Adverse effects from cancer drug trials explained
Certain type of cancer drugs that promote the death of cells can actually be harmful if combined with other treatments that damage our DNA, RNA or proteins, researchers have found.
New lessons from the worst oil spill disaster ever
Ten years ago, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico killed eleven men and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Years of investigations concluded that the drilling crew missed critical warning signals that would have stopped the problem. A new analysis suggests that wasn’t the case.
Combination drug treatments for COVID-19 show promise in cell culture tests
One combination of two drugs was so effective that researchers hope others can begin clinical trials on the drugs now.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
From coronavirus to a greener society?
Governments across the globe are funding record-breaking crisis packages to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Is this the time to fund greener, more climate-friendly industries and investments?
From thousands of tiny magnetic balls to 150,000 COVID-19 tests per week
Two weeks ago, doctors at St. Olavs Hospital in Trondheim were running out of reagents needed to do COVID-19 tests. They asked colleagues at NTNU to develop a backup solution. Now, Norway is gearing up to use the new approach to test 150,000 people a week after Easter.
Fast-moving information on a fast-moving virus
Medical researchers worldwide are racing to find treatments and vaccines to combat the coronavirus pandemic sweeping the globe. A new website offers up-to-date summaries on available and emerging options against COVID-19.
Global supply chains as a way to curb carbon emissions
The coronavirus outbreak raised everyone’s awareness of the significance of global supply chains to modern economies. But global supply chains also play an important role in greenhouse gas emissions. How they are managed can either increase or decrease carbon emissions, new research shows.
Arctic light pollution affects fish, zooplankton up to 200 metres deep
If artificial light shines into the Arctic Ocean during the polar night, does it matter? A new paper in Communications Biology says the answer to this is a strong yes.
Abandoned cropland helps make Europe cooler
As nations prepare to mitigate climate change, decision makers need to understand how land use fits into the climate equation. A new study looked at land use changes over two decades and found a major shift from cropland to forests. That change made western Europe cooler.
Towards a sustainable term for sustainability
The concept of sustainability has long been incorporated into our collective vocabulary. The word is used in many contexts, including in the PR industry. If we are going to find a way out of the climate and environmental crisis, maybe it should be replaced?
Are robots designed to include the queer population?
Robot technology is flourishing in multiple sectors of society, including the retail, health care, industry and education sectors. However, are the perspectives of minority groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community, considered in robot and AI development?
More people and fewer wild fish lead to an omega-3 supply gap
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential components of healthy diets for both humans and fish. The dramatic increase in fish farming worldwide has boosted the demand for omega-3 fatty acids so much that today’s supply can’t meet demand. Reducing waste and finding new sources can help.
Your plane travel destroys polar bear habitat
A group of polar bear researchers wants you to do more than worry about the fate of these beautiful animals. They’ve calculated how much summer sea ice is melted per metric tonne of CO2 emissions. Then you can decide if the flight you’re planning to take is worth destroying polar bear habitat.
New mechanism allows the immune system to detect and respond to HIV
Nearly 40 million people were living with HIV in 2017, the UN says, with just over half taking antiretroviral therapy. These drugs have cut AIDS-related deaths by more than half since the 2004 peak, but the disease cannot be cured. A new mechanism uncovered by a Norwegian research group could improve the chances of developing one.
Ocean acidification a big problem — but not for coral reef fish behaviour
Several high-profile studies report that ocean acidification will affect coral reef fish behaviour enough to jeopardize their survival. One research team looked more deeply at this assertion — and found it is simply not true.
If the world can capture carbon, there’s capacity to store it
Humankind will need to harness carbon capture and storage technologies to help keep global warming to 2 degrees C or less. New research shows that there’s plenty of room to store captured CO2 — in offshore geologic rock formations.
Gaming their way to sustainable development
Researchers wanted to involve local people living around Kenya and Tanzania’s Serengeti-Mara parks in developing a sustainable future for them and the parks. They developed a board game to get people talking to the researchers — and to each other. That game has now won an international award.
Svalbard reindeer populations rebounding from centuries of hunting
As reindeer go, the animals living on Svalbard might not be Santa’s first choice. They’re a smaller subspecies of their common mainland relatives, and to save energy they basically never run. But because they were nearly exterminated from Svalbard around 1900 — and were then protected in 1925 — the animals provide unique insights into how conservation can help species thrive.
Buy less, be happier and build a healthy planet
You may feel like you can’t do anything to stop climate change. But climate activists who joined in grassroots movements managed to cut their carbon footprints and were still happier than their non-activist peers, new research shows.
Turning waste heat into hydrogen fuel
Hydrogen as an energy carrier can help us move away from fossil fuels, but only if it is created efficiently. One way to improve efficiency is to use waste heat that’s left over from other industrial processes.
Cholesterol crystals play an active role in stroke, heart attacks
Cholesterol crystals form from “bad” cholesterol and are found in plaques that line blood vessels. When these plaques rupture, they can cause heart attacks or strokes. New research suggests that cholesterol crystals in plaques can actually trigger strokes and heart attacks.
Super-strong magnetic supercrystals can assemble themselves
Materials scientists who work with nano-sized components have developed ways of working with their vanishingly small materials. But what if you could get your components to assemble themselves into different structures without actually handling them at all?
Nature’s way of keeping surfaces clean
Nature has long been an inspiration for materials engineers and designers — just think of Velcro, the ubiquitous stick-to-itself tape that was created by a Swiss engineer after he picked burs out of his dog’s coat. Now a team of NTNU researchers has looked in more detail at how tiny conical structures on a lotus leaf or insect’s wing repel water and help keep it clean.
Tracing the journey of microplastics in the Arctic
By now it’s well established that microplastics are a problem in the environment, even in the remotest parts of the planet. But where do different microplastics come from and how they get there, especially in the Arctic?
Tumours in Space studies tumours, cancer risk of cosmic radiation
Can weightlessness stop cancer from growing? One of the nine research projects that has been given the go-ahead for the new China Space Station scheduled for 2022 is designed to answer this exact question.