https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Aarhus University Researchers at Aarhus University have developed a microscopic DNA needle that can deliver molecules directly into cells—and, crucially, help make sure they remain active once they get there. That addresses a major problem in modern medicine: much of what enters a cell is quickly sealed off in tiny bubbles and put out of action before it ever reaches its target. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-virus-dna-needle-pave-medicines.html Bio & Medicine Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:20:01 EDT news694266182 Imagine a game of chess where your opponent's king is in check. It cannot move, but the game is not over—the piece remains on the board. This is how the body might control HIV on its own: The virus would be contained and unable to replicate or spread, but it would not have been eliminated. This is the goal of Professor Ole Schmeltz Søgaard and an international team of researchers—to enable more patients' immune systems to keep the virus permanently in check without the need for daily medication. Their findings suggest that this requires two key components working in tandem: antibodies and T cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-dual-immune-response-hiv-medication.html Mon, 23 Mar 2026 17:30:01 EDT news693505141 Today, small kidney tumors are most often treated with a minor operation in which all or part of the kidney is removed. However, in many cases, these small tumors can be treated with targeted cryotherapy, which destroys the cancer cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-cryotherapy-game-changer-patients-early.html Thu, 05 Mar 2026 12:40:03 EST news691936501 Porpoises are entirely dependent on their hearing for survival. They navigate, hunt, and communicate by emitting rapid click sounds and listening to the returning echoes. However, with increasingly noisy oceans, it is getting harder for porpoises to "hear their way." Noise from shipping is a particular problem. While ship engines primarily emit low-frequency noise, they also produce high-frequency sounds that can drown out the porpoises' own clicks. These clicks are sharp, brief, and only travel limited distances, making them highly vulnerable to noise sources in their immediate vicinity. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-porpoises-volume-ship-noise.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:30:04 EST news691694281 Protected natural areas across Europe are changing. Climate change, with rising temperatures and heavy rainfall, is turbocharging the growth of shrubs and trees, choking the flowers and insects that need the light and heat of open spaces. Traditionally, this scenario prompts nature managers to reach for chainsaws and brush cutters to keep the landscape open. But researchers at Aarhus University and the Natural History Museum, Aarhus, Denmark, can now show that horses and cattle represent a more effective method of nature management given adequate time to do their work. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-feral-horses-cattle-resilient-nature.html Plants & Animals Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:00:04 EST news691684741 For over 20 million years, the landscape of Europe has been a tree-rich mosaic of grasslands, scrubs and more or less open woodlands with an abundance of wildflowers. This is the conclusion of a new and comprehensive study of Europe's vegetation history—a study that suggests modern afforestation runs counter to the continent's long-term ecological trajectory. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-dense-dark-forests-europe-modern.html Ecology Mon, 02 Mar 2026 16:40:03 EST news691678808 A new article introduces a science-based operational framework developed by researchers from several universities and the Danish Biodiversity Council. The framework can help countries assess their genuine national contributions to protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030. When applied to Denmark, the framework shows that the official Danish reporting substantially overestimates the country's progress toward meeting the international targets. The work is published in the journal One Earth. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-framework-countries-national-contributions-sea.html Environment Mon, 02 Mar 2026 14:40:05 EST news691684622 Every year, over 100 billion nitrile rubber gloves are produced. They are made from synthetic polymers—a material chemically related to plastic and derived from crude oil. The vast majority is used in the health care sector, and most are discarded after single use. This creates a massive amount of material waste globally. However, Simon Kildahl, a postdoc at the Department of Chemistry at Aarhus University, has moved a step closer to a way of recycling these gloves. In a new study published in the journal Chem, he and his colleagues demonstrate how they can transform waste rubber into a CO2 adsorbent in the laboratory. The potential, he explains, is significant. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-trash-climate-tech-rubber-gloves.html Polymers Fri, 27 Feb 2026 17:00:01 EST news691417022 A new Danish study compiles 10 years of research from one of the world's largest and most detailed puberty cohorts and points to three main conclusions: puberty is occurring earlier; genes, pregnancy and family life all play a role; we have confidence in the children's own reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-children-puberty-earlier-years.html Pediatrics Thu, 26 Feb 2026 11:30:03 EST news691327321 People with mental illness who use AI chatbots risk experiencing a worsening of their condition. This is shown by a new study published in the journal Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica. The researchers screened electronic health records from nearly 54,000 patients with mental illness and found several cases in which the use of AI chatbots appears to have had negative consequences—primarily in the form of worsened delusions, but also potential worsening of mania, suicidal ideation, and eating disorder. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-ai-chatbots-worsen-mental-illness.html Psychology & Psychiatry Mon, 23 Feb 2026 14:30:02 EST news691078981 The body changes, hormones surge, and the transition from child to teenager is well underway. But when puberty begins earlier than among peers, it may have consequences for young people—even when it falls within what medical science considers the normal range. That is one of the key findings of three new studies from the research group of Professor Cecilia Ramlau-Hansen from the Department of Public Health at Aarhus University. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-02-early-puberty-teen-anxiety-alcohol.html Addiction Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:50:02 EST news690561685 On a cool spring morning in a northern forest, the ground feels soft underfoot. Mist hangs between the trunks, and the air smells of wet leaves and old humus; the slow alchemy that keeps a forest alive. Beneath the surface, billions of microbes break down organic matter and hair-thin roots exhale, releasing steady pulses of carbon dioxide. This process, known as soil respiration, is one of the largest carbon fluxes on the planet, usually so stable it feels almost like a steady heartbeat. https://phys.org/news/2026-02-nitrogen-pollution-global-forest-carbon.html Earth Sciences Tue, 17 Feb 2026 14:16:36 EST news690560161 Trees play a central role in life on Earth. They store CO₂, provide habitats for animals, fungi, and insects, stabilize soils, regulate water cycles, and supply resources that humans rely on—from timber and food to recreation and shade on a hot day. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-fast-trees-forests-future-biodiversity.html Plants & Animals Wed, 28 Jan 2026 11:30:08 EST news688822074 In the Kenyan savanna, lions and livestock essentially live in shifts: Cattle graze during the day and are enclosed at night when lions are active. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-kenya-big-cats-pressure-cattle.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jan 2026 14:47:19 EST news688229221 Neural tissue normally dies quickly without oxygen. Yet bird retinas—among the most energy-demanding tissues in the animal kingdom—function permanently without it. This may be relevant in future treatment of stroke patients. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-bird-retinas-function-oxygen-centuries.html Plants & Animals Wed, 21 Jan 2026 11:00:12 EST news688056181 Challenging long-held assumptions, Aarhus University researchers have demonstrated that the protein building blocks essential for life as we know it can form readily in space. This discovery, appearing in Nature Astronomy, significantly raises the statistical probability of finding extraterrestrial life. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-complex-blocks-life-spontaneously-space.html Astrobiology Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:30:27 EST news688145401 A new study from Aarhus University shows that star ratings of books are not always accurate. Average ratings on Goodreads can hide both literary classics and highly divided reading experiences—and can therefore be a misleading measure of literary value. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-stars-great-literature.html Social Sciences Tue, 06 Jan 2026 16:25:16 EST news686939101 For decades, EU chemical regulation has struggled with slow approvals, high costs, and ecological surprises. From delayed bans on neonicotinoids to the ongoing decline of pollinators, the current framework often reacts too late. Assessments are fragmented, focusing on individual products rather than the bigger picture. Decisions are locked into binary categories: "safe" or "unsafe"—leaving no room for adaptive management. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-europe-bold-based-chemical.html Environment Mon, 05 Jan 2026 17:30:04 EST news686849357 Imagine a glossy sustainability report from a global food giant. Green fields, smiling farmers, promises of climate neutrality. It looks great. But behind the façade lies an uncomfortable truth: the biggest environmental problems are hardly mentioned. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-food-companies-overlook-key-environmental.html Environment Thu, 18 Dec 2025 18:10:02 EST news685293614 On the shelf in a European supermarket, two packs of pasta sit side by side. Both claim to be "climate friendly." One carries a bright green "A" in a traffic-light scheme. The other shows a neat carbon footprint value: 1.8 kg CO₂ per kg. Which one is better? Which one should you choose? https://phys.org/news/2025-12-europe-food-ecolabels-based-life.html Environment Wed, 17 Dec 2025 20:50:02 EST news685196951 Imagine a grain field in Western Jutland, winter wheat standing tall and golden. Now picture it being plowed up and replaced with clover grass: one of the crops intended to drive the green transition in Danish agriculture. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-green-agricultural-emissions-benefit-climate.html Agriculture Wed, 17 Dec 2025 20:40:01 EST news685197523 "We need your data." The message is repeated in emails and requests to Danish farmers. Not from the EU, but from dairies, slaughterhouses, banks, and other partners. Climate metrics, biodiversity, animal welfare; everything must be documented. It is no longer enough to deliver milk, grain, and meat. Now you must also deliver sustainability. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-environmental-social-requirements-impacting-agriculture.html Agriculture Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:40:03 EST news685197021 Imagine a container of tomatoes arriving at the container terminal in Aarhus. The papers state that the tomatoes are from Spain, but in reality, we have no way of knowing if that is true. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-proteins-enable-smartphone-based-specific.html Biotechnology Wed, 17 Dec 2025 12:25:25 EST news685196701 No one has yet created a fully functioning artificial cell. But a research team at Aarhus University has taken a step in that direction: https://phys.org/news/2025-12-nanomotors-protein-network-formation-artificial.html Bio & Medicine Mon, 15 Dec 2025 16:43:23 EST news685039381 ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with a high heritability, in which the genetic component consists of thousands of genetic variants. Most variants only slightly increase the likelihood of receiving the diagnosis. Now an international study led by researchers from iPSYCH at Aarhus University has shown that rare high-effect genetic variants also play an important role. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-rare-genetic-variants-adhd.html Genetics Tue, 18 Nov 2025 14:20:01 EST news682696107 For more than three decades, researchers Christine Stabell Benn and Peter Aaby from the Bandim Health Project have conducted randomized trials involving thousands of children in Guinea-Bissau and Denmark to demonstrate so-called non-specific vaccine effects—that is, whether vaccines also protect against diseases other than the one they are designed to prevent. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-randomized-trials-evidence-specific-vaccine.html Vaccination Thu, 13 Nov 2025 14:00:06 EST news682263727 Researchers from DANDRITE have played a central role in developing a new oral treatment that, for the first time ever, has shown promising results in a clinical trial involving patients—a breakthrough that appears capable of preventing and slowing the progression of frontotemporal dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-oral-treatment-dementia.html Alzheimer's disease & dementia Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:20:01 EST news682182822 A large research study by an international team of scientists led by Christoph Böttner from Aarhus University shows clear evidence of extensive natural hydrocarbon seepage along the Northeast Greenland margin—one of the least explored continental margins on Earth. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-hidden-arctic-leaks-natural-seepage.html Earth Sciences Wed, 12 Nov 2025 14:11:04 EST news682179061 When the kidneys are damaged—after surgery, cardiac arrest, or as a side effect of certain medications—doctors often face one crucial question: Will the kidneys recover, or is the damage permanent? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-11-marker-cell-death-kidneys.html Genetics Thu, 06 Nov 2025 12:34:45 EST news681654882 Researchers are one step closer to understanding how some plants survive without nitrogen. Their work could eventually reduce the need for artificial fertilizer in crops such as wheat, maize, or rice. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-genetic-nitrogen-bacteria.html Molecular & Computational biology Thu, 06 Nov 2025 00:47:04 EST news681612415