This fish grunts when it is ready to have sex

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Have you ever lain on a seafront jetty fishing, perhaps with a cracked mussel on the hook? Then you have probably seen this colourful little fellow, the corkwing wrasse. The next time you see it, you should also prick up your ears

Covid-19 memorials: How people around the world are remembering those who have died

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: As hospitals keep filling up, and the death toll rises, people around the world are finding traditional and new ways of remembering those we have lost so far.

Creeping Fascism in America

The January 6 attack on the US Capitol was not unexpected. It was anticipated by numerous warning signs, and it built upon a years-long process of radicalization that involves, but is not limited to, Trump supporters.

The first Covid-19 cases took infection prevention advice less seriously

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: What are the differences between those who were first infected with COVID-19 and the rest of the population? If they had less respect for the virus or were less careful with limiting contagion, this may give us a clue as to how we should fight pandemics.

Kelp products could surround us in the future - but how sustainable will the industry be?

OPINION: A large upscale of the kelp industry is probably around the corner in Norwegian coastal waters. In order to conduct kelp farming in an ecologically and economically sustainable way, it is crucial to understand how the ecosystems work.

Do White Supremacist Women Adopt Movement Archetypes of Mother, Whore, and Fighter?

White women have long been part of white supremacist movements in the U.S. and elsewhere. That continues today. But what place do they occupy in deeply misogynist movements that force white women into idealized categories of white mother, sexual partner, or racial fighter?

What type of food will you need when you get sick or old?

Imagine that you have difficulty chewing your food because you have poor chewing and swallowing functions – this is the situation for many elderly and sick people. A personalised fish soup that has a high protein content is a good solution to this problem. It tastes great, is nutritious, requires little chewing and is easy to swallow.

Coronavirus measures are dividing Scandinavia. What is going on with the Swedish border?

OPINION: For people living near the border between Norway and Sweden, moving between the two countries was part of everyday life. The border was something they rarely – if ever – thought about. Coronavirus measures have changed this, dividing families and causing unemployment in Swedish border municipalities .

Can the Covid-19 pandemic be a turning point for antibiotic resistance?

The use of antibiotics is plummeting in Norway during strict corona measures.

Men are more confident when it comes to cooking seafood than women

How confident you are in your ability to prepare tasty new seafood dishes may influence how often you eat seafood.

What is Happening to the Dutch Far Right? From Wilders to Baudet… and Back To Wilders Again

This week the Dutch Forum for Democracy (FvD) experienced yet another scandal, but this time the infighting did not favor Thierry Baudet. And so, four years after founding the party, and less than half a year before the next Dutch parliamentary election, Baudet has resigned as party leader, and withdrawn from the top spot on the electoral list, and we can all refocus our attention on the real leader of the Dutch far right, Geert Wilders.

Floating solar power connected to hydropower might be the future for renewable energy

OPINION: Hydropower plants need an upgrade. And we need to use more renewable energy sources. The solution? Floating solar power connected to existing hydropower plants.

Golden Dawn guilty verdict is a victory for Greek democracy. But will it solve the country’s deep political divides?

While the Golden Dawn verdict is a positive step for Greek democracy, it is still important to understand why circa 500,000 Greek citizens voted this criminal organization in the parliament, despite the fact that its violence was well known.

Ecolabelling of clothes has catastrophic consequences for the environment

OPINION: When environmental rankings for apparel misuse research and are not reviewed by independent third parties, the results can be catastrophic for small-scale growers and farmers. Those who profit from these rankings, on the other hand are the global fashion industry.

The French man who forgot about fruit shows us how the language we speak is pre-coded in our brains

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: A dog is not an apple. And this is perhaps why one man after a stroke no longer knew what an apple was.

The case against the Nordic Resistance Movement in Finland: an overview and some explanations

The Supreme Court of Finland issued a ban on the neo-Nazi Nordic Resistance Movement in September of 2020. The historical decision follows a case that has been ongoing for several years and has already seen the Finnish right-wing extremist scene change in different ways.

Research cruising in the Barents Sea: When Murphy Wins

This post is about real scientists failing unspectacularly.

Risky business

Ordinary Scandinavians tweeted more about the American 2016-elections than the Russian trolls accused of interference

OPINION: “Foreign interference” in US elections isn’t just for Russian trolls. Social media have made American politics accessible to ordinary users.

Dying for the Cause? Not really. The Far-Right has its own take on “martyrdom”.

Suicide attacks are virtually absent in far-right terrorism. A recent study of the subcultural, strategic, and historic references to martyrdom, self-sacrifice, and suicide in the contemporary far right shows the potential reasons for this, highlighting the peculiar political mythology of “martyrdom” that characterizes this extremist environment.

The hidden threat of the home office

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Working from home has given many people the opportunity to arrange their working hours more freely than usual. But has it really given us more freedom?

The ‘plastic rivers’ of Asia play a key part in the fight against plastic in the ocean

OPINION: Near half of the global plastic leakage from land to sea comes from a few countries in Southeast Asia. To overcome the plastic problem, we need to treat the cause and not just the symptoms. We must turn the spotlight on the sources.

Epidurals do not in themselves improve birth experiences

OPINION: Epidurals may slow down a birth and are associated with lower levels of satisfaction with the birth experience. While sometimes necessary, we are skeptical of the extent to which they are offered and used.

We are putting a lot of pressure on tinned tuna

Can tinned tuna become even better if exposed to high pressure? We are about to find out.

Why do we condemn, blame and stigmatize people who have experienced something traumatic?

OPINION: Some trauma victims are met with negative social reactions when they tell others about what they have experienced. Why does this happen?

Menstrual capitalism: A lot of people profit from your monthly menstruation

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Menstruation presents an endlessly renewed commercial opportunity for period-product manufacturers, who are finding new ways to infiltrate wider markets in an era when taboos are being chipped away. But issues remain that products can’t solve.

Being labelled as “violent extremists”: The consequences of soft repression

What are the consequences of being labeled as a “violent extremist”? How does labeling affect individual activists, their organizations, and the social movement they are part of?

At one point fish packaging even told you who caught the fish you just bought

Pictures of fish packaging, taken over several years in the 2000s, show that clear changes have been made regarding the information given to consumers about the fish they buy.

Social media “likes” and comments lead to poorer self-esteem

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Girls who “like” and comment on what others post on social media develop a worse self-image over time. Posting on your own profile doesn’t have the same effect.

Far-right people in the US want to shut the borders to Muslim immigrants to counter Jihadism. Here’s why they are wrong.

How to commit financial crime

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: A convicted felon defends fraud.

Greece: More far-right violence than any other country in Western Europe

In recent years, Greece has experienced more severe right-wing violence per capita than any other country in Western Europe. It is long past time for a more comprehensive and effective response to far-right extremism.

On academia and diversity: It wasn’t overt racism, but I have been sidelined.

OPINION: Having spent 25 years as a brown man in Norwegian academia, here are some reflections on diversity and inclusion in Norwegian science.

Flawed experiment sends misleading message about corona-safe gyms

OPINION: Without the presence of coronavirus, the researchers’ hypothesis, that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in training facilities with good hygiene and social distancing measures would be low, cannot be tested.

Fish is fish - isn’t it?

A range of different COVID-19 vaccines are already being tested in humans. But how will the vaccines actually work?

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: At least 200 different vaccines against COVID-19 are under development and more than 20 candidates are being tested on healthy individuals. This gives hope that one or more will give protective immunity. But how are the vaccines designed and are there any obstacles?

Coronavirus and training in gyms: Misunderstandings about Randomized Training Trial

OPINION: Joar Vittersø has misunderstood the rationale, design and results of our randomized trial on re-opening of gyms in Norway, write the researchers behind a Norwegian study on the transmission of coronavirus in gyms.

Norwegian coronavirus “experiment” was misleading. People who train in gyms can infect each other with COVID-19.

OPINION: An undocumented message about it being safe to work out in gyms during the coronapandemic has been disseminated.

Preferring to be social on social media rather than face-to-face is not deviant. It’s the new normal.

OPINION: Are you secretly dreading the day when social distancing is just a vague memory? When you once again have to physically interact with other people, whether you like them or not? Chances are you are not a social deviant or a freak, but a representative of the new normal.

Black Lives Matter and the archaeology of heritage commemorating bigoted white men

OPINION: White society has actively resisted critically reconsidering the significance of commemorative statues of colonialism. Rather than wait for the next statue-gate – let’s have a self-critical debate about what these statues actually represent.

Norway needs coronavirus-style measures to start the green shift along the coast

OPINION: Norway’s coastal communities and ocean industries want stricter regulations and greater investment in becoming more sustainable. Governments around the world have acted swiftly to suppress the coronavirus – a similar coordinated effort would be an effective tool to combat the climate changes we are facing.

The Polish Presidential Election 2020: which role does far-right politics (not) play?

In less than two weeks, and amid much turbulence, Poland will choose its next President. Far-right politics plays a complex role in the election.

The coronavirus pandemic has taught us something important: Technocrats are no longer precautionary

OPINION: In present-day Sweden, an expert – state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell – is de facto head of state. Tegnell has based his strategy on model projections rather than testing and tracing, and the venture is proving a spectacular failure, writes Emil Flatø

Is it ok to publish racist representations if your intention was for it to be funny and cute?

OPINION: In the face of criticism far too many people tend to hide behind the “intention” of their words, writes senior researcher Edwin Schmitt. But does it matter that Norway’s national broadcaster didn’t intend for a children’s song to be racist against Chinese people, if in fact it is?

Why Black Pete matters: Institutional racism and police violence in the Netherlands

Black Lives Matter has shaken up political discussions about racism across the globe. In the Netherlands, it has led to yet another escalation around the ‘Black Pete’ controversy, Iris Beau Segers argues that the empty rhetoric, inaction and opportunism of (radical) right politicians indicates their continued reluctance to tackle institutional racism at its roots.

Should Norwegians tear down their Churchill-statue?

OPINION: Campaigns to remove statues from our common spaces is history making, not a rejection of history, as many have recently claimed. Statues are representations of who we want to be, not what the past was. This issue is being debated contentiously and with insufficient historical awareness around the world, including in Norway.

Who cares for the men who are left behind?

OPINION: We need more research and less scorn, and a better understanding of the incel phenomenon in order to prevent radicalisation, writes Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair.

How Right-Wing Violence in Western Europe Changed in 2019

While the year 2019 in Western Europe was neither very violent in terms of fatal attacks, nor particularly deadly in terms of fatalities, we witnessed a worrying emerging global trend of right-wing lone-actor terrorists carrying out, or trying to carry out, mass-casualty attacks.

The EU’s global response to Covid-19: The challenge of promoting ownership

An effective external response to Covid-19 by the EU must be rooted in the requirements and priorities of southern partners, argue Niels Keijzer and David Black.

Face masks: Why do different countries in the world have such different recommendations?

Some of the answer to this question lies in the history of face masks and western prohibitions and unease related to the covering of faces in public.

Another brick in the wall: Covid-19 and the crisis of the liberal order

Covid-19 risks being another hit to the liberal world order, argues GLOBUS researcher Sonia Lucarelli.

Translating economic growth into sustainable development in Africa during Covid-19

EU aid policies in Africa must continue to address the broader challenge of African socio-economic development while dealing with the specific challenges of Covid-19, writes GLOBUS researcher Pundy Pillay.

Do you think we know whom we share this planet with? Then you are mistaken.

Learning from corona: Climate change, security and justice

Just as the coronavirus, climate change is an existential threat that requires urgent measures. So why are we not treating it with the same kind of urgency, asks GLOBUS researcher Thomas Diez.

The EU and Covid-19: Overcoming the lockdown mindset on migration

While the EU seems even less inclined to change its restrictive approach to migration during the coronavirus, the pandemic offers a window of opportunity to advance measures that would fit with the EU’s purported stance as a liberal vanguard in the international landscape, argues GLOBUS researcher Michela Ceccorulli.

How miniature human organs are giving hope to cancer patients

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Organoids. The good, the bad and the beautiful.

High levels of pollutants in polar bears from the Barents Sea – what are the reasons behind?

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Levels of exposure vary according to what the polar bears eat, where they move, and how much energy they need to get through a day in their polar bear lives.

Can the Coronavirus lead to more peace?

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Researchers have never before seen so many countries declaring a ceasefire because of the same reason.

Food fraud: Do you really know what fish species you are eating?

When you buy fish from a store, or when you are served a fish dish in a restaurant, you expect to get what the label says or to eat what you ordered. Unfortunately, the reality is sometimes far from expectations.

CasaPound Italia: Contemporary Extreme Right Politics

How does a relatively small far right group, with little electoral support, attract international media attention and influence national politics? A recently published book by C-REX researchers Pietro Castelli Gattinara and Caterina Froio uses the example of CasaPound Italia to illustrate the new and often surprising forms that right-wing extremism is taking across the globe.

Multi-drug resistant bacteria: When the immune system during COVID-19 is attacked from two fronts

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Norwegian COVID-19 patients who get a secondary bacterial infection leading to pneumonia, are better equipped in their struggle against this than Italian patients. Are we doing enough to find new technology against multi-drug resistant bacteria?

Professor and immunologist: I don't want COVID-19

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Anne Spurkland, professor of moleculary immunology, has devoured available research on COVID-19. What she's found, has made her worried: “Give me a vaccine against this virus as soon as possible. “

Quarantining Hungarian Democracy

The Covid-19 crisis is exploited by Viktor Orbán to consolidate power and undermine democracy. The increasingly authoritarian Prime Minister has used the pandemic to further authoritarian ends. Democratic backsliding in Hungary has for long been a cause of concern for the European Union.

Ensuring meaningful stakeholder involvement in the EU's external policies

While engagement with stakeholders is an increasingly popular approach to national and international decision-making, the EU needs to exercise greater caution when exporting multistakeholder arrangements to other countries, argues Diana Potjomkina.

A revolution in vaccine development – but will we all benefit?

OPINION: By manipulating the “instruction manuals” that control cell function in our bodies, we will soon be able to combat many diseases, including the new coronavirus outbreak. But in the worst-case scenario, such innovations will only benefit the rich.

A Story about the Plague

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: A classic which is perennially up-to-date all of a sudden became urgently topical.

5 tips for how to keep your team connected while working from home during the coronavirus pandemic

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: The idea of home office usually sounds tempting for most of us, but the corona virus puts working from home to an extreme test. Establishing a good communication norm and re-clarifying roles are keys to success.

Who cares about pellet saithe?

There’s one thing we can say about men from Northern Norway that are over 60: They sure care about pellet saithe. And not just a little – they care about it in a way that is statistically more significant than everyone else in Norway.

Using drones to accurately map life under water

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Gone might be the days when scientists had to manually count species and describe types of nature. And with better knowledge from drones will come better protection.

What is going on in Delhi and how is this connected to right-wing extremism?

Over this past week, the Indian capital of Delhi has been home to violence between Hindus and Muslims with a rising death toll each day. Eviane Leidig shows not only how this is the most recent manifestation of a legacy of right-wing extremist activity in India, but also that the response of global far right actors suggest a more disturbing connection between the extreme right in India and the West.

Matured cheese and ham - yes please, but what about matured clipfish?

A Norwegian google search for "matured food" displays results for balsamic vinegar, cured meat, fermented trout and many types of cheese. Why isn’t clipfish on the list?

Blackface in the name of tradition: the controversy around the Dutch ‘Sinterklaas’ festivities

In the aftermath of the festive month, Dutch PhD candidate Iris Beau Segers looks back on the annually recurring issue of Black Pete in the Netherlands, whose blackfaced appearance has been at the heart of a controversial public debate for almost a decade.

E-scooters – cities should embrace them

OPINION: E-scooters provide an opportunity to re-think urban transport, increase quality of life, and improve city dwellers’ mental and physical health, according to professor Stefan Gössling.

Development of right-wing violence in Western Europe

The RTV trend report recently published by C-REX shows that, since the 1990s, severe forms of right-wing terrorism and violence in Western Europe have decreased, particularly gang-related and unorganized forms of violence. Today, so-called ‘lone actors’ carry out most of the violence, a trend that has been reinforced by the emergence of various online platforms.

Managers need to be good with emotions – or they risk damaging their employee’s health and ability to perform at work

OPINION: At worst, managers who lack emotional intelligence can be playing Russian roulette with their colleagues’ health.

Norwegian salmon is a huge success story – but could it get even bigger?

The salmon industry creates thousands of jobs along the coast. Its export value is twice that of all other Norwegian fish combined. Could more unique products add even more value?

Is private finance a panacea for sustainable development?

The EU has pushed for a strong role of the private sector to finance the sustainable development goals. However, an increased role of the private sector might be at odds with the EUs fundamental rights commitments, argues Sunniva Hustad.

Do organisms find food when the sea ice retreats?

In times of climate change and retreating sea ice, important research questions are for example: How important are sea ice algae as a food source for organisms such as copepods, krill and fish? Are they affected by the sea ice retreat and if so, how will that affect the functioning of the Arctic ecosystem?