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Astronomers at Lund University in Sweden have found a group of stars in the Milky Way disk, that are most likely remnants from an unknown baby galaxy that was swallowed by the Milky Way over 10 billion years ago. Nothing like it has been discovered in the galaxy disk before. After the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, space was a veritable Wild West. Stars formed inside huge gas clouds that collide

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-find-ten-billion-year-old-ghost-stars-swallowed-galaxy - 2026-05-19

The emergence of a mysterious area in the South Atlantic where the geomagnetic field strength is decreasing rapidly, has led to speculation that Earth is heading towards a magnetic polarity reversal. However, a new study that pieces together evidence stretching back 9,000 years, suggests that the current changes aren’t unique, and that a reversal may not be in the cards after all. The Earth’s magn

https://www.science.lu.se/article/earths-magnetic-poles-not-likely-flip - 2026-05-19

The ostrich is genetically wired to adapt to rising or falling temperatures. However, when the temperature fluctuates more often, as it does with climate change, the flightless bird with a 40-gram brain finds it much more difficult. A research team at Lund University has shown that the ostrich is very sensitive to fluctuating temperatures in terms of whether it reproduces. If the temperature rises

https://www.science.lu.se/article/ostriches-can-adapt-heat-or-cold-not-both - 2026-05-19

When you take a dip in a Swedish lake, it is not unusual to find you cannot see the lake bottom. Lake water coloured brown by organic material can be an inconvenience for swimming tourists, but mainly causes problems for the ecosystem and drinking water. Focusing on Lake Bolmen, researchers, public authorities and local organisations are now joining forces in a research project to find methods tha

https://www.science.lu.se/article/many-reasons-take-care-lake-water - 2026-05-19

By analyzing DNA with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), an international research team led by Lund University in Sweden has developed a method that can accurately date up to ten-thousand year-old human remains. Accurately dating ancient humans is key when mapping how people migrated during world history. The standard dating method since the 1950s has been radiocarbon dating. The method, wh

https://www.science.lu.se/article/researchers-develop-first-ai-based-method-dating-archaeological-remains - 2026-05-19

The most common analytical method within population genetics is deeply flawed, according to a new study from Lund University. This may have led to incorrect results and misconceptions about ethnicity and genetic relationships. The method has been used in hundreds of thousands of studies, affecting results within medical genetics and even commercial ancestry tests. The study is published in Scienti

https://www.science.lu.se/article/study-reveals-flaws-popular-genetic-method - 2026-05-19

Solitary bees that ingested the pesticide clothianidin when foraging from rapeseed flowers became slower. In addition, the strawberries pollinated by these bees were smaller. This is shown by a new study from Lund University in Sweden. Strawberries are known to become bigger if bees have visited their flowers, but how strawberry growth is affected if the bees have been exposed to neonicotinoid ins

https://www.science.lu.se/article/strawberries-were-smaller-when-bees-ingested-pesticides - 2026-05-19

Using data from the Gaia space telescope, a team led by researchers at Lund University in Sweden has shown that large parts of the Milky Way's outer disk vibrate. The ripples are caused by a dwarf galaxy, now seen in the constellation Sagittarius, that shook our galaxy as it passed by hundreds of millions of years ago. Our cosmic home, the Milky Way, contains between 100 and 400 billion stars. Ast

https://www.science.lu.se/article/mysterious-ripples-milky-way-were-caused-passing-dwarf-galaxy - 2026-05-19

A new study led by Lund University in Sweden shows that cities negatively affect the diversity of birds. There are significantly fewer bird species in urban forests compared with forests in the countryside - even if the forest areas are of the same quality. The researchers examined 459 natural woodlands located in or near 32 cities in southern Sweden. They counted the occurrence of different bird

https://www.science.lu.se/article/less-bird-diversity-city-forests - 2026-05-19

The UN’s annual climate change conference is currently ongoing in Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Over the course of two weeks, representatives of the world’s nations will gather to discuss how to achieve the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement and contribute to the climate transition. At this year’s COP, the focus will be on topics such as climate finance, damage and loss, adaptation to climate change an

https://www.science.lu.se/article/uns-climate-change-conference-cop27-topics-agenda - 2026-05-19

Almost one fourth of Sweden’s last unprotected old-growth forest was logged between 2003 and 2019. At this rate, all of these ecologically unique and valuable forests will be lost in about 50 years. These findings add to the growing body of evidence for widespread cryptic forest degradation across the global north. A small fraction of Sweden’s forests consists of older forests which have never pre

https://www.science.lu.se/article/study-uncovers-widespread-and-ongoing-clearcutting-swedish-old-forests - 2026-05-19

Roberto García-Roa, postdoc at the department of Biology has won yet another prestigious photo award. This time he’s the overall winner of “Capturing Ecology”, the British Ecological Society photo competition. Congratulations Roberto, what does this award mean to you? – It’s very special! First, it links two powerful allies, science and photography. They are probably two of the best tools we have

https://www.science.lu.se/article/sharp-shooting-biologist-winner-international-photography-award - 2026-05-19

Nature is a source of well-being and recovery for many people. However, research shows that there is also a growing number of individuals who experience negative emotions, such as fear, discomfort, or even disgust, toward nature. The phenomenon, called biophobia, is now highlighted in a new study from Lund University. “Research has long assumed that people fundamentally feel positive emotions towa

https://www.science.lu.se/article/new-study-challenges-idea-humans-innately-nature-loving - 2026-05-19

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.science.lu.se/article/honeybees-crowd-out-bumblebees-even-flower-rich-heathlands - 2026-05-19

As nuclear power once again takes centre stage in the energy debate, the demand for new knowledge is growing. At Lund University, a new six‑year research project is now being launched to examine what future reactor technologies will mean for the environment, safety and society. Backed by SEK 27 million in new funding from the Swedish Research Council, the initiative will enable researchers to esta

https://www.science.lu.se/article/lund-university-builds-interdisciplinary-capacity-future-nuclear-power - 2026-05-19

When a new EU project focusing on gender equality and diversity in STEM got under way last autumn, Lund University was involved from the outset. Through the Department of Physics, Lund is participating in the Erasmus+ project GENERA COPA, which has received €400,000 in funding and brings together universities and research environments from across Europe. The project launched in September 2025 in c

https://www.science.lu.se/article/we-need-more-perspectives-physics-and-mathematics-lund-new-eu-project - 2026-05-19

The Faculty of Science has appointed American chemist Jannette Carey and British–Australian astrophysicist Jonathan Bland-Hawthorn as this year's honorary doctors. The appointments recognise their groundbreaking research, significant contributions to education and long-standing collaboration with the faculty.Jannette Carey, professor of chemistry at Princeton University, USA, is internationally re

https://www.science.lu.se/article/educational-protein-researcher-and-acclaimed-galaxy-professor-named-new-honorary-doctors-science - 2026-05-19

Alfred Larsson, postdoctoral researcher in synchrotron radiation physics at the Department of Physics, Lund University, has been awarded MAX IV’s 2026 Doctoral Thesis Prize. The award was presented during the MAX IV User Meeting held on 19–21 January 2026. The award recognises the best doctoral thesis with a clear connection to MAX IV over the past two years, highlighting research that combines sc

https://www.science.lu.se/article/alfred-larsson-receives-max-ivs-prize-best-doctoral-thesis - 2026-05-19

Some fungi are wasteful, while others recycle – and this can determine how much carbon is stored in a forest. Researchers at Lund University have now revealed how fungi manage their mycelium, the network that builds the structure of fungus. The results could provide new insights into the carbon cycle and climate. Researchers have investigated how fungi recycle their mycelium when they grow. Using

https://www.science.lu.se/article/recycling-strategies-fungi-can-affect-how-forests-store-carbon - 2026-05-19

Researchers at Lund University have produced the most detailed map of carbon emissions from Swedish forest fires to date. The results show that the largest emissions occur below the ground surface, in peat and organic soils. During the extremely hot summer of 2018, 324 forest fires were reported in Sweden. Using field measurements, models, and data from the Swedish Forest Agency, the Swedish Envir

https://www.science.lu.se/article/large-forest-fire-emissions-are-hidden-underground - 2026-05-19