Tiny brains, hearts and lungs can help cure disease
Many great discoveries and inventions spring from basic research. That’s particularly true for medicine, but also for many other research areas.
“May offer us a new cure for lung cancer”
The delivery of nanomedicines using gas bubbles has shown itself to be a unique way of transporting cytotoxins to the lungs of cancer patients. The method enables precise and focused treatments, and the local action of the drugs also prevents a range of side-effects.
As our energy demands increase, the planet continues to overheat. But there is hope.
A cure for global warming: Technologies exist that can get us out of this mess. Let’s take a look at them.
Autonomous ships are on the horizon: Is AI ready to take command?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is well suited to observe and understand what is going on around a ship. However, before we can allow AI to make safety-critical decisions, we need to be aware of how certain the decisions are, as well as why AI makes them.
Researchers surprised at levels of toxicity in standard plastic products
Tonnes of waste from standard plastic products have been uncontrollably released into the world’s oceans, where they gradually break down. But how harmful is this plastic to living organisms, and what is it in these plastics that is so damaging?
Fish excrement – a superfood for plants
Vegetable farmers will soon be helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental pollution while at the same time boosting our self-sufficiency.
Explaining the mRNA technology that led to a Nobel prize
Last week, the Hungarian Katalin Karikó and the American Drew Weissman were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their research into the mRNA-technology applied to develop the vaccines used to combat Covid-19. But what exactly is mRNA technology?
One in five Norwegians has tinnitus – but treatment provision is very poor
Researchers have concluded that many people are suffering unnecessarily and that treatment provision offered to patients is failing at many levels.
Can disinfectants promote antibiotic resistance?
Yes, say researchers – who suspect that disinfectants used in food production may in fact be exacerbating a global public health problem.
Marine plastic waste can spread antimicrobial resistance
Bacteria discharged to the oceans in sewage and wastewater thrive on the biofilms that form on plastic waste. This may be leading to the somewhat unanticipated problem of antimicrobial resistance.
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.
All you need to know about saving a life out in the cold
Why are cold temperatures so dangerous if you have an accident? And why is it that cold temperatures enable some patients to survive without permanent harm?
Cultivating salad plants that can be grown on the Moon
NASA has finished its planning and is ready to go. Humans will soon be returning to the Moon – this time in a manned base. But, if this project is to succeed, astronauts must be able to grow their own food. Norwegian researchers are in the process of making this possible.
Recycling snuff boxes to make new products
Don’t tell me that you haven’t noticed them. Empty snuff boxes littered all over our streets and parks. But instead of being just rubbish, they can now be recycled to make new products.
The cold hard facts about your body and low temperatures
Is it healthy to take a cold dip in winter? Is it true that most heat loss occurs through the head, and can we get ill if our legs get cold? Here is a summary of our researcher’s answers.
Breathing new life into waste industrial marine plastics
The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are major users of plastics. A research project has recently been launched to investigate how these plastics can be recycled and made into new products.
A new high-rise lab for the development of super-efficient solar panels
Not only are they high above us – they also offer us great benefits. From SINTEF’s new solar panel laboratory, you can see all across the city of Trondheim. Here, conditions are optimal for research into solar panel performance at Nordic latitudes.
“It is by no means impossible to repair major pipeline damage on the seabed”
Norway has developed subsea technologies that you may never have heard of to ensure the safe operation of Norwegian oil and gas installations. Our experts are ready and waiting to assist in the Baltic Sea.
‘Bio-batteries’ enable us to store solar and wind energy
Up until now it has been a challenge to store the energy we generate when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. But researchers at a laboratory in Trondheim in Norway have succeeded in doing just this – and entirely without any form of advanced battery technology.
Could cusk fish be the new cod?
Today we think of cusk as a bycatch species of little or no value. But our test panel came to quite a different conclusion.
Climate-friendly metal production – why is it difficult?
Most people know that metals are made from ore, but how do we make gold from gravel? That’s the process we must understand to be able to make the metal industry climate friendly. Here are some alternatives for CO2-free metal production.
Developing a new cure for lung cancer
Lung cancer is one of the most dangerous forms of cancer. Treatments are available, but they are demanding on patients and less than 30 percent survive. But mRNA technology is offering new hope for higher survival rates because treatments target the malignant cells in an entirely new way.
Capturing CO2 from flue gases using a super membrane
As part of a six-year research project, researchers have succeeded in developing a membrane that captures CO2 in an entirely innovative way. Their work has resulted in an article published in the prestigious research periodical Science Magazine.
We can electrify the continental shelf without electricity cables
Electrification of the Norwegian continental shelf is a long-standing political issue. Now research scientists believe this can be done using fuel cells installed on the platforms. This will reduce CO2 emissions and remove the need to lay new subsea cables.
Using the internet to identify signs of depression in young people
Is it possible to identify signs of depression by analysing the content young people post online and in chat rooms? The answer is yes!
Do men and women respond differently to heat stress?
According to science, women feel the cold more than men. But how do women respond to heat stress compared with men? The answer to this question may help us to make better protective clothing for firefighters of both sexes.
We all love using wireless earbuds. But how well do they work?
How well do your neat little earbuds fit, and how good is the sound quality as you move around? SINTEF researchers are looking into these questions with the help of an artificial ear and a ‘jogging’ robot.
Shedding light on Nature’s tiniest building blocks
These research scientists are studying Nature’s own nanomaterials – applying tools and methods that are normally used for something quite different. Their work has provided us with knowledge that may revolutionise everything from medical treatments to building constructions.
Management interference can block idea development
Only very few companies succeed consistently in developing new ideas. But those that do have one factor in common. The boss doesn’t interfere.
Measuring brain pressure can become big business
A new invention may be on the verge of replacing a costly cranial surgical procedure currently being performed on some traffic accident victims and other patient groups. The ultrasound-based technology has now been granted CE approval for the European market.
Ammonia – the key to making long-haul shipping green
Relatively simple adaptation could make the cargo ships of the future completely green. The technology is based on the chemical compound ammonia, some extensive number crunching and one or two engine modifications.
Combating marine waste and ghost fishing with new materials
Ghost fishing and plastic waste from the fisheries industry is becoming a major environmental problem. Can we address the issue by using degradable plastics? Scientists at a new research centre are aiming to find the answers and develop the systems we need.