Society, Politics & Law

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.

artificial intelligence

2024.06.06

Popular chatbot is a politically left-leaning EU supporter

LlamaChat, a popular AI chatbot alternative to ChatGPT, leans left and holds pro-European views. This is demonstrated by a University of Copenhagen study in which researchers tested the model on EU policy issues.…

sustainability

2024.06.03

Avocados are 'bad' and vegans are ridiculous: How we justify eating too much meat

Those of us who find it difficult to eat less meat for the sake of climate tend to apologize or justify ourselves in social contexts. And… shaming vegans isn’t off limits. This, according to a new University of…

fødevarer

2024.06.03

Greenhouses cover more and more of Earth’s surface

Greenhouse cultivation is booming globally, especially in the Global South – and across one country in particular. This is revealed in a new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen that deploys detailed…

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.

Integration

2024.05.15

Asylum strengthens women's position in the family and society

Women who are granted asylum in Denmark after family reunification are better financially integrated, have a lower risk of becoming victims of violence – and are more likely to divorce. This is according to a new study…

linguistics

2024.05.14

People without an inner voice have poorer verbal memory

The vast majority of people have an ongoing conversation with themselves, an inner voice, that plays an important role in their daily lives. But between 5-10 per cent of the population do not have the same experience of…

sustainability

2024.04.26

Fixin’ to be flexitarian: Scrap fish and invasive species can liven up vegetables

Greening the way we eat needn’t mean going vegetarian. A healthy, more realistic solution is to adopt a flexitarian diet where seafoods add umami to “boring” vegetables. University of Copenhagen gastrophysicist Ole G.…

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.

Mental health

2024.04.17

Fluctuating coffee prices put mental pressure on Vietnamese farmers

Vietnamese coffee farmers are experiencing significantly more stress and psychological difficulties. This is due to highly volatile coffee prices on international markets, according to a new study by development…

poverty

2024.04.11

Economist: Tens of billions of dollars in forest products are being overlooked

Are we missing the forest for the trees? More than timber grows in forests – including products worth many tens of billions of dollars. Because these goods go unrecorded in official trade statistics, their economic valu…

Diversified farming

2024.04.05

Major study reports that people and environment both benefit from diversified farming, while bottom lines also thrive

Mixing livestock and crops, integrating flower strips and trees, water and soil conservation and much more: Massive new global study led by the University of Copenhagen and University of Hohenheim, has examined the…

animal production

2024.03.21

Researcher: Seven billion newly hatched chicks are killed every year – but a ban is not the solution

Annually, the global egg industry kills seven billion day-old male chicks because they don’t lay eggs and aren’t worth raising for meat. While several countries have banned the practice, neither bans nor other current…

SECURITY

2024.03.21

SAMF researcher helps NATO sharpen its focus on southern neighborhoods

Katja Lindskov Jacobsen from the Centre for Military Studies is among 11 experts selected to provide an analysis of NATO's alliances south of the member states.

Cost-benefit analyses

2024.03.08

Economists: Ecosystems have higher monetary value than previously calculated

Current economic practice systematically underestimates the value of nature, according to an international group of economists. Writing in the journal Science, they propose a new calculation formula.

WAR AND CONFLICT

2024.03.07

Psychologists: Hoping for victory can stand in the way of peace

Does it make a difference whether you hope for victory or peace in armed conflicts? Yes, according to a group of researchers who have investigated the importance of shared hope.

Foods of the future

2024.02.27

Scientists use blue-green algae as a surrogate mother for "meat-like" proteins

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have not only succeeded in using blue-green algae as a surrogate mother for a new protein – they have even coaxed the microalgae to produce "meat fibre-like" protein strands…

Sustainability

2024.02.26

Robots, monitoring and healthy ecosystems could halve pesticide use without hurting productivity

Smarter crop farming that combats weeds, insect pests and plant diseases by integrating modern technologies like AI-based monitoring, robotics, and next-generation biotechnology with healthy and resilient agricultural…

Study

2024.02.22

Fewer Ukrainian refugees in Denmark show symptoms of post-traumatic stress

A new study of Ukrainian refugees in Denmark shows a significant drop in the proportion reporting signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). But while more are thriving, many are also uncertain about the future.