Why we get seasick – and how to avoid it
Everyone gets seasick, says researcher Toralf Sundin Hamstad at SINTEF, but there are tricks we can employ to avoid the worst of it.
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Why are there traffic jams, and what can we do to avoid them?
No one likes sitting in a traffic jam. Research shows that the average Norwegian motorist is willing to fork out almost 100 kroner in order to spend one hour less in traffic. But traffic congestion can also be mitigated.
Don’t store food in plastic grocery bags!
The warning couldn’t be clearer. Standard plastic grocery bags are useful when we’re out shopping, but don’t use them to store food. So says research scientist Lisbet Sørensen at SINTEF.
We should be happy that we have so many bacteria in our bodies
Researcher Hanne Haslene-Hox at SINTEF claims that bacteria are much better than their reputation suggests. Each of us hosts as many as 38 million of them in our bodies.
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.
Norwegian boys dislike school more than any other group
For the most part, Norwegian girls enjoy going to school, whereas boys exhibit a marked dislike of the school setting. One of the problems is that boys experience school as unfair.
New guidelines for green roofs
More green roofs and facades will help to create more space for natural habitats in our urban environments. A new set of guidelines has been prepared for those of us looking to green our roofs.
Building greenhouses on the moon out of moon dust
Is it possible to build greenhouses on the moon without transporting any materials from Earth? Researchers at NTNU Social Research and SINTEF believe it is, and are assisting the European Space Agency (ESA).
Research is helping us to develop healthier and more climate-friendly protective footwear
Protective shoes are stiff and heavy and made primarily for protection. Many people feel they’re more trouble than they’re worth. But research is coming to the rescue, with better ergonomics and a reduced climate footprint.
An essential watershed in emission-free freight transport in Norway
As early as next year, a hundred new hydrogen trucks will be rolling Norwegian roads – with zero emissions and a range of 500 kilometres. And that’s not all! It takes less than fifteen minutes to fill their tanks.
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.
Artificial geysers can compensate for our mineral shortages
By imitating nature, it may be possible to recover seabed minerals by extracting hot water from the Earth’s crust. We can harvest green energy and be sensitive to the environment – all at the same time.
Hydrogen can remove harmful emissions from energy-demanding industries
Both the glass and aluminium industries cast glass in furnaces that generate large volumes of greenhouse gases. Researchers believe that replacing natural gas with hydrogen will enable us to remove greenhouse gas emissions and promote smarter production.
Are architectural approaches holding water?
Students, researchers and the building industry are collaborating to adapt our homes to climate change. And they’re identifying solutions that hadn’t been obvious before.
Fish residues can compensate for raw materials shortages and improve our health into the bargain
More than a million tonnes of fish residues can rescue the food and cosmetic industries from raw materials shortages – and create new jobs. The key factors here are oils rich in omega-3, collagen and gelatin.
Children in the welfare system are not getting the health care they need
A recent report from SINTEF reveals that children and young people in the welfare system attend more out-patient mental health service appointments than other children. However, both they and their parents think that the help they are getting is inadequate.
What should we be using our electricity for?
Norwegian politicians should not be sponsoring the race to expand the use of AI. The process is wasting too much energy.
Nutrient-rich fertiliser from toxic ammonia
Researchers have recently found out how to use algae to convert ammonia and nitrates into a nutrient-rich fertiliser or fish feed ingredients.
Saying no to all gene technology is an ethical short-circuit
Conventional breeding techniques result in major and uncontrolled modifications to the genetic material of plants and animals. If arguments based on the ‘precautionary principle’ are used as blindly on this issue as in the gene technology debate, then we are condemning the world to starvation.
Bringing old brickwork back to life in heritage buildings
Researchers are testing and protecting old brickwork as their contribution to the renovation of the heritage building Sophies Minde in Oslo. Results indicate that much of this material can be reused.
Organs grown on microchips may offer a quantum leap for women’s health
Women’s bodies and their health in general have for too long been assigned low priority in the field of research. But an innovative and extraordinary technology may now offer us new treatments for conditions such as endometriosis.
Fishers working from small vessels are at the greatest risk
Friday 1 March another Norwegian fisherman was drowned while working. He became the 156th Norwegian working in the industry to lose his life since the new millennium. A safety researcher at SINTEF says that this only goes to underline the message delivered in a report recently published by her team.
Researchers surprised by penned fish responses to robots
Norway leads the world when it comes to the use of robots in the aquaculture sector. But how do these robots actually impact on the fish? Cyberneticist Eleni Kelasidi is surprised by just how much.
We can’t allow Google to waste its surplus heat
The new Google data centre being built in Skien is in danger of wasting its surplus heat because Norway has no legislation that reduces this risk. We really need to address this issue!