Science Stories

More than 100 years ago August Krogh received the Nobel Prize for showing how oxygen is transported from the lungs through the blood into the small capillaries in the muscles. Details of the mechanism and how it is regulated are still central topics of research a hundred years after and understanding respiration is still a matter of life or death. In this interview science journalist Jens Degett h...

DNA and RNA sequence analysis enable researchers to form a total overview of which species of microorganisms and parasites live with humans, animals and plants. It is not just in our gut where microorganisms are playing a role in our digestion. Also on the skin and all mucous membranes, in the mouth and all the way down into the hair follicles, we live together with parasites and microorganisms wh...

Obesity, mobility, exercise and cancer are in the spotlight for researchers as there is an increasing amount of evidence pointing at the metabolic mechanisms which bind them together. Associate Professor Lykke Sylow from the Department of Biomedical Sciences, Molecular Metabolism in Cancer and Ageing at the Health Faculty at University of Copenhagen Is being interviewed by science journalist Jens...

The first quantum computer has arrived. The version of a quantum chip that recently came out of the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen is now for sale, but it has already been sold out. The price is cheap according to professor Peter Lodahl from Sparrow Quantum who has recently moved out of the old Niels Bohr Institute to the other side of the street. Not a big move but a quantum leap. Science jou...

Professor Birger Lindberg Møller from Center for Synthetic Biology, Denmark, has always been impressed with the plant world and how plants can act as sun driven biochemical factories which can generate all the substances needed for growth and development of the plant. Plants can defend themselves with poison, they can signalise to each other and protect themselves against being eaten. Humans have...

En af Science Stories hyppige gæster er læge og professor Anders Fomsgaard fra Statens Seruminstitut, som hjalp os igennem COVID pandemien og siden da har bidraget med masser af viden om infektionssygdomme. Anders Fomsgaard skrev for nylig en bog om sit liv som læge. Bogen hedder Syge Historier, og i denne podcast fortæller Anders Fomsgaard historier fra bogen til videnskabsjournalist Jens Degett.

Another year has passed - so welcome to the Science Stories New Year podcast 2025. My name is Jens Degett and as tradition dictates, in this New Year's program, I play soundbites and tell stories about a selected sample of the last year's podcasts from Science Stories. One of our limitations is language. Our podcast in Danish has by definition a very small audience. In the course of the years, we...

Researchers all over the world have tried for more than 25 years to make a new type of computer that can solve much more complex problems than traditional computers are capable of. Professor Charles Marcus from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen is one of the leading researchers who have made major contributions to the development of quantum computers. He is giving a profound understanding abo...

Diabetes is about hormonal regulation of metabolism in the body. Apart from insulin there are many hormones, organs and receptors involved, but even if it is complicated to understand, it does not mean we should not talk about it or ask questions. In connection with the commemoration of the discovery of insulin +100 years ago, Science Journalist Jens Degett interviewed one of the most experienced...

The year 2020 marked the centenary of August Krogh's Nobel Prize in physiology. August Krogh received the award for showing how oxygen is transported from the lungs through the blood into the small capillaries in the muscles. Details of the mechanism and how it is regulated are still a central topic of research a hundred years after and understanding respiration is still a matter of life or death....

Mitochondria are called the powerhouse of the cells. They convert nutrients into energy, and they may hold the key to reverse aging and cure a large number of diseases. This is why exercise is important. But, can science one day come up with a pill that can reverse the aging of mitochondria? How close are we to solve this fundamental discovery? Professor Zhen Yan from University of Virginia was in...

What can vi learn from sponges or other primitive animals who have no brain. at all? What are the advantage of spending a lot of energy on maintaining a brain and what can the study of animals with none or very primitive brains teach us about evolution of complex animals with large brains. Professor Dr. Detlev Arendt is explaining to science journalist Jens Degett the advantage of having a small b...

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany, are taking the understanding of cell biology to a new level. Research group leader Alba Diz-Muñoz explains how texture, form and flexibility can make a big difference in your body's reaction to stress. It is not all hormone signals, DNA and biochemistry which determine the fate of a cell, an organ, or the whole...

Science Stories is visiting the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and ask some of the leading researchers about their work. This week science journalist Jens Degett interviews Dr Anna Kreshuk about how she and her research group is working with algorithms and image analysis to understand fundamentally how life works from the most primitive to the most advanced organisms an...

The LHC is the biggest and most powerful particle accelerator in the World. Senior researcher Troels Petersen from the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen is explaning what is going on in Geneva and why the accelerator is producing more results than ever. Science journalist Jens Degett is interviewing Troels Petersen. This podcast is supported by a Maria Leptin / EMBO Science Journalism Fellowship.

Experts from all over the world met four days during the Summer 2024 invited by the Niels Bohr Institute to discuss the available knowledge on the theme: Are we a Unique Species on a Unique Planet? - or are we just the ordinary Galactic standard? A selection of recognised scientist gave their best bid on: - Life on Exoplanets? - Disks and pre-biology - Terrestrial contra alien biology - Future of...

Experts from all over the world met four days during the Summer 2024 invited by the Niels Bohr Institute to discuss the available knowledge on the theme: Are we a Unique Species on a Unique Planet? - or are we just the ordinary Galactic standard? A selection of recognised scientist gave their best bid on: - Life on Exoplanets? - Disks and pre-biology - Terrestrial contra alien biology - Future of...

All organisms from fruit flies to humans share the same mechanism for controlling the day and night rhythms also called the circadian rhythms. This mechanism is considered fundamental to all advanced life forms, and it has a surprising feature. It binds us genetically to live on earth. Michael Rosbash received the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2017 for the discovery of the circadian rhythms together...

You may have heard about about space telescopes and gravitational wave detectors which are new instruments for the investigation of space and the universe. Now a new instrument is being tested underneath the South Pole. It literally consists of a cubic kilometer large ice cube with detectors that can catch small light emissions from a long distance. This instrument is giving us a new look at the u...

Several research groups all over the world are working intensively around the clock driving rowers around and making experiments on Mars. A lot is happening, and we are learning a lot every day. Senior researcher Morten Bo Madsen from the Niels Bohr Institute at University of Copenhagen explains to science Journalist Jens Degett some of the latest results presented rently. Huge amount of water is...

Life has existed and evolved on earth for almost 4 billion years. Living organisms copy themselves from other life and central for all known life forms is the genetic code. We are used to hear life described by biologists. but physicists have access to tools which can give a different and to some extend deeper understanding of life. Science Journalist Jens Degett is visiting the Niels Bohr Institu...

About fifty million individuals worldwide are affected by chronic hepatitis C virus. It has been one of the most expensive virus infections to treat, and it is an ongoing threat to global health. Now the virus has revealed a secret to a group of researchers in Denmark after five years of intensive work. Link to article in Nature: Link to article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-02...

Today’s story is a good example of how little we know about biology and life, and how we can use our knowledge to better fight diseases and environmental threats. We are going to talk about bacteriophages or just fages. These are small viruses which attack bacteria. The story is literally about life and death and most organisms on earth are being killed every week. Senior researcher Namiko Mitarai...

With new astronomical instruments and new knowledge of fundamental physics our understanding of the universe is developing fast. The new understanding of the universe from its Dark Ages, after the Big Bang, to the current acceleration with planets, stars, galaxies and life raises a lot of questions. In this podcast, Science Journalist Jens Degett interviews Associate Professor Darach Watson from t...

Gennem nogen tid har man kunnet høre politikere og meningsdannere tale om at skære ned på uddannelserne, gøre dem kortere og udhule indholdet, så man ikke behøver at kunne så meget. Antallet af studerende skal skæres ned, og det skal være sværere for mange at komme ind på den uddannelse de ønsker sig. Forskerne klager samtidig over at forskningsmidler som udbydes i fri konkurrence er stagneret i g...