Nature, Numbers & Technology

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…

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.

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.

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…

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…

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…

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…

human-computer interaction

2021.05.14

Computers can now predict our preferences directly from our brain

A research team from the University of Copenhagen and University of Helsinki demonstrates it is possible to predict individual preferences based on how a person’s brain responses match up to others. This could…

genomics

2021.05.12

Differences between leopards are greater than between brown bears and polar bears

New research demonstrates that African and Asian leopards are more genetically differentiated from one another than polar bears and brown bears. Indeed, leopards are so different that they ought to be treated as two…

CLIMATE

2021.05.11

Significantly reducing agricultural CO2 emissions by way of wheatgrass

Wheatgrass has the potential to reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions in Denmark by up to 10 percent according to researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Carlsberg Research Laboratory. Over the next five…

Big Data

2021.04.27

Big Brother isn’t always as clever as we think

New research questions the value of digital surveillance and big data. Sometimes traditional and less privacy-invasive data can predict human behaviour much more effectively.

Biology

2021.04.19

Beetles that pee themselves to death could be tomorrow’s pest control

Various beetle species have gobbled through grain stores and weakened food production worldwide since ancient times. Now, researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered a better way of targeting and…

FARMING

2021.04.16

New invention can reduce agricultural pesticide use: Distinguishes harmful insects from helpful ones

A researcher from the University of Copenhagen has developed an algorithm that, in tandem with a sensor, makes it possible to distinguish crop-harming insects from helpful ones that pollinate and contribute to plant…

Geography

2021.04.12

Thawing permafrost cools Arctic currents: This might affect fish stocks

A new study by a University of Copenhagen researcher finds that thawing permafrost in Alaska causes colder water in smaller rivers and streams. This surprising consequence of climate change could affect the survival of…

Artificial intelligence

2021.04.07

Leading American researcher and DKK 350 million will take Danish artificial intelligence research to new heights

A new pioneer centre for artificial intelligence research is expected to open in Copenhagen at the end of 2021. Headed by world-leading American AI researcher, Serge Belongie, and with a good DKK 350 million to back it…

rewilding

2021.04.06

Letting nature manage itself may lead to the least costs - but EU subsidies remain an obstacle

Nature management through rewilding can be significantly more cost-effective than by traditional conservation measures. However, EU agricultural subsidies distort competition. This is the conclusion of an economic…

The Universe

2021.03.31

New study sews doubt about the composition of 70 percent of our universe

Researchers the world over have long believed that 70 percent of the universe is composed of dark energy, a substance that makes it possible for the universe to expand at an ever-increasing rate. But in a new study,…

carbon footprint

2021.03.29

Climate labeling reduces our CO2 footprint

Climate labels informing us of a meat product’s carbon footprint cause many people to opt for climate-friendlier alternatives. This applies to people who are curious about a product’s carbon footprint, as well as to…

FORESTS

2021.03.25

New documentation: Old-growth forest carbon sinks overestimated

The claim that old-growth forests play a significant role in climate mitigation, based upon the argument that even the oldest forests keep sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere, is being refuted by researchers at the…

CLIMATE

2021.03.16

Researchers discover intact plant fossils beneath Greenland’s ice sheet for the first time

For the first time ever, researchers have found fossils under Greenland's ice sheet that are so large and well preserved that they can be seen with the naked eye. The fossils reveal several million years of details abou…

AGRICULTURE

2021.03.15

LITTLE NINJA protein helps crops grow more side shoots

A tiny, newly discovered protein can regulate how tall grass species like wheat, barley and rice become and how many side shoots they produce. University of Copenhagen researchers have identified the microProtein LITTLE…

Dinosaurs

2021.03.09

An epic walk: 15 million years needed for dinosaurs to get from South America to Greenland

For the first time, two researchers—one from the University of Copenhagen and the other from Columbia University—have accurately dated the arrival of the first herbivorous dinosaurs in East Greenland. Their results…

Technology

2021.03.08

How robotics will affect humanity and nature in the future

How will robotic technologies impact wildlife? Will self-driving cars create more or less urban noise? What will the relationship between humans and nature be like in the future? 170 experts weigh in on the global…