Kavli Prize winner Nancy Kanwisher

Finding the place for faces

She raised cormorants in her back yard in a kid’s swimming pool and studied the psychology of nuclear war on a MacArthur grant. But Kavli Award winner and cognitive neuroscientist Nancy Kanwisher always found herself coming back to studying the workings of the human mind.

United States
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Is the American Empire collapsing?

The United States remains a global power unparalleled in history. So what would it take for this situation to change? Four possible developments or events seem to be plausible candidates.

carbon capture and storage

The summer that changed Norway’s climate policy

He’s been called the father of carbon capture and storage in Norway – but Erik Lindeberg isn’t resting on his laurels. At 76, he’s still crusading to make sure this technology is put to use as quickly and comprehensively as possible, to help the world avoid the worst consequences of global warming.

The cathedral at the end of the world

Trondheim’s Nidaros Cathedral is full of secrets, messages from the past written in stone. One researcher is now decoding these missives, half hidden in a very special spot in and around the most sacred place in the church.

Demonstration of echocardiography and AI tool

Peering into your heart – with the help of AI

Portable ultrasound devices can bring high technology imaging to your doctor’s office, to emergency vehicles, and to lesser-developed countries. A new AI tool helps make these devices easier for a wider range of health professionals to use.

Unlocking the secrets of evolution

We know that evolution works over many, many millennia, giving rise to everything from hippopotamuses to whales and more. A new study looks at the links between microevolution, or evolution over a shorter period, and macroevolution, or evolution over thousand or millions of generations.

Climate emissions from air travel 50 per cent higher than reported

A new study that looked at nearly 40 million flights in 2019 was able to calculate the greenhouse gas emissions from air travel for nearly every country on the planet. At 911 million tonnes, the total emissions from aviation are 50 per cent higher the 604 million tonnes reported to the United Nations for that year.

Kim Robert Tekseth
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4D imaging of fluids in pores

A method based on CT (computed tomography) – a type of imaging that is widely used in hospitals – can help improve our understanding of CO2 storage, batteries, and processes in the body such as nutrient uptake.

seabed mining ship

Strange bedfellows: Howard Hughes, the CIA and a lost Soviet sub

The American eccentric billionaire, Howard Hughes, wasn’t afraid to make expensive investments in new technologies. So when he announced in 1972 that he was going to build a giant ship to mine manganese nodules from the depths of the Pacific Ocean, few were surprised. But the ship had a very different – and top secret – mission.

Climate talks and the way forward

What should power the future’s shipping fleets? How can we change the way we build buildings so that they’re truly climate neutral? If we’re going to actively alter the planet’s climate, how should we study this?

Tree ring research: Three researchers on a raft

When trees talk

We think of trees as silent sentinels, watching as the world goes by and the ages pass. But what if you could interview them about what they have seen?

Teachers who fought against Nazi ideology at a prison camp in northern Norway.

When 1100 teachers defied Hitler — and won!

More than 80 years ago, Norwegian teachers refused to teach Nazi ideology to their students. They were tortured, imprisoned and starved. But they prevailed. The story of how they won — and why it still matters.

Edgar Hertwich
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An emergency brake for the climate

To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, the EU’s Science Advisory Board on Climate Change recommends that Europe reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 90-95% by 2040 compared to 1990. Fossil fuels should be phased out as quickly as possible.

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Is it really sustainable for everyone to own an electric car?

Norway is often seen as a shining example of how a country can make its transportation greener by encouraging consumers to purchase electric cars. But Norway’s approach isn’t for everyone — and it may be hampering the country’s efforts to make its transport solutions truly climate friendly.

Listening to Leviathans

Nineteenth-century Norwegian technology helped bring large whale populations to the brink of extinction. Can 21st-century technology help save them?

Running rats and healing hearts

We all know that exercise is good for us, but how much, how hard, how long? One exercise physiologist’s research journey and the answers he found.

NOTES

Tracking whales as they cruise the Arctic

For the first time ever, researchers have been able to track eight fin whales in near real time for five hours, as they swam along a stretch of fibre-optic cable line in the Arctic. The breakthrough suggests that fibre-optic cable networks could be harnessed to help prevent whale deaths by ship strikes.