Media
Unique pump in sperm cells makes a difficult journey possible
2012.05.01 — In his PhD work, Michael Jakob Voldsgaard Clausen made a detailed study of a molecular pump that is essential for sperm cells and is not found in other types of cells. The job of a sperm cell is to carry genetic information from a male to a female. In order to carry out this project, the cell has to travel from the testicle to the ovary, where both the pH value and salt concentrations are drastically altered. His results show that this pump is specific to sperm cells and is adapted to be able to maintain stable activity in conditions in which there are changes to the salt concentrations and the membrane potential of the cell. In time, it is possible that his results could be used in developing a birth control pill for men. Michael Clausen defended his dissertation on 23 April 2012. PhD supervisors: Professor Poul Nissen and Postdoctoral Research Associate Hanne Poulsen. Listen to the interview with Michael Clausen on Radio24syv (in Danish) about his results. (The interview starts 45.22 min into the broadcast). More information Michael Jakob Voldsgaard ClausenDepartment of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmarkmjc@mb.au.dk
2012.02.15 — Biologists are concerned about climate change impact, and they predict that a range of flora and fauna will disappear from Denmark within a few years. Hear Jens-Christian Svenning talk about climate change research at Aarhus University (in Danish only).
Play computer games and help research
2012.01.22 — Jacob Sherson, postdoctoral scholar at the Department of Physics and Astronomy, is developing a computer game where users can ‘play’ their way to answers to the most difficult research problems. On 17 January, he took part in Videnskabens Verden (Science World) on radio P1. Read more and hear the broadcast (in Danish only) here.
Why the tsunami wave was so violent in Japan
2012.01.16 — Niels Balling, Department of Geoscience, explained in the radio P1 morning programme how satellite images of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March 2011 can tell why the tsunami wave was so violent. The topography of the sea bed plays a significant role in the development of the wave.
Aarhus astronomers win ‘Science’s Top 5’
2011.12.20 — Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Hans Kjeldsen, Department of Physics and Astronomy, have been selected by the Danish journal Ingeniøren (The Engineer) as winners of ‘Science’s Top 5’ – an annual competition to find the best Danish research results in engineering and science.
Self-healing plaster in the top 10 list of the best solutions copied from nature
2011.12.13 — Inspired by common mussels, Henrik Birkedal, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, has helped develop a plaster that can repair itself. This research project is included in Videnskab.dk’s top 10 list of the best solutions copied from nature.
2011.12.08 — On Monday 5 December 2011, Hans Kjeldsen, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard, Christoffer Karoff et al., Department of Physics and Astronomy, published the discovery of a new Earth-like planet 600 light years away.
Atom tweezers in the top three
2011.12.08 — Among the three best candidates for the Danish Research Results of the Year 2011, Videnskab.dk selected Jacob Friis Sherson, Department of Physics and Astronomy, and his incredibly precise tweezers, which can grab hold of a single atom at a time.
Quantum mechanical behaviour of atoms in Danish journal
2011.11.30 — Lars Bojer Madsen, Department of Physics and Astronomy, took part in a Danish/Swiss research collaboration that used femtosecond pulses to measure how electrons momentarily break through energy barriers. This was featured in an article in Ingeniøren (The Engineer) on 30 November 2011.
2011.11.22 — In the DR2 TV programme Danskernes Akademi (the Danes’ Academy), Tinna Stevnsner, Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, says that ageing is associated with a considerable number of physical changes. These can be attributed to changes in the individual cells in the body, right down to the molecular level, and they can explain why our bodies get old and why some of us reach a very old age, while others do not.