When the Chinese giant awakes
When China sets its sights on a goal, the country can change at a blindingly rapid pace. Now the country is focused on innovation and technological innovations, with renewable energy at the forefront.
When life is put on hold, volunteers can make a difference
When someone’s life is suddenly turned upside down, a volunteer’s helping hand can mean a lot.
Prison garb? No thanks!
Inmates are issued a starter pack of prison clothes upon arrival. Many would rather use their own clothes as a way to reclaim some power for themselves.
From royal crown to a crown of thorns
Church art from the Middle Ages reflects the dramatic societal changes that were underway during this period. Artists changed the way they depicted Christ from a regal figure with a crown of gold to a suffering Christ with a crown of thorns.
Using new technology to find shipwrecks on the ocean floor
An estimated three million shipwrecks lie in seabed graveyards around the world – with as many as 1000 of them around Svalbard. Each of them has their own unique story — one that’s made much more accessible with new technology.
Building miniature lasers with nanowires
Impossibly small, accurate lasers could pave the way for new medical applications and electronics.
Unique Middle Age tapestry gives insight into medieval times
Norwegian churches in the Middle Ages were decorated with embroidered tapestries that told Bible stories almost like a comic series. The Høylandet tapestry is the only one of its kind that has survived the march of time.
Japan’s cuteness phenomenon is hundreds of years old
You’ve seen the pictures and the products: Japanese teenage girls in a pastel little-girl world, and children and adults who love Hello Kitty products. They’re all part of the Japanese kawaii phenomenon, which actually started several hundred years ago.
Cheerful Madonna with a lot of bling
A Madonna figure from Grong municipality is one of the best preserved and special church sculptures in Norway from the Middle Ages. She looks like a sweet, friendly girl who’s been asked to model for the sculpture.
How forgetting about Middle Age treasures saved them
One of Scandinavia’s finest collections of church art from the Middle Ages lay hidden and forgotten in Norwegian churches for centuries. Indeed, this long forgetting is precisely what preserved the unique church art.
Secrets of the sea raised from the depths
The mysteries below the ocean’s surface have triggered human exploration and imagination for centuries. New marine robotics now make it possible to explore what goes on in the ocean depths.
Meadows beat out shrubs when it comes to carbon storage
A remote field site in the Norwegian mountains is improving our understanding of carbon cycling in high-latitude alpine areas.
The Maasai’s unknown cousins
They live side by side with the Maasai people and maintain a culture where rituals and music play an important role. The Sonjo people’s harvest ceremony is their most central ritual.
The super material that can replace plastic
Plastic trash is a rapidly growing environmental problem. But a biodegradable and natural material could replace plastic packaging and eliminate this problem.
How can people and predators coexist?
Predators and people have lived side by side since time immemorial in the Serengeti National Park region in Tanzania. But strong population growth is leading to greater conflicts.
Delivers medicine to cancer cells while protecting healthy cells
A new approach to cancer treatment combines ultrasound, bubbles and nanoparticles with chemotherapy. In an experiment, the treatment has cured cancer in mice.
First film in Southern Sámi language wins prize
The verdict is in: the film Sámi Blood has won the grand jury prize at the Seattle International Film Festival. It’s the latest in a slew of awards the film has garnered. Film researcher Monica Mecsei predicts it will be highly important for Sámi filmmaking and identity.
Real men dance the minuet
The Birken ski festival, the Great Trial of Strength cycling event and the Norseman Xtreme Triathlon are considered to be real tests of manhood today. But a few hundred years ago, the minuet was how men displayed their skills and strength.
Helping the blind use sound to “see”
A scientist and a student team have developed the Colorophone system, which translates colour into sound.
Fear and dread in the Norwegian landscape
Norwegians generally have a good relationship with nature. But if you’ve seen any Norwegian horror movies, you might have a different impression. An important characteristic of these films is that the Norwegian landscape is fully developed as an element of the horror.
Silence as a superpower
Silence is not an empty space. It has its own purpose, both in psychotherapy and in music. Olga Lehmann is working to build a theory of silence.
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.
New ears from algae
Scientists are using alginate from seaweed to try to get cells to form new body parts.
Beer and a calf’s head yield gold and silver
Scientists striving to recreate the 500-year-old technique of mint masters found their solution in a boiled calf’s head and good beer.
Stressed-out salmon get sick
Long-lasting stress in farmed salmon makes them more susceptible to diseases. Researchers have now found a simple and reliable method for measuring stress in fish so that it is easier to take action if needed.
Bringing tele-rehabiliation to Norway’s municipalities
Many elderly are open to using welfare technology for rehabilitation, but health care workers are sceptical, and many municipalities are shying away.
Winter is coming — likely with less violence against women
The HBO hit series “Game of Thrones” is driven by an incredibly dedicated and creative fan base that has build a multimedia universe around the TV series and original books. One researcher believes that fans will have helped tone down the amount of violence against women in season six of the TV series.
Liða skaltú ok deyja! — May you suffer and die!
There’s no mercy to be found in the Viking film “Trace”— and the threats come at you in the Vikings’ own language.
Kon-Tiki2 expedition tossed about in stormy seas; expedition ended
Kon-Tiki2-rafts were delayed by headwinds far out in the Pacific, and in the end, the expedition had to be abandoned.
Next chapter in Norway’s history is to conquer the oceans
Given that 70 percent of the Earth’s surface consists of water, the oceans will be the new arenas for more economic development in the future. NTNU is exploring the ocean depths using new technologies.
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
Rock-and-roll running rats
Composer Bertil Palmar Johansen calls the rats Gjertrud and Hjørdis “rock-and-roll rats” because they’re so cool. They also star in a new art video about neurological research. The music to the video is built on the sound of brain cell signals from May-Britt Moser’s rats.