Latest University of Copenhagen Stories

A group of researchers from the University of Copenhagen has taken a significant step towards understanding the reasons for both diabetes and growth hormone deficiency. Their new discoveries centre on the body's ability to regulate certain hormones, and their findings have just been published in the respected scientific journal PLOS Biology. Some people suffering from diabetes or affected by poor growth most likely have problems with the so-called PICK1 protein, a protein that plays a...

A major Nordic research project involving researchers from the University of Copenhagen has, for the first time ever, mapped the use of alternative treatment among multiple sclerosis patients - knowledge which is important for patients with chronic disease and the way in which society meets them. People with multiple sclerosis (MS) often use alternative treatments such as dietary supplements, acupuncture and herbal medicine to facilitate their lives with this chronic disease. This is the...

University of Copenhagen By examining the frequency of extreme storm surges in the past, previous research has shown that there was an increasing tendency for storm hurricane surges when the climate was warmer. But how much worse will it get as temperatures rise in the future? How many extreme storm surges like that from Hurricane Katrina, which hit the U.S. coast in 2005, will there be as a result of global warming? New research from the Niels Bohr Institute show that there will be a...

Brett Smith for redOrbit.com - Your Universe Online Volcanic eruptions have been known to cause global cooling, although the extent of this cooling has been a topic of scientific controversy. Now a team of atmosphere chemists from the Tokyo Institute of Technology and the University of Copenhagen has devised a method for determining which historical cooling periods are the results of volcanic eruptions. When a large volcano erupts, it can propel gases high into the stratosphere where...

A single embryonic stem cell can develop into more than 200 specialized cell types that make up our body. This maturation process is called differentiation and is tightly regulated through strict control of gene activity. If the regulation is lost, specialized cells cannot develop correctly during development. In adulthood, the specialized cells may forget their identity and develop into cancer cells. Research from BRIC, University of Copenhagen, has identified a crucial role of the molecule...

Up to 75 per cent of patients who take statins to treat elevated cholesterol levels may suffer from muscle pain. Scientists at the Center for Healthy Aging at the University of Copenhagen have now identified a possible mechanism underlying this unfortunate side effect. The results have just been published in the well-reputed Journal of American College of Cardiology. Statin is a class of drugs which are used to treat high levels of blood cholesterol by way of inhibiting the liver’s...

Industries across Europe are threatened with shutdown as European Union emission rules for Volatile Organic Compounds are tightened. Now an air cleaning invention from the University of Copenhagen has proven its ability to remove these compounds. And in the process they have helped a business in Danish town Aarhus improve relations to angry neighbors. Inventor, Copenhagen chemist Matthew Johnson, presented evidence for the air cleaning invention at the conference "First International...

University of Copenhagen The catastrophic drought last year in the Horn of Africa affected millions of people but also caused the extremely late arrival into northern Europe of several migratory songbird species, a study from University of Copenhagen published today in Science shows. Details of the migration route was revealed by data collected from small back-packs fitted on birds showing that the delay resulted from an extended stay in the Horn of Africa. The extensive 2011 drought in...

Scientists from The Danish Stem Cell Center (DanStem) at the University of Copenhagen are contributing important knowledge about how stem cells develop best into insulin-producing cells. In the long term this new knowledge can improve diabetes treatment with cell therapy. The results have just been published in the scientific journal Cell Reports. Stem cells are responsible for tissue growth and tissue repair after injury. Therefore, the discovery that these vital cells grow better in a...

redOrbit Staff & Wire Reports – Your Universe Online Some drugs used to treat ADHD could affect the brain's reward system, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered. The findings make it easier to understand how the medicine works and could ultimately lead to improvements in the development of and the dose determination associated with ADHD treatments, they report in the latest edition of the Journal of Neurophysiology. As part of the study, Jakob Kisbye...