News from 2021

9/11

2021.09.03

No strategy behind Danish war effort in Afghanistan – we followed USA

When Denmark decided to participate in the war in Afghanistan just three months after the terrorist attacks 11 September 2001, it was an act of solidarity with the United States. The efforts were not part of a long-term…

COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION

2021.09.03

Podcast: How terror overturned our legislation

Before 11 September 2001, the Danish counter-terror legislation consisted of a so-called corps ban, which was introduced in the 1930s, prohibiting different political groupings from appearing in uniforms. Apart from thi…

MASS SURVEILLANCE

2021.09.03

The unlawful law: Mass surveillance of the Danish people

Since 2006 Denmark has, as part of our fight against terrorism, saved many thousand billion pieces of data about the Danes' communication. But nobody knows if this has any effect, and the European Court of Justice has…

COUNTER-TERRORISM LEGISLATION

2021.09.03

Denmark's counter-terrorism act is not Danish at all – and that is a bit of a problem

Denmark's comprehensive counter-terrorism legislation is very much copy-pasted from international law. This means vague and imprecise legal texts, but maybe it didn't have to be this way?

PROTEINS AND AI

2021.08.31

Using artificial intelligence to fingerprint suspicious proteins

An artificial intelligence tool created by researchers at the University of Copenhagen can quickly and accurately identify suspicious or particularly 'talented' proteins in our bodies based upon their movements alone.…

STUDY START

2021.08.30

Welcome week rituals signal cultural expectations to new students

Activities during induction week signal cultural and social expectations to new students, according to a study of the welcome weeks at three UCPH programmes. “Between the lines” messages to the incoming students ought t…

Man & Nature

2021.08.30

This is how much Danes are willing to pay to protect nature and prevent noise from motorways

Danes are quite willing to pay to prevent noise pollution, protect unique natural areas and avoid animal collisions when it comes to the construction of new motorways. This is the conclusion of a new report by…

Arctic

2021.08.27

Arctic expedition discovers the most northerly island on Earth

On an expedition to northern Greenland that included researchers from the University of Copenhagen, the group unexpectedly discovered an island that turns out to be the most northerly island on Earth. In principle, the…

Pets

2021.08.20

Danes favor canines over felines

Dogs beat out cats as the pet of preference in Denmark. This is true when looking at proportions of dog and cat owning families compared to 20 years ago, as well as in terms of how important these pets are to their…

GEOLOGY

2021.08.13

Researchers use diamonds to comprehend the foundation of Earth’s continents: "Without it, humankind wouldn’t exist"

Deep beneath Earth’s crust lies a rocky upper mantle that stabilizes the planet’s continents and is among the primary reasons for the existence of life on Earth. In a new study, researchers from the University of…

TECHNOLOGY

2021.08.05

In future pandemics, you can hug your friends through your computer

In a new and innovative research project, researchers from the University of Copenhagen, among others, will develop a technology that provides us the experience of being hugged and caressed while communicating remotely.

Fertility

2021.08.05

Researchers identify new genes linked to longer reproductive lifespan in women

Scientists have identified nearly 300 gene variations that influence reproductive lifespan in women.

Doping

2021.07.23

Dried blood can detect doping: Now approved, the method may be tested at the Tokyo Olympics

In collaboration with Anti-Doping Denmark and the Norwegian Doping Control Laboratory, University of Copenhagen researchers have developed a method that, using blood droplets, can easily and effectively detect athletes…

Doping

2021.07.23

From cocaine to EPO to steroids: wide differences among doping substances used by cheaters

Doping substances are many and have evolved from the rawest stimulants and narcotics used in the 1960s, to the more refined substances that we are familiar with today, such as EPO and steroids. But, do you know which…

Limits

2021.07.22

Endurance sport can push the body to its limits

For sporting events such as the Olympic Games, top athletes can push their bodies a lot. In fact, in the case of endurance sport, the body undergoes medical conditions normally associated with health injury, says UCPH…

Performance

2021.07.22

Is high performance sport even healthy: What does the research tell us?

The extreme athletic feats that we see in the Olympic Games are truly impressive. However, based on current research, it is difficult to find an unequivocal answer to exactly how healthy high performance sport is, says…

Natural History

2021.07.15

Dinosaurs lived in a warmer and more dynamic climate than previously thought

Global climate during the late Cretaceous Period, an era when dinosaurs ruled the planet, was warmer and more varied than previously believed according to a new study by researchers from the University of Copenhagen and…

Research

2021.07.13

More complex than we thought: The body’s reaction to contact allergens

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have outlined an entire new subgroup of allergic reactions which explains early skin reactions in contact allergy.

CLIMATE

2021.07.12

Researchers: Let crop residues rot in the field – it’s a climate win

Plant material that lies to rot in soil isn’t just valuable as compost. In fact, agricultural crop residue plays a crucial role in sequestering carbon, which is vital for reducing global CO2 emissions. This, according t…

OLYMPICS

2021.07.09

Tokyo 2020: from euphoria to deep worry

There was great joy and honour when the Japanese capital Tokyo was selected as host of the 2020 Olympics. Now they would show that Japan was back on the world stage again after the economic crisis in the 1990s.

overview

2021.07.09

Olympics in 60 seconds: From Greek myth to modern-day mega-event

The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece in honour of the gods. In addition to an abundance of sports, the Olympics of today are money, politics and propaganda.

under pressure

2021.07.09

The Weight of an Olympic Medal

It can have negative consequences for the individual athlete when we focus more on the performance than the person behind. Because what happens when the moment the athlete has based his or her identity on is over?

Kost og Motion

2021.07.09

In principal, some Olympians can indulge in junk food for breakfast and still perform

OL-buffeten bugner hver dag af lækkerier, men hvorvidt atleterne kan spise løs eller nøje må udvælge deres kost, afhænger fuldstændigt af, hvilken sportsgren, de konkurrerer i. Læs med, når KU-forsker Lars Nybo giver di…

sustainable crops

2021.07.09

Danish researchers find a way to make faba beans safe for all to eat

Consuming large amounts of faba beans can be dangerous for about 400 million people due to a compound called vicine, which accumulates in the beans. This limits their potential as a widespread, sustainable source of…

Protein mapping

2021.07.08

Old dog poop provides insight into one of Alaska's indigenous peoples and their relationship to the dog

For the first time, researchers have succeeded in mapping the proteins in an old, frozen poop. The samples of dog poop are hundreds of years old and stem from sledge dogs at a settlement belonging to one of Alaska's…

Blind spot

2021.07.07

Covid-19 clinical trials ignore gender differences

Although the coronavirus affects men and women differently, most clinical trials do not mention sex/gender, a new analysis of 4,420 studies concludes. Ultimately, it can influence the treatment negatively.

algorithms

2021.07.06

Danish invention to make computer servers worldwide more climate friendly

An elegant new algorithm developed by Danish researchers can significantly reduce the resource consumption of the world's computer servers. Computer servers are as taxing on the climate as global air traffic combined,…

climate

2021.07.05

Climate report: Home buyers ignore flood risk

Buyers neglect to investigate the risk of flooding until after purchasing new homes according to a new report from the University of Copenhagen. The report also reveals that home prices are only slightly affected by…

Education in Change

2021.07.01

Students develop solutions to companies’ tricky challenges

TASTE AND SMELL

2021.07.01

The sense of smell in older adults declines when it comes to meat, but not vanilla

Contrary to what science once suggested, older people with a declining sense of smell do not have comprehensively dampened olfactory ability for odors in general – it simply depends upon the type of odor. Researchers at…

Education in Change

2021.06.25

First time in the lab: Everything suddenly made sense

Innovation

2021.06.24

The University of Copenhagen has its first Chief Innovation Officer

Marius Sylvestersen is the University of Copenhagen’s first head of a newly established shared innovation centre.

Ticket inspection

2021.06.23

Five types of passengers: How we respond to fines on the bus

As passengers we respond very differently when caught without a valid ticket on the bus. Using video analysis, sociologists have identified five typical patterns of reaction.

DATA

2021.06.22

Researcher: Drop the notion that we can protect our own data

Users should not ultimately be the ones responsible for protecting their data, as the long, cryptic privacy settings on many apps suggest. In reality, we have almost no power over our data and who uses it for what,…

Video report

2021.06.17

Researchers test virtual reality as a tool for promoting vaccination

234 random passersby got the opportunity to try a new virtual reality game, when researchers from the University of Copenhagen visited Fælledparken to test the efficiency of VR technology within health information.

QUANTUM RESEARCH

2021.06.17

New invention keeps qubits of light stable at room temperature

Researchers from University of Copenhagen have developed a new technique that keeps quantum bits of light stable at room temperature instead of only working at -270 degrees. Their discovery saves power and money and is …

EMPLOYMENT

2021.06.17

New Associate Dean for Education at the Faculty of Social Sciences

On 1 September Professor Sara Hagemann takes up office as the new Associate Dean for Education at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Education in Change

2021.06.17

Tommy Ahlers: A big b** was a law student’s best asset

Former minister for Higher Education and Science, Tommy Ahlers, graduated from UCPH with a law degree 20 years ago. He felt the prejudice himself back then that law was an out-of-step education with memorising and the…

artificial intelligence

2021.06.16

Algorithm reveals the mysterious foraging habits of narwhals

An algorithm can predict when narwhals hunt – a task once nearly impossible to gain insight into. Mathematicians and computer scientists at the University of Copenhagen, together with marine biologists in Greenland, hav…

Environment

2021.06.16

Bacteria used to clean diesel-polluted soil in Greenland

Diesel-polluted soil from now defunct military outposts in Greenland can be remediated using naturally occurring soil bacteria according to an extensive five-year experiment in Mestersvig, East Greenland, to which the…

climate

2021.06.09

Ancient air bubbles speak to a much warmer Antarctica during the ice-age than once believed

Twenty thousand-year-old air bubbles have revealed that Antarctic temperatures during the last ice age were markedly different than what the leading science once suggested. This is according to new research in which the…

Computer science

2021.06.08

Artificial intelligence enhances efficacy of sleep disorder treatments

An algorithm based on 20,000 nights of sleep that can improve the diagnosis, treatment and our overall understanding of sleep disorders has been developed at the University of Copenhagen.

archaeology

2021.06.07

10,000-year-old bones reveal earliest goat herders’ practices

To trace the domestication of the goat, an international team of researchers have analysed 10,000 year-old goat bones from two sites in the Zagros Mountains in present-day western Iran. Using ancient DNA and…

grant

2021.06.07

Researchers want to convert rapeseed proteins from feed to food

In Denmark and the rest of Europe, you see lots of yellow rapeseed fields and most of the rapeseed protein is used for animal feed. A new research project SEEDFOOD will attempt to change this by creating new fundamental…

grant

2021.06.07

Researchers want to create an entirely new category of climate-friendly plant-based foods

A new research project, PROFERMENT, run by the Department of Food Science at the University of Copenhagen, has received DKK 56 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation to develop the fundamental knowledge required to…

virtual reality

2021.05.31

What could possibly go wrong with virtual reality?

YouTube is a treasure trove of virtual reality fails: users tripping, colliding into walls and smacking inanimate and animate objects. By investigating these “VR Fails” on YouTube, researchers at the University of…

Geology

2021.05.26

Geological riddle solved: Roof of the World has gotten higher

There has long been controversy about whether the world's highest region, Tibet, has grown taller during the recent geological past. New results from the University of Copenhagen indicate that the 'Roof of the World'…

Archeology

2021.05.25

Flint stone sounds suggest a Stone Age settlement in Copenhagen’s Svanemøllen Harbour

A new method has made it possible for University of Copenhagen researchers to register mysterious sounds from the sea at Svanemøllen Harbour, most likely originating from chipped-away flint tools of an unknown Stone Age…

EVOLUTION

2021.05.21

Study reveals new details on what happened in the first microsecond of Big Bang

Researchers from University of Copenhagen have investigated what happened to a specific kind of plasma – the first matter ever to be present - during the first microsecond of Big Bang. Their findings provide a piece of…

Appointment

2021.05.20

Carsten Selch Jensen becomes dean of the Faculty of Theology

During the past year, the former associate dean has been acting dean of the faculty that he will now be heading for the next five years.