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How credible are research results? A new biology study shows that the same data can give different answers depending on the method of analysis used – raising questions about the stability of scientific conclusions. To strengthen credibility, researchers need to be better at accounting for their methods. Ever since the 17th century, when modern scientific research was born, methods have been refine

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/reliability-scientific-methods-under-scrutiny - 2025-12-13

Roach that migrate between different lakes and water courses have larger pupils and better eyesight than roach that stay in one place. The adaptation makes it easier for the red-eyed freshwater migrants to find food in murky waters. This is shown in a large study from Lund University in Sweden. Animals’ eyes, just like those of humans, are a kind of window to the world. Eyesight controls important

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/migrating-roach-have-sharper-eyesight - 2025-12-13

Humans and animals are not the only ones affected by viruses. Unicellular organisms can also be attacked. In a new study, scientists establish that green algae can carry latent giant virus DNA in their genome. Biology researchers at Lund University in Sweden have spent several years studying microorganisms isolated from Lake Krageholm in Skåne and Lake Örsjön in Småland. During the most recent ele

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/unicellular-green-algae-may-carry-giant-virus-dna-their-genome - 2025-12-13

Øystein Opedal, associate senior lecturer at the Department of Biology, has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant. Congratulations, Øystein! Can you tell us a little about your project?“The project aims to better understand how plants adapt to new pollination environments, such as declining pollinator populations or local changes in the diversity of pollinator species. We know quite a lot about how p

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/biologist-receives-erc-starting-grant - 2025-12-13

Dung beetles are among the strongest animals in the world. They also possess an exceptional ability to cooperate. Research shows that female and male spider dung beetles together are able to move large dung balls across difficult obstacles. However, same-sex attempts to do the same always ended in aggressive fights. Dung beetles live in and on animal droppings. By breaking down organic substances,

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/beetles-cooperate-tricky-dung-moves - 2025-12-13

Andreas Nord, a researcher at the Department of Biology, will receive EUR 2 million to study how warm-blooded animals are affected as the climate becomes warmer and more unpredictable. As part of the project, he will study different species of birds to determine how quickly heat tolerance could evolve and what will happen to our bird populations if tolerance fails to adapt. In the final part, Nord

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/researcher-receive-erc-consolidator-grant - 2025-12-13

Bumblebees have a great capacity to navigate despite their small brain size. This is borne out of new research conducted at Lund University in Sweden, among others. The research results can potentially benefit the development of navigation robots in crisis situations where GPS does not work, for example. According to the study, bumblebees appear capable of navigating as well as vertebrates can, an

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/bumblebees-sense-direction-rivals-humans - 2025-12-13

Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have studied how nanoplastic affects aquatic organisms in lakes and rivers. The results are surprising, and the researchers are the first to show that some species are being wiped out, while others – such as cyanobacteria that contribute to algal blooms – are completely unaffected. Every year, the amount of plastic in the world’s oceans increases by between

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/grazing-zooplankton-severely-impacted-nanoplastic-particles - 2025-12-13

Eric Warrant, a professor at the Department of Biology, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Incredible journeys: How do multiple sensory cues allow animal migrants to precisely navigate to a distant goal?” Congratulations Eric, how does it feel?“Very gratifying! This is my second Advanced Grant and it feels like a good confirmation that we are on the right path with our research.”C

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/biology-professor-receives-prestigious-eu-grant - 2025-12-13

A groundbreaking study from Lund University in Sweden shows that the Australian Bogong moth uses the stars and the Milky Way as a compass during its annual 1,000-kilometre journey to cool inland caves. It also reveals that the Earth’s magnetic field plays an important role in the enigmatic moth’s navigation. It is absolutely amazing considering the length of the journey. It’s the equivalent of a h

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/moths-use-stars-and-earths-magnetic-field-compass - 2025-12-13

A new study from Lund University shows that migratory birds fly most efficiently at moderate speeds – precisely the pace they use during their long journeys across continents. Now, at the end of summer, when thrush nightingales leave Sweden for Southern Africa, they don’t fly flat out. Instead, they cruise at a steady pace – and according to the study from Lund, that’s no coincidence.Migratory bir

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/not-too-fast-not-too-slow-perfect-pace-migrating-birds - 2025-12-13

Staffan Bensch, professor at the Department of Biology, receives an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Genetics of long-distance migration”. Congratulations Staffan, how does it feel?”It still feels quite surreal. I worked for a very long time on the application, which I submitted a year ago. The decision that came in June was initially a rejection, then changed to reserve, and after three months

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/staffan-bensch-receives-erc-advanced-grant-research-songbird-migration-behaviour - 2025-12-13

High above us, the atmosphere is teeming with life. Birds, bats and insects share the airspace, but divide it into different lanes of traffic. New research from Lund University in Sweden reveals how the atmosphere is an ecosystem, with complex ecological processes that affect how animals move between different altitude levels. We often consider the air as simply a void – but it is in fact alive an

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/hidden-highways-sky-mapped - 2025-12-13

A unique long-term study, in which samples were collected from the same population of blue tits over a 30-year period, shows that rising spring temperatures have doubled the incidence of avian malaria in southern Sweden. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have collected samples every year from hundreds of blue tits in a single population at a local breeding area outside Lund. This has prov

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/warmer-nordic-springs-double-incidence-avian-malaria - 2025-12-13

Through the DNA analysis of old air samples collected by the Swedish Armed Forces, researchers at Lund University in Sweden can show that spore dispersal of northern mosses has shifted over the past 35 years. It now starts several weeks earlier, revealing how quickly nature’s calendar can reset in line with a warmer climate. “The samples have proved to be an unexpected, unique and very exciting ar

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/old-air-samples-military-reveal-climate-change - 2025-12-13

How should scientists handle deep disagreements? A new paper by researcher Juan Gefaell and Professor Tobias Uller at Lund University introduces a more constructive way to deal with disputes in ecology and evolutionary biology – by turning opponents into collaborators. “Despite some apparent challenges, it is feasible to apply adversarial collaboration to ecology and evolutionary biology disputes.

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/turning-scientific-rivals-partners - 2025-12-13

When the late summer sun falls over Ireland’s Wicklow Mountains, the slopes turn purple with blooming heather. Honeybees are moved to the heathlands for the sought-after heather honey, but their presence affects wild bumblebees. An Irish-Swedish research team has shown in a new study that wild bumblebees change their behaviour and are smaller in size when the number of beehives increases. The rese

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/honeybees-crowd-out-bumblebees-even-flower-rich-heathlands - 2025-12-13

Biologists Michael Bok and Cecilia Nilsson have been awarded the prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant to further study how not to disrupt animal flight and the evolution of eyesight. Michael Bok, researcher, Lund Vision GroupCan you describe your research?I study the evolution of eyes and visual systems. This new grant attempts to discover how advanced visual abilities like colour and polarisation v

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/lund-university-researchers-awarded-major-eu-grant - 2025-12-13

Red-backed shrikes fly thousands of kilometres to reach Africa – and they do so with astonishing precision. Aided by new technology, researchers at Lund University in Sweden have been able to track the birds’ journeys in detail. It turns out that they may have a more complex genetic migration programme than researchers have previously been able to show. “We can now follow a bird’s location through

https://www.biology.lu.se/article/new-technology-reveals-migratory-birds-stunning-precision-flight - 2025-12-13

After climate change, biodiversity loss is the biggest environmental challenge facing the world today. The loss of plant and animal species also means a loss of the resources that humans obtain from well-functioning ecosystems. At Lund University, a project is underway in which researchers are studying how work to counteract these losses is carried out with so-called green infrastructure. In today

https://www.cec.lu.se/article/green-infrastructure-planning-and-designing-functioning-nature - 2025-12-13