A dung beetle rolling its ball under an artificial moonlit sky. Photo: Chris Collingridge. Of all nocturnal animals, only dung beetles can hold their course using polarized moonlight. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have now shown that the beetles can use polarized light when its signal strength is weak,which may allow them to find their bearings when artificial light from cities swamp na

https://www.science.lu.se/article/dung-beetles-navigate-better-under-full-moon - 2025-08-27

Greya politella and Greya obscura on a Lithophragma cymbalaria. Photo: Magne Friberg. A research team that includes researchers from Lund University in Sweden, the University of California Santa Cruz, Cornell University and the University of São Paulo, has discovered that the scent of flowers of the same species can be completely different - despite growing only some10 kilometres apart. The study

https://www.science.lu.se/article/scent-flower-varies-locally - 2025-08-27

Algal sample. Photo: Karin Rengefors. Work is going ahead on several new research projects about extreme weather in the light of last summer’s extreme drought. Three of these projects concern extreme weather’s impact on algal blooms, its consequences for bumble bee colonies, and the use of climate models to investigate effects on political, legal and social engagement. The government research coun

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-research-extreme-weather - 2025-08-27

Pallid swift (Photo: Davide D'Amico). Nearly 100 species of swift are completely adapted to life in the air. That is the conclusion of researchers at Lund University in Sweden after having studied a third species and observing that some individuals did not land for over three months. “They eat and sleep while they are airborne. This is something that researchers have believed since the 1950s, and

https://www.science.lu.se/article/swifts-are-born-eat-and-sleep-air - 2025-08-27

Photo courtesy of NASA/SDO. Solar storms can be far more powerful than previously thought. A new study has found evidence for the third known case of a massive solar storm in historical times. The researchers believe that society might not be sufficiently prepared if a similar event were to happen now. Our planet is constantly being bombarded by cosmic particles. However, at times the stream of pa

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-uncover-additional-evidence-massive-solar-storms - 2025-08-27

Illustration: NASA/JPL-Caltech. The giant planet Jupiter was formed four times further from the sun than its current orbit, and migrated inwards in the solar system over a period of 700.000 years. Researchers found proof of this incredible journey thanks to a group of asteroids close to Jupiter. It is known that gas giants around other stars are often located very near their sun. According to acce

https://www.science.lu.se/article/jupiters-unknown-journey-revealed - 2025-08-27

3D image of the head of a bumblebee. Image: Pierre Tichit. By generating 3D images of bumblebees’ compound eyes, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered how bumblebees differ in their vision. The results could contribute to increased knowledge about the pollination process - once researchers are able to determine which flowers different bees see easily, and which ones they find it

https://www.science.lu.se/article/3d-models-reveal-why-bigger-bumblebees-see-better - 2025-08-27

Dmitrii Pankratov, Lo Gorton and Galina Pankratova (Photo: Maryam Saati) In recent years, researchers have tried to capture the electrical current that bacteria generate through their own metabolism. So far, however, the transfer of the current from the bacteria to a receiving electrode has not been efficient at all. Now, researchers from institutions including Lund University have achieved a slig

https://www.science.lu.se/article/bacteria-could-become-future-source-electricity - 2025-08-27

A researcher at the Department of Geology at Lund University has been awarded just over SEK 26 million by the European Research Council, ERC. Daniel Conley, professor of biogeochemistry at Lund University, has been awarded the grant for a five-year project on diatoms in the ocean. Diatoms have a significant impact on the global biogeochemical cycles of carbon, silicon dioxide and other nutrients t

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researcher-awarded-prestigious-erc-grant - 2025-08-27

This planetary fragment is orbiting around the white dwarf among the debris from the earlier solar system. The image is an artistic impression. Illustration: University of Warwick/Mark Garlick. Astronomers have discovered what appears to be the remnants of a planet orbiting a dead star in a disc of debris formed from destroyed planets. The planetary fragment could offer clues into the fate of our

https://www.science.lu.se/article/remains-planet-found-orbiting-dead-star - 2025-08-27

Mats E. Eriksson Professor Mats E. Eriksson of Lund University in Sweden is now publishing his second book in the somewhat unusual subject combination of geological fossils and heavy metal music. Researching microscopic fossils and attempting to reconstruct several hundred million-year-old ecosystems is Mats E. Eriksson’s day job as a professor of geology at Lund University in Sweden. In his spare

https://www.science.lu.se/article/geology-professor-releases-new-book-about-heavy-metal - 2025-08-27

Photo: Chris Collingridge. Researchers have shown for the first time that an animal uses different directional sensors to achieve the highest possible navigational precision in different conditions. When the sun is high, dung beetles navigate using the wind. The discovery of the dung beetles’ wind compass and how it complements the sun compass was made by an international research team comprising

https://www.science.lu.se/article/dung-beetles-use-wind-compass-when-sun-high - 2025-08-27

Researchers at Lund University have contributed to creating a uniquely detailed global climate model that will increase our understanding of climate change. It is the first time that vegetation and land use, at this level of detail, are included in climate modeling within EC-Earth, a global climate and earth system model. Previous calculations have shown that vegetation and land use are important

https://www.science.lu.se/article/unique-climate-model-includes-vegetation-developed - 2025-08-27

The crucian carp lower down has lived near predators, and is bigger (in height). Photo: Jerker Vinterstare. Predators are not only a deadly threat to many animals, they also affect potential prey negatively simply by being nearby. Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied what happens to the prey’s immune system when they are forced to expend a large amount of their energy on avoiding

https://www.science.lu.se/article/fear-predators-increases-risk-illness - 2025-08-27

Fossil crane-fly from the 54-million-year-old Fur Formation of Denmark. Note distinct compound eyes preserved as dark stains. Photo: René Lyng Sylvestersen. Eumelanin – a natural pigment found for instance in human eyes – has, for the first time, been identified in the fossilized compound eyes of 54-million-year-old crane-flies. It was previously assumed that melanic screening pigments did not exi

https://www.science.lu.se/article/composition-fossil-insect-eyes-surprises-researchers - 2025-08-27

Illustration: Don Davis. An international study led by researchers from Lund University in Sweden has found that a collision in the asteroid belt 470 million years ago created drastic changes to life on Earth. The breakup of a major asteroid filled the entire inner solar system with enormous amounts of dust leading to a unique ice age and, subsequently, to higher levels of biodiversity. The unexpe

https://www.science.lu.se/article/gigantic-asteroid-collision-boosted-biodiversity-earth - 2025-08-27

The water in the glasses comes from natural waters within a distance of 35 kilometers in the county of Jönköping, southern Sweden. (Photo: Stefan Löfgren). Over the past 50 years, the water in lakes and watercourses has turned increasingly brown. The so-called browning has a negative impact on both drinking water production and ecosystems. If nothing is done, the water is likely to turn even brown

https://www.science.lu.se/article/how-changes-land-use-could-reduce-browning-lakes - 2025-08-27

Ice hockey player In a new article, researchers at Lund University have studied a new ice-skating technique that is more energy efficient than the traditional stride technique. By skating in arcs, ice hockey players can move just as quickly but with less energy loss. The authors say this could lead to better performance on the ice, as the players would retain more energy. The study, now published

https://www.science.lu.se/article/lund-researchers-have-analysed-alternative-skating-technique-could-revolutionise-ice-hockey - 2025-08-27

Gabriel Norevik with a nightjar. Photo: Aron Hejdström. A new study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the presence or absence of moonlight has a considerable bearing on when migratory birds take flight in the autumn. Together with colleagues at the Department of Biology at Lund University, Gabriel Norevik studied European nightjars (Caprimulgus europaeus) and how the lunar cycle and moonli

https://www.science.lu.se/article/moon-determines-when-migratory-birds-head-south - 2025-08-27

Olivier Van Aken. Photo: Johan Joelsson. An international study led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden and The University of Western Australia shows that the pressure from water droplets on a leaf surface triggers stress hormones like jasmonic acid. These cellular changes become apparent very quickly and can could make plants better equipped to withstand disease and drought. In contrast t

https://www.science.lu.se/article/impact-water-droplets-leaves-quickly-triggers-stress-responses-plants - 2025-08-27