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Through analysis of high-resolution data from a ten-metre telescope in Hawaii, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have succeeded in generating new knowledge about three stars at the very heart of the Milky Way. The stars proved to be unusually young with a puzzling chemical composition that surprised the researchers. The study, which has been published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, e

https://www.science.lu.se/article/astronomers-determine-age-three-mysterious-baby-stars-heart-milky-way - 2026-04-29

One is an American astronomer who has charted the innermost parts of the Milky Way using spectroscopy, the other a British professor of Geography who has made a name for herself through her interdisciplinary climate research. R. Michael Rich and Harriet Bulkeley have been appointed honorary doctors at the Faculty of Science at Lund University. R. Michael RichProfessor R. Michael Rich is based at t

https://www.science.lu.se/article/world-leading-astrophysicist-and-interdisciplinary-geographer-are-new-honorary-doctors-science - 2026-04-29

Dean Per Persson, Deputy Dean Karin Rengefors and Vice-Dean Charlotta Turner have now taken office. Get to know them better through the interviews below that were conducted in the spring of 2023, in connection with the election. In addition to the three mentioned, Karin Hall will have an assignment as Vice-Dean during 2024. Shortcuts to the interviewsInterview with Dean Per PerssonInterview with D

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-deans-have-taken-office - 2026-04-29

Following the arrival of the first farmers in Scandinavia 5,900 years ago, the hunter-gatherer population was wiped out within a few generations, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden, among others. The results, which are contrary to prevailing opinion, are based on DNA analysis of skeletons and teeth found in what is now Denmark. The extensive study has been published as four se

https://www.science.lu.se/article/scandinavias-first-farmers-slaughtered-hunter-gatherer-population - 2026-04-29

Physical geographer Lina Eklund is tracking the destruction of Gaza week by week using satellite images. Her analyses could be significant if, once the fighting between Israel and Hamas is over, questions of possible war crimes are raised at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Lina Eklund, associate senior lecturer at the Department of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science and rese

https://www.science.lu.se/article/destruction-gaza-monitored-space - 2026-04-29

Astronomers can use supercomputers to simulate the formation of galaxies from the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago to the present day. But there are a number of sources of error. An international research team, led by researchers in Lund, has spent a hundred million computer hours over eight years trying to correct these. The last decade has seen major advances in computer simulations that can real

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-insights-how-galaxies-are-formed - 2026-04-29

The large-eyed bristle worm Vanadis has long been of interest to the world’s vision researchers. But the worm has been difficult to study since it lives in the open sea and is active at night. Now, a research team has succeeded in locating an Italian worm colony and is able to confirm that the worm has completely unique vision. Bristle worms are a group of annelid worms that mostly live in the sea

https://www.science.lu.se/article/marine-worm-outstanding-vision-fascinates-researchers - 2026-04-29

Quaternary geologist Raimund Muscheler and physical geographer Thomas Pugh have been awarded the ERC Advanced Grant by the European Research Council. They will receive EUR 2.5 million each over a five-year period to study historical solar storms and the rate at which trees grow and die around the world. The European Research Council (ERC) supports research of the highest quality in all fields. The

https://www.science.lu.se/article/two-lund-researchers-receive-prestigious-eu-grant - 2026-04-29

Gustavo Jasso Ahuja, a researcher at the Centre for Mathematical Sciences, has been awarded funding within the framework of the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation’s mathematics programme. The grant will be used to recruit a researcher from overseas to a postdoc position in Lund. The mathematics programme is a long-term initiative by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation. Between 2014 and 2029

https://www.science.lu.se/article/maths-researchers-receive-funding-study-mysterious-algebras - 2026-04-29

During the unusually dry year of 2018, Sweden was hit by numerous forest fires. A research team led from Lund University in Sweden has investigated how climate change affects recently burnt boreal forests and their ability to absorb carbon dioxide. The boreal forests form a single biome that spans the entire Northern Hemisphere. These forests play a key role in the global climate system by absorbi

https://www.science.lu.se/article/unique-field-study-shows-how-climate-change-affects-fire-impacted-forests - 2026-04-29

Body shape, colour and behaviour often evolve together as species adapt to their environment. Researchers from Lund University have studied this phenomenon in a specific type of large, bright green and aggressive common wall lizard found near the Mediterranean. They discovered that a unique cell type might have played a key role in this joint evolution. Adaptation is a genetic change that results

https://www.science.lu.se/article/incredible-hulk-lizard-provides-clues-understanding-evolution - 2026-04-29

Climate researchers often emphasise the fact that reducing carbon emissions is in everyone’s best interest, and should involve all of us. But how good are they at minimising their own carbon footprint? A new study carried out jointly by Lund University and the University of Lausanne in Switzerland shows that some of them use up half their annual carbon allowance in a single week. There are ways to

https://www.science.lu.se/article/conferences-make-scientists-climate-transgressors - 2026-04-29

Bumblebees have a great capacity to navigate despite their small brain size. This is borne out of new research conducted at Lund University in Sweden, among others. The research results can potentially benefit the development of navigation robots in crisis situations where GPS does not work, for example. According to the study, bumblebees appear capable of navigating as well as vertebrates can, an

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bumblebees-sense-direction-rivals-humans - 2026-04-29

The income and education levels of a child’s environment determine their relationship to nature, not whether they live in a city or the countryside. This is the finding of a new study conducted by researchers at Lund University, Sweden. The results run counter to the assumption that growing up in the countryside automatically increases our connection to nature, and yet the study also shows that na

https://www.science.lu.se/article/socioeconomics-shape-childrens-connection-nature-more-where-they-live - 2026-04-29

Øystein Opedal, associate senior lecturer at the Department of Biology, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. Congratulations, Øystein! Can you tell us a little about your project?“The project aims to better understand how plants adapt to new pollination environments, such as declining pollinator populations or local changes in the diversity of pollinator species. We know quite a lot about how p

https://www.science.lu.se/article/biologist-receives-erc-starting-grant - 2026-04-29

It takes a long time, up to several decades, before the benefits of organic farming take full effect on land that was previously cultivated conventionally, a new study from Lund University suggests. After thirty years, the plant species richness around the cultivated crop had doubled on organic farms compared to conventional farms. It is well known that organic farming benefits biodiversity and ca

https://www.science.lu.se/article/organic-farms-had-doubled-plant-diversity-only-over-time - 2026-04-29

A research team led by Lund University in Sweden has discovered a small planet that displays peculiar orbital motion. The shimmying planet, located 455 light-years from Earth, shows that planetary systems can be considerably more complex than researchers have previously thought. The newly discovered planet TOI-1408c has a mass equivalent to eight Earths and circles very close to a larger planet, t

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-discover-space-oddity-exoplanet-moving-mysterious-ways - 2026-04-29

Dung beetles are among the strongest animals in the world. They also possess an exceptional ability to cooperate. Research shows that female and male spider dung beetles together are able to move large dung balls across difficult obstacles. However, same-sex attempts to do the same always ended in aggressive fights. Dung beetles live in and on animal droppings. By breaking down organic substances,

https://www.science.lu.se/article/beetles-cooperate-tricky-dung-moves - 2026-04-29

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. The results are surprising and the researchers are the first to show that some species are being wiped out, while others – such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms – are completely unaffected. Every year, the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans increases by between

https://www.science.lu.se/article/grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic-particles - 2026-04-29

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered thirteen new species of extinct brittle stars on the island of Gotland, Sweden. The fossils were dug out of rocks from the Silurian Period (around 444 to 419 million years ago). The species have now been named after several famous hard rock musicians and bands. Ophiuroids are a group of echinoderms closely related to starfish. Their bodies c

https://www.science.lu.se/article/extinct-brittle-stars-named-after-death-metal-bands - 2026-04-29