and of variable quality and differ from individual to individual. What determines if the treatment is successful or not? Our scientific research using mathematical airflow models may help the medical doctors to find the answer.
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?
A tiny arctic shrub reveals secrets of plant growth on Svalbard
It’s not easy being a tiny willow on the wind-and snow-blasted islands of the Norwegian territory of Svalbard. It turns out that Salix polaris, the polar willow, handles these tough conditions by growing as best it can in response to July temperatures — a response that researchers recorded all over the archipelago.
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?
Temperament affects children’s eating habits
Temperamental children are at greater risk for developing unhealthy eating habits.
How we figure out that red herrings are neither red nor herrings
Our language can be fun and colourful, but unusual phrases that aren’t literal can be difficult for some to interpret. Learning more about how we decipher these phrases can help us teach people in certain groups how to better understand them.
Increased activity not always the best advice for neck and back pain
The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Human Affairs recommends more physical activity and less sitting time. But that isn’t the right approach to managing neck and back pain for everyone, according to research from NTNU.
Kavli Prize in nanoscience goes to four pioneers
Four men share the Kavli Prize in nanoscience for their work on electron microscopy.
Does Norway’s future lie at the bottom of the sea?
Low oil prices have fueled the debate about which industries Norway should develop and live on in the future. In the government’s revised national budget, the extraction of seabed minerals emerges as a clear investment area.
New website allows data sharing for upcoming Climate Panel report
NTNU researchers are playing a leading role in a new IPCC report. One way they’re helping is collecting data on a website created and operated by the university.
A simple way of describing friction — by making it complicated
We all know what friction is — but it turns out to be very difficult to describe. Researchers have simplified a commonly used, century-old model for use at the nanoscale — by making it more complicated.
More people die when hospital bed shortages force patients out
Hip fractures have higher mortality rates if patients are discharged early because the hospital needs the space and capacity.
Getting the body to make its own cancer drugs
Imagine that we could instruct our bodies to make the drugs they need themselves. The gene technology that makes this possible is called mRNA therapy, which may become a major tool in the treatment of multiple diseases. Norwegian researchers are currently helping to develop a drug of this kind to treat the most aggressive form of breast cancer.
Testing larger households can reduce coronavirus infections in Norway
Testing families of four or more people would be an effective way to reduce the spread of the coronavirus infection, according to a data simulation model developed at NTNU. The model has initially been used to determine the best testing strategy for Oslo.
New NTNU method for accurately detecting lung cancer
CT screening to detect lung cancer can save lives. The challenge is to find out who should undergo CT scans. A new method more accurately identifies the right individuals in the risk zone.
Ten tips for productive online meetings
We are meeting as never before – online. Particularly in connection with our jobs this may present challenges, but it can also be very productive. Here is some advice from researchers for smart meetings in the virtual environment.
Winter War in Finland was a struggle against invading power
Eighty years have passed since the end of the Finnish Winter War. “The war is my family’s history too,” Soilikki Vettenranta writes in this Viewpoint article.
Mystery of the blunt-tipped beetle penis
It took seven years, countless beetle penis field investigations, and hours upon hours on hands and knees in coastal wetlands. This is the story of all the research that has to happen before a new species can finally get its official name.
People with atrial fibrillation live longer with exercise
More than 100 000 Norwegians have atrial fibrillation. They should be actively exercising for their health.
How to mitigate stress with mind-body training like Tai Chi
The stresses from home schooling, working at home and corona virus concerns are weighing us down on many levels. Here are some tips on ways to exercise at home that can help us maintain our health both physically and mentally.
Norway’s history has forgotten the 80 000 Finnish war children
Heart-breaking images of children in refugee camps in Greece and Syria remind us of how war is driving children to flee their homes. Minors are being sent off to foreign countries. But this also happened in Norway’s neighbouring country of Finland during World War II.
“Seaweeds may become a profitable piece in the green transition jigsaw”
A unanimous group of research scientists are convinced that kelp may share many of the applications of soya and oil, and that they can also be used to capture CO2. Seaweeds can contribute towards climate-friendly solutions in all sorts of contexts. New know-how about seaweed farming is currently accelerating industrialisation of the sector.
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.
Mathilde spent four hours in a chamber breathing dust
Road dust can be a big problem in the winter, especially in northern climes where the use of studded tyres is allowed. Researchers are now studying how the type of stone used in asphalt affects the amount and harmfulness of dusty particulate matter that gets kicked up as studded tyres chew into the asphalt.
App for migraines
A daily 10-minute training session using an app could reduce migraine attacks for many sufferers, according to researchers.
Achievement requires passion and grit
Boys need to burn for something to succeed. Maybe that’s why they often do less well at school than girls.
Cement factories can put the brakes on global plastic pollution
Researchers believe that plastic refuse can be used as fuel in cement factories in Asia. If this works, it may provide a solution to two of the planet’s biggest environmental problems – plastic in the oceans and high levels of coal consumption.
Here’s how to recognize early spring birds
With some practice, you can learn to recognize some of the most common birds in northern Europe by their songs.
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.