https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from Stockholm University Stockholm University and SciLifeLab researchers have uncovered how glucose transporters move nutrients into cells, bridging a long-standing gap between structure and function in membrane biology. "Our study shows that these transport proteins rely on a previously uncharacterized intermediate state that functions much like the 'transition state' in enzyme catalysis. This is a discovery that reshapes our understanding of one of biology's most fundamental processes," says David Drew, professor of biochemistry, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Stockholm University. https://phys.org/news/2026-04-glucose-hinge-fleeting-transition-state.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:40:04 EDT news694866361 Using X-ray lasers, researchers at Stockholm University have been able to determine the existence of a critical point in supercooled water at around -63 °C and 1,000 atmospheres. Ordinary water at higher temperatures and lower pressures is strongly affected by the presence of this critical point, causing the origin of its strange properties. The findings are published in the journal Science. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-ray-lasers-enable-discovery-critical.html General Physics Thu, 26 Mar 2026 14:00:14 EDT news693735481 Medieval Ibiza was far from a quiet Mediterranean backwater. New DNA evidence shows that the island was part of a dynamic world linking Europe, North Africa and even the Sahel zone, south of Sahara. An international research team led by the Centre for Palaeogenetics (CPG), a joint venture between Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, has revealed that its population was remarkably diverse, connected to Europe, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa through trade, migration, and social networks. The study is published in Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-medieval-dna-reveals-trans-saharan.html Archaeology Thu, 26 Mar 2026 06:00:01 EDT news693678002 Herring from different parts of the Baltic Sea belong to distinct populations genetically adapted to local differences in salinity and temperature. However, these populations can also mix with each other, according to a new study by researchers from Uppsala University, Stockholm University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. These results have important implications for the management of the Baltic herring. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://phys.org/news/2026-03-baltic-herring-fishing-genetic.html Ecology Mon, 09 Mar 2026 15:00:04 EDT news692274062 Researchers from the Center for Paleogenetics have managed to analyze the genome from a 14,400-year-old woolly rhinoceros, recovered from a tissue sample found preserved inside the stomach of an ancient wolf. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-woolly-rhino-genome-recovered-ice.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 14 Jan 2026 12:10:01 EST news687516901 Researchers from South Africa and Sweden have found the oldest traces of arrow poison in the world to date. On 60,000-year-old quartz arrowheads from Umhlatuzana Rock Shelter in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, researchers have identified chemical residues of poison from the plant gifbol (Boophone disticha), a poisonous plant still used by traditional hunters in the region. https://phys.org/news/2026-01-year-world-oldest-arrow-poison.html Archaeology Wed, 07 Jan 2026 14:00:01 EST news686936242 A new study shows that moral arguments appealing to care and fairness can persuade both liberals and conservatives in the United States. By contrast, arguments grounded in the "binding" moral foundations—loyalty, authority and sanctity—primarily influence conservatives. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-moral-arguments-fairness-liberals.html Social Sciences Mon, 29 Dec 2025 12:10:01 EST news686231907 Bacteria are among the most diverse and ancient forms of life on Earth. Yet, much of what is known about them comes from a small group of species, mostly studied for their roles in human health. https://phys.org/news/2025-12-swedish-freshwater-bacteria-reveal-lost.html Evolution Fri, 12 Dec 2025 05:00:08 EST news684675061 With a new study in the journal Cell, researchers at Stanford University and Stockholm University have contributed to increased knowledge about gene regulation in human cells. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-dna-proteins-gene.html Cell & Microbiology Wed, 26 Nov 2025 16:00:01 EST news683394719 Scientists have found wolf remains, thousands of years old, on a small, isolated island in the Baltic Sea—a place where the animals could only have been brought by humans. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-ancient-wolves-remote-baltic-sea.html Ecology Mon, 24 Nov 2025 15:00:10 EST news683197261 Researchers from Stockholm University have—for the first time ever—managed to successfully isolate and sequence RNA molecules from Ice Age woolly mammoths. These RNA sequences are the oldest ever recovered and come from mammoth tissue preserved in the Siberian permafrost for nearly 40,000 years. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-world-oldest-rna-woolly-mammoth.html Molecular & Computational biology Fri, 14 Nov 2025 11:00:05 EST news682237840 Researchers from Stockholm University and the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Mohali have reported a practical way to spot one of physics' strangest predictions: the Unruh effect, which says that an object speeding up (accelerating) would perceive empty space as faintly warm. But, trying to heat something up by accelerating it unimaginably fast is a nonstarter in the lab. The team has shown how to convert that tiny effect into a clear, timestamped flash of light. https://phys.org/news/2025-11-faint-quantum-space.html General Physics Mon, 10 Nov 2025 10:07:03 EST news681991621 Migrants from low-income countries living in care settings in Sweden were more likely to die from COVID-19 than people born in the country during the first year of the pandemic, according to a new study by researchers from Stockholm University, published in the European Journal of Public Health. The finding stands out, since elderly migrants in daily care usually have a higher life expectancy than Swedish-born individuals in similar circumstances. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-elderly-migrants-swedish-homes-higher.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 27 Oct 2025 19:50:04 EDT news680795133 Lignins—the complex molecules that make plants sturdy and allow them to grow tall—are not as random as once thought. A new international study led by Prof. Edouard Pesquet at Stockholm University uncovers how lignins' chemistry and structure vary between cell types to meet plants' physiological needs. The paper, published in the journal New Phytologist, highlights how this molecular diversity has been key to plants' success on land. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-lignins-complex-molecules-random.html Plants & Animals Tue, 21 Oct 2025 12:45:03 EDT news680269501 The uplift of East Africa during the Miocene epoch dramatically transformed the region's climate and ecosystems, promoting the expansion of grassland and reshaping habitats for mammals and early hominoids. This is revealed in a new study published in Science Advances by researchers at Stockholm University, ETH Zurich, and the Swedish Museum of Natural History. https://phys.org/news/2025-10-uplift-east-africa-ecosystems-climate.html Ecology Wed, 15 Oct 2025 14:46:25 EDT news679758381 Researchers at Stockholm University and Karolinska Institutet have found a system in the brain that can explain why female mice, who are not normally aggressive, suddenly and dramatically gain access to this behavior after becoming pregnant and giving birth (so-called maternal aggression). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-10-silent-nerve-cells-aggressiveness-mouse.html Neuroscience Wed, 01 Oct 2025 15:38:03 EDT news678551881 A new study from Stockholm University reveals that spruce bark beetles, already infamous for killing millions of trees in Sweden, are also changing the forest microclimate. Using a combination of temperature sensors attached to trees and thermal drone imagery, researchers have found that beetle-attacked forests can heat up by as much as two degrees during summer days—but that deciduous trees helped to cool down attacked forest stands. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-bark-beetle-outbreaks-forest-temperatures.html Plants & Animals Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:31:03 EDT news676294261 An international team led by researchers at the Center for Paleogenetics, has uncovered microbial DNA preserved in woolly and steppe mammoth remains dating back more than one million years. The analyses reveal some of the world's oldest microbial DNA ever recovered, as well as the identification of bacteria that possibly caused disease in mammoths. The findings are published in Cell. https://phys.org/news/2025-09-ancient-mammoth-yield-world-oldest.html Cell & Microbiology Tue, 02 Sep 2025 11:00:04 EDT news675941581 The microscopic alliance between algae and bacteria offers rare, step-by-step snapshots of how bacteria lose genes and adapt to increasing host dependence. This is shown by a new study led by researchers from Stockholm University, in collaboration with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Linnaeus University, published in Current Biology. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-tiny-ocean-partnership-algae-bacteria.html Evolution Fri, 29 Aug 2025 12:32:19 EDT news675689534 A study led by Jenny Frediani at Stockholm University has revealed a planet-forming disk with a strikingly unusual chemical composition: an unexpectedly high abundance of carbon dioxide (CO2) in regions where Earth-like planets may one day form. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-unusual-rich-disk-young-star.html Astronomy Fri, 29 Aug 2025 03:00:01 EDT news675590703 Researchers at Stockholm University have succeeded in creating a molecular blueprint of how one of the world's most dangerous toxins, botulinum toxin, is structured, stabilized, delivered and released. The research, published in Science Advances, paves the way for more effective drugs. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-scientists-deadly-botulinum-toxin-complex.html Molecular & Computational biology Wed, 27 Aug 2025 14:00:29 EDT news675441504 Images taken with the MIRI infrared camera on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have made it possible to observe the first galaxies in long-wavelength infrared light for the first time. Alongside a recent study published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, these images provide new insights into how the first galaxies formed over 13 billion years ago. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-red-galaxies-insights-birth-universe.html Astronomy Mon, 25 Aug 2025 09:35:22 EDT news675333320 By analyzing millions of messenger RNA molecules (mRNA) during the course of ALS, researchers at Stockholm University, in collaboration with scientists at the Paris Brain Institute and Örebro University, have identified why certain nerve cells are resistant to the disease and what happens in the sensitive nerve cells when they are affected. The study, published in the journal Genome Research, focuses on a hereditary form of ALS caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-08-gene-shields-nerve-cells-als.html Genetics Tue, 19 Aug 2025 16:44:03 EDT news674840641 Scientists from Stockholm University and the Swedish Museum of Natural History, in collaboration with partners in Greenland and Canada, have identified a previously undocumented class of PFAS (poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances) in the blubber of killer whales. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-chemicals-whale-blubber-pfas.html Environment Thu, 14 Aug 2025 09:52:24 EDT news674383939 Anomalies in temperature and salinity that originate in the midlatitude North Atlantic can affect the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the Nordic Seas up to a decade later. A new study published in Communications Earth & Environment shows that the anomalies that travel northward with the Atlantic Water are an important part of the system, and actively modulate both the inflow of warm water into the Nordic Seas and the overflow of dense water back into the deep Atlantic. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ocean-anomalies-north-crucial-atlantic.html Earth Sciences Mon, 11 Aug 2025 11:39:04 EDT news674131142 A recent study in Nature Geoscience offers important new insights into the hidden role of ancient groundwater beneath the ocean floor—and how it may have interacted with ice sheets and rising sea levels during past climate changes. https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ancient-ocean-floor-groundwater-reveals.html Earth Sciences Wed, 06 Aug 2025 10:23:04 EDT news673694582 Using whole genome sequencing and cutting‐edge analyses, researchers at Stockholm University have uncovered the surprising evolutionary history of the Norwegian lemming (Lemmus lemmus), revealing it to be one of the most recently evolved mammal species. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-genomes-reveal-norwegian-lemming-evolved.html Plants & Animals Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:00:05 EDT news670496041 As the climate warms, many species are shifting northward into areas that were previously too cold for them. A study, "Winters restrict a climate change-driven butterfly range expansion despite rapid evolution of seasonal timing traits," on the wall brown butterfly, published in PNAS, shows that rapid evolution can aid this process—but only up to a point. Cold winters stop further expansion beyond certain climatic limits. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-cold-winters-limit-northward-butterfly.html Evolution Mon, 23 Jun 2025 15:00:09 EDT news669890041 Using advanced electron crystallography techniques, researchers at Stockholm University have succeeded in determining the structure of the historically significant red pigment carmine. It turns out that the substance, used today in products such as candy and paint, has a complex porous structure. https://phys.org/news/2025-06-red-pigment-carmine-complex-porous.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 03 Jun 2025 15:56:03 EDT news668184961 How do organisms adapt to climate change? A new study reveals the complex interplay between genetic diversity and temperature tolerance evolution. https://phys.org/news/2025-05-yeast-reveals-species-warmer-climate.html Evolution Wed, 21 May 2025 11:57:03 EDT news667047421