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New research shows that conifers have special strategies to survive the harsh winters in the north. Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

The science behind Christmas trees: How conifers brave winter's worst

As the festive season approaches, evergreen conifers adorn homes worldwide. But while Christmas trees bring warmth and joy into our lives, they endure some of the harshest conditions on Earth in their natural habitats. Most people take it for granted that they maintain their needles lush and green in freezing winters but now scientists can unwrap the science behind conifers’ winter survival.

Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg's Machine Auguries, Bildmuseet 2024–2025. © Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg Ltd. Photo: Malin Grönborg

Northern Dawn Chorus in Machine Auguries by Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg

Bildmuseet unveils a new site-specific iteration of Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg’s sound and light installation Machine Auguries, this time set in Umeå in northern Sweden. Premiere on 12 January! Presented alongside the previous iterations from London and Toledo, these three artificial dawn choruses from different parts of the world invite us to reflect on our relationship with nature.

Discovery may open new way to attack prostate cancer

Discovery may open new way to attack prostate cancer

A special protein can play a key role in the fight against certain types of prostate cancer. This is shown in a study by an international research group led from Umeå University, Sweden.

Nanoplastics can impair the effect of antibiotics

Minuscule particles of plastic are not only bad for the environment. A study led from Umeå University, Sweden, has shown that the so-called nanoplastics which enter the body can impair the effect of antibiotic treatment. The results also indicate that the nanoplastics may lead to the development of antibiotic resistance.

A mixed forest leads to less damage to trees, according to extensive data analysed by Micael Jonsson and his colleagues. Photo: Ulrika Bergfors

Mixed forests reduce the risk of forest damage in a warmer climate

Forests with few tree species pose considerably higher risk of being damaged and especially vulnerable is the introduced lodgepole pine. This is shown in a new study by researchers from Umeå University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Science in Uppsala. The results can be useful for preventing forest damages and financial losses related to the forest industry.

Self-driving machines need to be able to adapt to changes in the environment in order not to risk harming the environment or, in the worst case, people. Graphic: Martin Servin

Computational physics to make AI-controlled heavy machinery safer

When heavy machinery is to become robots with autonomous capabilities, safety is at highest priority. In a new EU project, researchers and industry collaborate to develop reliable and efficient AI-driven machines that minimize the risk of harming people or the environment.

Yuchen Lan with her prizewinning concept for a motivational training kit for young people suffering from cystic fibrosis. Photo: Yuchen Lan

Umeå Institute of Design tops Red Dot ranking for ninth straight year

Umeå Institute of Design (UID) at Umeå University has once again secured top spot on the Red Dot Design Ranking. This achievement marks nine consecutive years that UID has led the rankings, underscoring the school’s leading position in design education on the international stage.

A certain protein in listeria bacteria helps them survive in food production, putting them at risk of food poisoning. Photo: Johnér Bildbyrå AB

Research on calcium transport can fight bacteria and provide safer food

Researchers at Umeå University have revealed details on how bacteria use calcium to regulate vital processes, in a way that differs from human cells. This breakthrough is significant in the fight against antibiotic resistance and for increasing safety in food production.

  Two of the researchers behind the study, Sandhya Malla and Kanchan Kumari, in the Aguilo lab. Image: Poonam Baidya

New findings on stem cells and development of cancer

A study led by Umeå University, Sweden, presents new discoveries about how stem cells develop and transition into specialised cells. The discovery can provide increased understanding of how cells divide and grow uncontrollably so that cancer develops.

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.

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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.