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Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, Machine Auguries: London. © Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg LCC. Courtesy of Bildmuseet. Photo: Malin Grönborg

Press Invitation: Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg / Machine Auguries

With AI-generated birdsong under an artificial dawn sky, Machine Auguries warns of our infatuation with technology at the expense of nature. In Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s immersive sound and light installation, which opens at Bildmuseet on 18 October, the dawn chorus is slowly taken over by synthetic birdsong.

Aseel AlYaqoub, detail from The New Kuwait, Cultural Fair, 2018

Press Invitation: Aseel AlYaqoub / The View from Above

Military ceremonies, postage imagery, maps, and heritage sites that shape national identity and imbue it with meaning are the subject of Aseel AlYaqoub’s solo exhibition The View from Above, opening at Bildmuseet on 18 October.

Altered blood markers detected in individuals with periodontitis

Individuals with periodontitis have altered concentrations of various proteins in their blood, according to a new study from Umeå University, Sweden. These findings pave the way for research into biomarkers for periodontitis and the underlying causes of the disease. Severe periodontitis affects about one in ten Swedes and, in addition to tooth loss, can also be linked to other diseases.

Changes in the brain detected in severe PMS

Changes in the brain detected in severe PMS

It is possible to see changes in both brain function and structure in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder, which is a severe form of PMS. This is shown in a new doctoral thesis at Umeå University, Sweden. The changes in the brain can persist even after the premenstrual period.

Possible explanation for link between diabetes and Alzheimer's

People with type 2 diabetes are at increased risk of Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive problems. A new study led by Umeå University, Sweden, shows that the reason may be that people with type 2 diabetes have more difficulty getting rid of a protein that may cause the disease.

By burying tea bags world wide researchers have been able to measure decomposition. Photo: Tomas Utsi

36’000 tea bags explain global decomposition pattern on new web

Co-developed by Umeå University, a method to measure the decay of plant material with the help of simple tea bags has become the standard in scientific research. Researcher Judith Sarneel, Umeå University, Sweden, has now collected data from over 36’000 individual tea bags worldwide and has revealed global patterns of decomposition in the journal Ecology Letters and on a newly established website.

Future diet – plant-based fermented foods on the plate

Future diet – plant-based fermented foods on the plate

The first consumer study focusing on plant-based fermentation. Researchers at Umeå University have conducted the first consumer study focusing on plant-based fermentation and its role in the necessary dietary transition to achieve European health and sustainability goals.

Stylistic image of how an electron beam from the cryo-microscope hits frozen PSII particles, whereby a reflection is formed that enables the reconstruction of how the atoms are situated. Illustration: Wolfgang Schröder

Details of photosynthesis revealed with record-breaking images

By generating extremely high-resolution images in a cryo-electron microscope, researchers at Umeå University have revealed the positions of hydrogen atoms and water molecules in photosynthesis. This breakthrough provides a new avenue towards uncovering how water is split – a process crucial for life on Earth as well as for scaling up renewable energy systems.

The master's degree show runs at Bildmuseet 24 May – 18 August, 2024.

After Tomorrow at Sunrise / Umeå Academy of Fine Arts

This year's master's degree exhibition from the Academy of Fine Arts at Umeå University opens at Bildmuseet on 24 May. After Tomorrow at Sunrise features paintings, sculptures, installations, performance, photography, and film by eleven artists. Press preview on Wednesday, 22 May at 10:00 am (RSVP). Welcome!

The bright LEC device with the logo of Umeå University is extremely thin, flexible and lightweight. Photo: Xiaoying Zhang and Joan Ràfols-Ribé

New understanding of energy losses in emerging light source

Umeå University has achieved a breakthrough in the development of next-generation light sources with a new method for understanding and measuring efficiency losses in the emerging light-emitting technology known as LEC.

  The Department of Computing Science at Umeå University is working actively to create a good and inclusive working environment for everyone, whether you are male, female or non-binary. Image: Raenge/Unsplash

Prejudices favour neither students nor the IT industry

The world urgently needs skilled software developers with a holistic perspective. Yet there are many 'he' and few 'she' and 'they' in the industry. “The prejudiced view of computer scientists as a shy white man sitting alone coding in a basement, does not benefit you as a student, the IT industry or society," says Anna Jonsson, responsible for the Civil Engineering Programme in Computing Science.

Lung cancer does not decrease in line with reduced smoking

Lung cancer does not decrease in line with reduced smoking

Despite the fact that the number of people who smoke has decreased very sharply in Sweden, the number of cases of lung cancer in the population is not decreasing as much as expected. Among women lung cancer has in fact increased. This is shown in a new study at Umeå University, Sweden. The study means that the view of how long smoking affects health may change.

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Umeå University

Umeå University is a comprehensive university and one of Sweden’s largest higher education institutions with around 38,000 students and 4,600 staff. We have a diverse range of high-quality educational programmes and research within all disciplinary domains and the arts. Umeå University is also where the groundbreaking CRISPR-Cas9 gene-editing tool was discovered, starting a revolution in genetic engineering that led to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

The University has an international atmosphere and centres its work around core academic values. Our tightly knit campus makes it easy to meet, collaborate and share knowledge, something that encourages a dynamic and open culture where we celebrate each other’s successes. Umeå University prides itself in offering a world-class educational and research environment and expanding knowledge of global significance, where the sustainable development goals of Agenda 2030 inspire and motivate. We have creative and innovative research environments that offer the best potential for taking on the challenges facing society. Through long-term collaborations with organisations, industry and other higher education institutions, the University is helping northern Sweden become a knowledge region. The societal transformation and the massive investments currently occurring in northern Sweden create complex challenges but also opportunities. Umeå University is focused on conducting research about and within a society in transition and continuing to offer academic programmes for regions that need to expand quickly and sustainably.

Campus Umeå and the Umeå Arts Campus are close to the city centre and next to one of Sweden’s largest and most renown university hospitals. Education is also provided in several other towns, including Skellefteå, Örnsköldsvik, Lycksele and Kiruna. Umeå University is home to the highly ranked Umeå Institute of Design, the environmentally certified School of Business, Economics and Law, and the School of Architecture, the only one in Sweden with an artistic profile. Next door is Bildmuseet, which is Umeå’s contemporary art museum, and Curiosum, Umeå’s science centre. Umeå University is one of Sweden’s five national sports universities, has an internationally leading Arctic Research Centre, and has Várdduo, which is Sweden’s only research unit for Sámi research and indigenous research.