With the help of a microscope which is attached to a regular mobile, doctors can diagnose for example cancer tumours, infections and tuberculosis. The invention could become a weapon in the fight against antibiotic resistance. A small, simple and relatively cheap microscope which is printed using a 3D printer and coupled to the camera of a mobile phone can be used to assess tumours, bacteria, viruses and fungal cells.

Immunotherapy has proven to be effective against many serious diseases. But to treat diseases in the brain, the antibodies must first get past the obstacle of the blood-brain barrier. In a new study, a research group at Uppsala University describes their development of a new antibody design that increases brain uptake of antibodies almost 100-fold. Immunotherapy entails treatment with antibodies; it is the fastest growing field in pharmaceut...

The Nordic countries could manage their energy supply through renewable energy alone but it would require the right mix of energy sources and an adaptation of both energy storage and distribution. This is the conclusion of a new study from Uppsala University, published in the journal Nature Energy. “Many are sceptic to entirely or partly removing nuclear power and fossil fuels, since there can be large fluctuations in how much ele...

The number of functions incorporated into modern day smartphones seemingly knows no bounds. From searching for Pokemon characters to placing a bet on the 2:30 at Chepstow, these devices are now phones in name only – rather, they are multi-functional handheld computers that are only rarely used to actually speak to someone.

The mesoporous material Upsalite is shown to inhibit growth of bacteria associated with acne and hospital acquired infections. In a study published in ACS Omega, researchers at Uppsala University have shown that the mesoporous magnesium carbonate Upsalite exerts strong bacteriostatic effect on Staphylococcus epidermidis. Staphylococcus epidermidisis an opportunistic bacterium that that has received the most attention for causing hospita...

Understanding how cells within tumours respond to drugs is a critical issue in anticancer drug development. In an article published in Cell Chemical Biology researchers from Uppsala University report a new approach to study cancer cells’ reactions to treatments and present how it can be used to find new promising drug combinations. Much of what we currently know about cancer, both in terms of treatment and underlying molecula...

An environmentally friendly, efficient and low-cost method for hydrogenation of graphene with visible light has been developed by researchers at Uppsala University and AstraZeneca Gothenburg, Sweden. The research study is presented in an article in Nature Communications. The study shows that the two-dimensional and atom-thin carbon material graphene reacts with formic acid in a water solution upon irradiation with visible light.

Researchers at Uppsala University have used computer modelling to study how brain tumours arise. The study, which is published today in the journal EBioMedicine, illustrated how researchers in the future will be able to use large-scale data to find new disease mechanisms and identify treatment targets. The last ten years’ progress in molecular biology has drastically changed how cancer researchers work.

Using the giant ALMA telescope in Chile, astronomers in Japan, the UK, Sweden and Germany have found oxygen in an extremely distant galaxy – farther away than oxygen has ever been found before. The finding opens the door to methods of studying galaxies in the universe’s childhood and provides a key to unravelling this enigmatic epoch of the universe’s history when the gas between the galaxies shifted from being neutral to being ...

Researchers at Uppsala University have discovered a combination of materials that paves the way for faster and more effective storage in electronic devices like computers and smartphones. What researchers discovered is that the so-called magnetic damping can be made extremely small, eliminating energy losses in the dynamics of magnetic materials. The material identified is a binary metallic ferromagnetic alloy of cobalt and iron with damping...

A study by researchers at Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences shows that the decomposition of organic materials in lakes, rivers and streams is controlled on a large scale by the climate, and in particular by the water balance. Knowing how quickly this decomposition happens is key to our ability to understand how the turnover of organic materials is affected by environmental changes.

A simple paper sheet made by scientists at Uppsala University can improve the quality of life for millions of people by removing resistant viruses from water. The sheet, made of cellulose nanofibers, is called the mille-feuille filter as it has a unique layered internal architecture resembling that of the French puff pastry mille-feuille (Eng. thousand leaves).

Uppsala physicists have in an international collaboration developed a method for creating laser pulses which are shorter, have much higher intensity and cover the THz frequency range better than current sources. The study is published today in the authoritative journal Nature Photonics and is of great importance to materials research. “Many interesting, dynamic phenomena of interest to materials science occur within the ...

This summer the New European Wind Atlas (NEWA) programme will conduct a large measurement campaign in Sweden to minimise the uncertainties of wind field prediction in complex terrain.

Cochlear implants should be an alternative for patients with long-term deafness as well. This was found in a new study at Uppsala University. Previously, patients with an extended deafness duration were thought to derive limited benefit from cochlear implants. ‘We have looked at people who were deaf for at least 20 years before having cochlear implants. Previously, long-term deafness was considered a reason to forego cochlear implants, as t...

Materials researchers at Uppsala University have made new discoveries in understanding energy storage in lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. This will help in the design of new materials for future batteries with significantly higher storage capacity than up to now. Working with researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Kent in England and from the USA, researchers from Uppsala University are looking into special kinds of Li-ion battery materia...

In a new study, researchers from Uppsala University implemented a Turing test in the form of an online game (with over 1700 players) to assess how good their models were at reproducing collective motion of real fish schools. The results are published in Biology Letters.

Harmful organic molecules in the indoor air can cause adverse health effects, a problem known as the ‘sick building syndrome’. A promising new solution is being developed at Uppsala University: a window glass with nanostructured coating based on titanium dioxide which uses sunlight to remove organic pollutants from indoor air by passing it between the inner panes of the window.

The Gerrit Boschloo’s group at the Department of Chemistry-Ångström Laboratory, Division of Physical Chemistry, Uppsala University, has just discovered "zombie solar cells". The so-called Grätzel cells, which are old dye-sensitised solar cells, were still active despite the fact that the electrolyte conducting electricity between the minus and plus poles had evaporated.