Latest University of Copenhagen Stories

Scientists from the University of York have played a pivotal role in a discovery which could finally unlock the full potential of waste plant matter to replace oil as a fuel source. Professor Paul Walton and Professor Gideon Davies, of the University's Department of Chemistry, were part of an international team that has found a method to overcome the chemical intractability of cellulose, thus allowing it to be converted efficiently into bioethanol. Working with scientists in Novozymes...

Researchers at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, have examined a number of plants which are used for illegal abortions in Tanzania. The lab tests show that several of the plants can make the uterus tissue contract and that the plants therefore can be used to stop lethal bleedings after birth. This new knowledge is now to be conveyed in rural Tanzania where access to medicine often is difficult. Every year around 350,000 women die globally due to post partum...

The incidence of malaria in many African countries south of the Sahara is falling rapidly. A Danish-Tanzanian research group has discovered that the mosquito carrying the malaria parasite has practically disappeared from villages without organized mosquito control, and the researchers do not know why. There are several hypotheses but without proper data they cannot say whether malaria is being eradicated or whether it is just resting up before returning with renewed vigour. "Many of our...

Researchers at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen have collaborated with the company NeuroSearch to generate new knowledge about an important part of the brain's complex communication system. The discovery could form the basis for future development of better medicines for patients with psychiatric disorders. The results were recently published Journal of Neuroscience. New knowledge challenges established scientific ideas about the function of the...

Danish researchers say the rate of melting in the Arctic sea may be slower than previously thought. A team from the Danish National Research Foundation for Geogenetics at the University of Copenhagen developed a method to measure the variations in the ice several millennia back in time.The scientists based their results on material gathered along the coast of northern Greenland, which experts believe will be the final place summer ice will survive. "Our studies show that there have been...

Mathematical modeling to ensure that climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuel do not harm health and environmentReplacing gasoline and diesel with plant-based bio fuels is crucial to curb climate change. But there are several ways to transform crops to fuel, and some of the methods result in bio fuels that are harmful to health as well as nature.Now a study from the University of Copenhagen shows that it is possible to predict just how toxic the fuel will become without producing a single...

The release of a huge amount of methane gas may have caused a massive, prehistoric extinction that gave way to the arrival of dinosaurs as the dominant life form on earth, according to a new study.Micha Ruhl and his team of researchers from the Nordic Center for Earth Evolution at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark suggest that the mass extinction of half of Earth's marine life over 200 million years ago was a result of a huge release of carbon methane into the atmosphere, which led to...

Nanobodies produced by camels have unique properties, which can be used in future drug development. New research published in the Journal of Controlled Release confirms that nanobodies can help scientists in the fight against cancer. Members of the camelid family have particular heavy-chain antibodies in their blood known as nanobodies, that may serve as therapeutic proteins. One of the most powerful advantages of nanobodies is that they can be easily attached to other proteins and...

A unique example of some of the lowest surface brightness galaxies in the universe have been found by an international team of astronomers lead by the Niels Bohr Institute. The galaxy has lower amounts of heavier elements than other known galaxies of this type. The discovery means that small low surface brightness galaxies may have more in common with the first galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang than previously thought. The results have been published in Monthly Notices of the Royal...

Every year, 10,000 pregnant women and up to 200,000 newborn babies are killed by the malaria parasite. Doctors all around the globe have for years been looking in vain for a medical protection, and now researchers from the University of Copenhagen have found the biochemically weakness of the lethal malaria parasite. With a grant of 15 million DKK (approximately 3 million USD) from the Danish National Advanced Technology Foundation and close corporation with two Danish biotech companies, the...