news 2025

Biodiversity Researchers at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that moss acts as a natural trap for environmental DNA. This discovery opens the door to using moss as a simple, gentle and inexpensive method of monitoring biodiversity - from birds and mammals to fungi, insects and microbes. Right now, many of us have a bit of moss sitting in our Christmas decorations at home.

AI and plants Using a new AI method, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have rediscovered 51 old pea varieties that are no longer used in agriculture but may prove promising for the production of plant-based foods. The method is a shortcut to finding new resources in the green treasure troves that gene banks' enormous seed collections represent.

Agriculture An international research team led by the University of Copenhagen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Nottingham has discovered how plant roots penetrate compacted soil by deploying a well-known engineering principle. The finding could have major implications for future crop development at a time when pressure on agricultural land is increasing.

New research offers a unique insight into the lives of mammoths during the last Ice Age. Scientists have taken an important step closer to understanding the mythical mammoths that roamed the Earth thousands of years ago. For the first time ever, a research team has succeeded in isolating and sequencing RNA molecules from woolly mammoths dating back to the Ice Age.

Rewilding A new nationwide survey from the University of Copenhagen shows that most Danes would like to see more large animals in the forests. Danes prefer forests with wild animals such as red deer and bison to traditional nature conservation with cattle and sheep. However, a significant minority are far from enthusiastic about nature with fences and large animals.

Biotechnology DTU researchers are behind a potentially groundbreaking antivenom that could revolutionize the treatment of venomous snakebites in Africa. Snakebite envenoming is among the world's deadliest yet most overlooked tropical disease. The WHO has classified snakebite envenoming as one of 21 neglected tropical diseases, resulting in between 100,000 and 150,000 deaths worldwide each year.

Schizophrenia A specific type of brain cell is abnormally active in mice exhibiting behavior reminiscent of schizophrenia, according to a new study from the University of Copenhagen. By dampening the activity of these cells, researchers were able to restore the animals' behavior-an insight that may pave the way for a new preventive treatment.

Experiments on mice have compared two ways to make the body burn energy without moving. One well-known method is to expose the body to cold. The other is to remove two specific amino acids from the diet. It's not pleasant to shiver from the cold, but for some, it has the appeal of making the body burn more energy as heat than when staying in a warmer environment.

Researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, have uncovered a previously unknown function of the enzyme OGA, a key player in cellular regulation. The discovery may pave the way for new approaches to treating diseases such as Alzheimer's. October 2025 by Helene Eriksen How does a cell keep track of its many signals? One answer lies in tiny sugar tags that are constantly added to and removed from proteins.

PROTEOMICS Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have developed a groundbreaking method that allows for the analysis of thousands of proteins in heart tissue. This provides entirely new insights into the characteristics of heart diseases and could pave the way for more targeted treatments. Each year, cardiovascular diseases affect more than 65,000 Danes - conditions that claim the lives of one in five Danes.

A new study reveals that methane can form in the upper layers of sandy seabeds - something that has taken scientists by surprise. Special microorganisms are at work, and the phenomenon may be happening along coastlines all'over the world. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, produced in many natural environments by microorganisms.

Researchers from Aarhus University have discovered a connection between the stomach's rhythm and psychological well-being that could change the way we diagnose and treat mental disorders. Perhaps your stomach can tell if you're heading toward stress. by Jakob Binderup Christensen Stronger coordination between the brain and the stomach's natural rhythm is linked to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, according to the largest study of its kind from Aarhus University.

Health Technology Researchers from DTU and Amager and Hvidovre Hospital will have access to the Gefion supercomputer in a series of projects on women's diseases in a new collaboration with the Danish Centre for AI Innovation, DCAI. The healthcare system lacks knowledge about women's diseases and how to treat them.

Greenland The Inuit arrived in Greenland several hundred years earlier than previously believed. This is revealed by a genetic mapping of sled dogs, conducted by researchers from institutions including the University of Copenhagen. For many of us, dogs are our best friends, but in Greenland, sled dogs have for centuries been more than just loyal companions: they are an indispensable workforce, contributing to hunting and pulling sleds across the country's icy terrain.

When a research team reached the bottom of a deep-sea trench, they suddenly found themselves surrounded by thousands of unusual animals thriving in the cold, dark deep. "This shows how much more can be discovered when diving with a submersible and directly observing the seabed, rather than only bringing up samples 'blindly'," says deep-sea researcher Ronnie N. Glud, co-author of a new article published in Nature ( find it here ) .

Researchers at the University of Southern Denmark (SDU) have discovered that jellyfish can be used as a food stabiliser. In the future, the slimy creatures may become an important ingredient in a more sustainable food production system. Food stabiliser. The word might not sound particularly appetising, but without food stabilisers, much of the food we eat would be impossible to make.

Microbiome An international research team led by scientists from the University of Copenhagen has discovered a common gut bacterium that lowers body weight and blood sugar while increasing bone density. The finding could pave the way for a new approach to preventing and treating cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Staphylococcus Goats, horses and cows carry a bacterium that could become an effective weapon against increased antibiotic resistance in society. New research from the University of Copenhagen shows that signaling molecules from this bacterium can treat infections caused by multi-resistant Staphylococcus bacteria in an animal model as effectively as antibiotics.

ANCIENT DNA A new study maps infectious diseases across millennia and offers new insight into how human-animal interactions permanently transformed our health landscape. A research team led by Eske Willerslev, professor at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Cambridge, has recovered ancient DNA from 214 known human pathogens in prehistoric humans from Eurasia.