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Geothermal heat can give the world energy, but it’s expensive

A Norwegian entrepreneur collaborates with researchers to find better ways to extract geothermal energy.

High Skies and Far-Away Emperors: The Pitfalls of Digital Environmental Governance in China

OPINION: Throughout history, the Chinese central government has had only limited knowledge about local realities. Digital technologies now promise to make regulation and supervision more targeted and effective. But will the central government ever be on top of things?

Why are climate scientists so much more confident in their predictions now?

It's not just about the increase in extreme weather and higher temperatures.

The Internet fared surprisingly well during the pandemic

In many places the global lockdown led to a doubling or more of Internet traffic. Things went surprisingly well, a new Norwegian study shows.

A new, «Superman» way to detect hidden corrosion

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: Even without Superman’s X-ray vision, this probe can see corrosion through 30-40 mm of steel!

Serving up edible kelp to Michelin restaurants and supermarkets

An entrepreneurial company called Seaweed Solutions is now harvesting more than 100 tonnes of nutritious kelp from a seaweed farm off the coast of central Norway. The seaweed is being sold to food producers in Europe. “This industry will be big,” says an independent researcher.

Nansen Legacy Q2 Scientific divers sample ice algae and zooplankton below sea ice

Is train transport the most environmentally friendly way to move goods?

Transporting goods by train instead of trucks can result in big cuts in CO2 emissions.

Mixing production deep into the ocean

Imagine yourself lying on your back in a forest on a sunny spring day watching upwards to the tree tops. Warm rays of sunlight falling through the canopy warm your face and the song of birds echo in the distance. Now imagine all the tree trunks, branches and twigs are gone and just leaves floating lofty above you.

Steering clear of our worst nightmares of artificial intelligence

OPINION: A giant leap for mankind, without doubt, but will artificial intelligence be a friend or foe? The trick may lie in better involving the public in scrutinizing AI’s problematic aspects.

Twenty years of sequencing genes… for better or for worse

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: It’s been 20 years since the first draft sequence of the human genome was published in the journals Nature and Science. Sequencing 30 000 genes has changed the world, but in a different way than expected.

Norway is going to invest in hydrogen. But what happens when there’s a gas leak?

Some studies suggest that hydrogen emissions may lead to more methane in the atmosphere and damage the ozone layer. Now researchers at Cicero will investigate how large the effect actually is.

What exactly is 5G?

What frequencies will 5G use? What’s the new technology behind it? Will there be many more base stations? What follows is a deep dive into the details of the next generation mobile network coming your way soon.

An unexpected journey to the seabed.

Noise caused sea lice to eat and reproduce less

This parasite costs Norwegian salmon farming almost 500 million euros each year. Could noise be the solution? Sound-emitting speakers weaken the lice's appetite. They fall off more easily and their reproduction drops dramatically, according to experiments in a Norwegian fjord.

Emotions shape how we perceive health information

Many people have trouble understanding health information. It’s not just differences in people’s knowledge of health issues that are the cause of the problem, says Professor Pål Gulbrandsen, who studies communication between doctors and patients.

New report shows workers in the fossil fuels industry have a deep distrust of environmentalists

Distrust against environmentalists is widespread among those employed in oil- and gas-related businesses. There’s also a sense of bitterness against unions that are pushing for a more climate friendly industry.

Can Artificial intelligence affect gender equality?

A new knowledge overview provides a review of all Norwegian research on equality and artificial intelligence. From this overview, it is evident that we are not prepared for the consequences that the new technology might have for gender equality.

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.

This tiny sensor placed under the skin will measure the blood sugar levels of people with diabetes

The Norwegian sensor is to be coupled with Italian technology that administers insulin automatically. “If this is successful it will make life a lot easier for patients with diabetes”, says Norwegian doctor.

Norwegian researchers are developing a new method for detecting breast cancer

Artificial intelligence can help speed the detection of breast cancer. Urgent examinations will be undertaken sooner.

16 times entrepreneurs tried to start car production in Norway

Only one had some success. Now Norwegian car history is on display at the new Norwegian Vehicle History Museum near Lillehammer.

Drones to map the entire coast of Norway

The drones, with a bird’s eye view at 100 metres, can provide a much more detailed picture of the coast.

Norway’s coronavirus tracing app halted by Data Protection Authority – too invasive and not useful

“This reduces our ability to fight the spread of the virus that is happening now”, warns Camilla Stoltenberg, director of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Scientists have determined what damaged Edvard Munch's "The Scream"

Why has the lively yellow paint on Edvard Munch's 1910 painting The Scream faded and flaked off? A new study lays the blame on moisture. Chemists from several countries have conducted experiments that have helped them come up with the answer.

Here’s how Norway’s public health institute will figure out what to do if the coronavirus flares up again

A new mathematical model used by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) is like a tiny laboratory inside a computer, says the head of the institute’s modelling group.

A new Norwegian sensor will help you sleep better when your sleep is being monitored

The new Norwegian-developed sleep sensor means that a study subject doesn’t have to sleep with sensors on his or her body. In addition, the fact that it is contactless solves a problem related to the coronavirus crisis, says a Norwegian sleep scientist.

You will never fly to far-away holiday destinations by electric plane

There are physical limitations that we can never overcome, one physicist says.

Smartphones still need to be charged daily. So what's happened to the battery revolution we've been promised?

The media often portray laboratory results as market-ready products, one battery researcher says.

Could the video assistant referee system replace referees in football?

ASK A RESEARCHER: Referees make mistakes, but thanks to goal-line technology and video refereeing, these errors can be avoided. Maybe it's time to ask: Do we need referees at all?

Reading to your child? Digital books are as important as print books

OPINION: Instead of propagating a false dichotomy between print and digital books we need to start asking which books work best for which children and families.

Big Brother is watching you - and makes you behave differently

How free are you really if someone is always watching what you do? Digital tracking is a problem even if you have nothing to hide.

Improving weather forecasts in the Arctic

SHARE YOUR SCIENCE: A fisherman may risk his life, and an ambulance airplane may compromise safety by taking off in bad weather. More accurate weather forecasts in the arctic can save lives.

Wasting water in Norway has consequences for the environment

Norwegians use almost twice as much water as the Danes. These wasteful habits come at a cost.

No more online voting in Norway

Norwegian voters tested an online voting system for both local elections in 2011 and parliamentary elections in 2013, with overwhelmingly positive feedback. This year, however, Norwegians didn't have the option to vote on the internet.

Speed cameras save lives but are politically contentious

Norway has the fewest traffic deaths in Europe when calculated on a population basis. While the government wants to raise speed limits and set up fewer speed cameras, it is precisely these measures that have helped cut traffic fatalities, research shows.

Uncertain future for fraudsters

Fraudsters who cheat on their taxes, launder money or con insurance companies are facing uncertain times. New statistical methods are increasing the likelihood that they will be caught.

Avoids ship disasters with advanced statistics

The chance of major ship disasters at sea can be reduced by statistical methods. The trick is to interpret the large amounts of data streaming in from the many sensors in the ship, making it possible to sound the alarm on time.

Scientists are removing CO2 from the air to make new products

Scientists are experimenting with a kind of artificial photosynthesis to replace oil in manufactured goods.

Researcher wants to teach children to program robots

Some researchers think children should be spending more time learning about robots instead of being afraid of their development.

Can we really electrify the entire world?

Yes, but we will need to recycle crucial elements like lithium if we are to meet demand and avoid destruction of vulnerable ecosystems in Latin America.

Two-year-olds benefit from playing games on tablets

The use of electronic media by young children has an undeserved bad reputation, a new study suggests. Mothers are better at interacting with their two-year-olds when playing online games than when they are watching TV together or engaged in regular play.

VR doesn’t measure up to nature

Virtual reality can provide nature experiences for some people, but so far the technology isn’t very satisfactory. “Going for a walk" with VR glasses made study participants cyber sick.

Heavier cars can make traffic more dangerous

The probability of being killed or severely injured in a traffic accident is about 40 percent lower if you drive a new car. But new cars are often more massive and pose a greater threat to other road users.

Researchers get phone data to chart drug abuse in Oslo

Researchers have for the first time used anonymous data from mobile telephones together with analyses of wastewater to quantify use of illicit drugs in and around Norway’s capital.

Pensioners unknowingly subsidise groceries for young and wealthy

High-income families in Oslo get cheaper food at the expense of those in rural areas who are unable to use apps or unwilling to disclose their consumer habits. Apps that give discounts create new economic disparities.

Eleven rockets set to reveal the mysteries in the Earth's atmosphere

In cooperation with NASA and the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency, scientists at the University of Oslo are now set to reveal the mysteries of physics in the atmosphere by launching eleven rockets.

How inspiring are science festivals?

Norwegian research might not corroborate any effect of science festivals, but the rectors of two prominent Norwegian universities are convinced that the Starmus Festival in Trondheim has inspired future scientists.

Norwegian researchers are making super-efficient solar cells

In the future, solar cells can become twice as efficient by employing a few smart little nano-tricks.

Driverless busses coming to a street near you

Tests are underway in Stavanger, but new laws have to be drafted and passed before self-driving busses can actually take to the streets. The Norwegian Government will probably give them the green light this year.

Finding mushrooms with your mobile phone

Advanced image recognition can scan the forest floor looking for good mushroom locations. And it’s not just a fantasy, say two Norwegian NTNU students.

Safer with or without a steering wheel in autonomous vehicles?

Taking manual control in critical situations in dangerous. The car has to win passengers' confidence, say Norwegian researchers.

Why Norwegian drivers are slowing down

Norwegian drivers have been reducing their speeds year by year. Not surprisingly, baby-boomers and their older brothers and sisters are getting the blame. Researchers hit the roads to look into the matter.

This drone will obey a winking eye

Video: Watch the underwater drone that can be guided by facial expressions.

Finding predictability in car brand loyalty

Car brand loyalty involves more than customer satisfaction, it turns out. A new study examines the past purchases of 9000 Norwegian car owners for buying patterns.

The challenge of keeping everything charged

Can the power grid support the rapid increase in electric cars and buses? Hydrogen may be an important wild card in the power equation.

Watch the past happen

Warships sailed in Norwegian fjords in 1940. You can now go back in time and follow them through your mobile.

3D artists find inspiration in a bone yard

Morphing long-abandoned whalebone piles into plastic and cardboard art

What’s the sun screen of the future?

We could be downing pills rather than smearing ourselves with creams and lotions in a few years. Or we could count on bacteria from a deep fjord to protect us from the harmful rays of the sun.

Charting sores and bruises in multiple colours

Detailed nuances in colour can reveal the age of bruises or detect when sores are not healing properly.

No more recycling blues

Many Norwegians help recycle by placing all their household plastic refuse in special blue plastic bags they get for free from their municipalities. In Romerike, a district on the outskirts of Oslo, smart new machines are making this individual effort obsolete.

Spying on seals with videocams and sensors

Researchers are equipping seals with cameras and sensors to find out exactly what they do down in the deep blue sea.

Diagnosing arthritis with a colour scan

An easily used screening tool shines new light on how to detect arthritic inflammations.

Small steps toward the colonisation of space

Norwegian scientists will cultivate food plants on the Space Station

Lengthy can-do list for colour camera

Nuances of colour reveal environmental toxins, precious minerals or missing persons. Hyperspectral cameras are a niche product with multiple functions.

Mobile apps without programming

In the Norwegian Armed Forces, a new tool makes it easy to create training apps. Civilians will also have access if the military scientists get their way.

Tracking the Earth’s magnetic field in Northern Lights

Physicists are keen on solving the mysteries of the Earth’s magnetic field. Their curiosity has a practical side – when solar storms that create the aurora are bent by the magnetic field, it can affect technologies that modern civilization depends on.

Brain-controlled prosthetic arm connected to nerves

A just-published study in Science Translational Medicine describes the success of a new kind of prosthesis, used by a Swedish truck driver for more than a year. The researchers say the device moves us one step closer to more natural control of artificial limbs.