Culture, Language & History

learning

2024.11.12

Debunked: Children aren’t quicker at picking up new motor skills than adults

Contrary to popular belief, children aren’t better at learning new skills than adults. Indeed, young adults seem to learn faster than kids – but also tend to forget more quickly. Here, better sleep seems to advantage…

ANCIENT DNA

2024.09.30

The Vikings were part of a global network trading in ivory from Greenland

DNA analyses reveal that the vikings brought walrus ivory from Greenland on to Europe and probably as far as the Middle East via extensive trade networks.

WORLD CULTURE

2024.09.11

Easter Island population collapse never happened

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen and University of Lausanne debunks the popular theory.

Names

2024.06.26

Bo Jellesmark Thorsen to continue as head of department

For the past eight years, Bo Jellesmark Thorsen has been at the helm of the Department of Food and Resource Economics at the University of Copenhagen. He will continue in this role in the coming years, as Dean Katrine…

Names

2024.06.20

New head of plant research

Professor Morten Petersen has been appointed new head of the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, bringing with him extensive research and leadership experience.

Addiction

2024.06.06

Improved counselling for young people to dispel the myth that opioids are harmless

A wide range of measures are needed to reduce the use of illegal opioids and benzodiazepines among young people. This is the conlcusion of the Criminological Observatory at UCPH in a new report.

West Africa

2024.05.16

Interview: Burkina Faso's health crisis has major implications for the rest of the world

For nearly 30 years, Helle Samuelsen has studied the chronic health crisis in Burkina Faso. But the country's challenges have wider implications. The whole Sahel region is a hotspot for explosive crises.

Grassroots healthcare

2024.04.24

Global health crisis: Vietnam shows new ways to treat diabetes

Med øget fokus på uformel omsorg er det muligt at forbedre diabetespatienters liv markant. Det viser forskningsprojektet VALID, der netop har afsluttet sin første fase i Vietnam og kan få betydning andre steder.

Family life

2024.04.20

New research: Danish children encounter four typical family learning environments

Parental values and family activities have a strong influence on children's learning. Based on data from 44 Danish families, researchers have identified four types of family learning environments.

Sonning Prize

2024.04.11

After stroke: Marina Abramović to receive the Sonning Prize

In 2023, the award of the Sonning Prize was cancelled at the last minute as the recipient, Marina Abramović, was rushed to hospital. Now, she will visit the University of Copenhagen to receive the prize.

archaeology

2024.02.19

Birds have been adapting to human activity for millennia

Roughly 14,500 to 10,500 years ago, in the transition from the last glacial period, Epipalaeolithic and Neolithic peoples harvesting vegetation from the wetlands of eastern Jordan created a habitat for birds that would…

New report

2023.12.08

Young people find cocaine use increasingly common in party settings

Cocaine use is becoming normalised in parts of party culture, according to a new study of Roskilde festival attendees.

BILDUNG

2023.11.30

Professor: Working with Big Bang and ecosystems should make youth tremble

Science has an entirely overlooked educational capacity – to help young people forming their identity. Therefore, science deserves more than the ancillary role that it plays today. Middle and high school teachers should…

attention economy

2023.10.25

Your phone gives your mind what it likes the most: endless possibilities for novelty

It is not vast amounts of online information that makes it difficult for you to stay focused. It is rather the easily accessible possibilities for novelty and action built into digital technology that your mind cannot…

mindfulness

2023.08.17

Philosopher: Mindfulness rests on dubious philosophical foundations

Mindfulness is one of the most widespread forms of therapy for people suffering from stress, and many report that they benefit greatly from it. However, the philosophical assumptions on which mindfulness is based are…

Integration

2023.06.27

Paradox: Well-integrated immigrants report more discrimination

Immigrants and their descendants are more likely to report experiences of discrimination if they are well-educated and socially well-integrated. A new international meta-study confirms the so-called integration paradox.

New vice-dean

2023.06.22

Universities must stand out as unique physical meeting places

Education will be disrupted over the next ten years, placing great demands on university degree programmes, says Professor Andreas de Neergaard, who, from 1 September 2023, is the new Associate Dean for Education at…

Names

2023.06.22

New vice-dean at University of Copenhagen SCIENCE

Professor Jesper Wengel is a high-profile researcher, inventor and business owner. From 1 September 2023, he will also be the new Vice-Dean for Innovation and External Relations at SCIENCE – the University of…

Mesopotamia

2023.05.18

The earliest recorded kiss occurred in Mesopotamia 4,500 years ago

Written sources from Mesopotamia suggest that kissing in relation to sex was practiced by the peoples of the ancient Middle East 4,500 years ago. The sources have been analysed by researchers from the University of…

decolonisation

2023.05.04

Britishness has been on the decline since the colonies began to leave the Empire

When a number of British colonies demanded independence after World War 2, they kick-started the decolonisation process, which has since emptied the concept of 'Britishness' of meaning. Even Great Britain is falling…

Religion

2023.04.17

Religion blocks freedom and democracy across the globe

A new major study documents that religiously motivated legislation has taken place in all types of societies and religions – to the detriment of democratic rights.

ERC grant

2023.03.30

Major EU grant for research on the role of women intellectuals during the Enlightenment

The European Research Council (ERC) has awarded Associate Professor Sabrina Ebbersmeyer an Advanced Grant of € 2.4 million for the WHENCE research project, which will examine the contribution of women intellectuals to…

VOLOUNTEERING

2023.02.23

The Ukrainian refugee crisis led to mass mobilisation of volunteers on Facebook

Within days and weeks, the Russian invasion of Ukraine resulted in a surge in Facebook support groups in response to the war and following humanitarian crisis.

Repression

2023.01.25

Modern arms technologies help autocratic rulers stay in power

Autocrats and dictators quickly acquire new arms technologies from abroad and often use them against their own citizens. Now a study shows that the spread of military technologies inhibits democratic reform.

The Sonning Prize

2023.01.18

Conceptual performance artist is awarded the Sonning Prize

Body and gaze are the focal points of the Serbian performance artist Marina Abramović, who is also known as ‘the godmother of performance art’. She is known for using herself and her body and for actively involving the…