Biology - Aarhus University

🦫 Exploring Denmark's Wildlife: Biology Students on a Beaver Excursion 🦫 Recently, 14 biology students from Aarhus University, organized by the student association "Kulten," embarked on a trip to Klosterheden Plantation, Denmark’s third-largest forest area, to observe beavers in their natural habitat. Beavers were reintroduced to Klosterheden in West Jutland 25 years ago, after being extinct in Denmark for approximately 2,500 years. These remarkable animals are keystone species, transforming landscapes by building dams and creating complex ecosystems that benefit countless other species. Today, they are considered threatened and can only be found in a few areas of Denmark. In addition to beavers, the students spotted rare species such as the minotaur beetle and marsh clubmoss. Check out the fantastic photos from their trip below! At the Department of Biology, we are proud to support our student associations. These extracurricular activities not only deepen students' knowledge on study-relevant topics but also foster a strong social environment, making our Biology program even more attractive to prospective students. #Biology #WildlifeConservation #Beavers #Klosterheden #AarhusUniversity #FieldTrip #StudentLife

☕️At Biology, we walk the talk – especially with coffee☕️  Our staff members love coffee and drink a lot of it. To support the important work they do, the department provides free tea and coffee☕️🍵. This results in approximately 6-7 kg of coffee grounds being produced every single workday! Although Aarhus University's recycling program is progressing, it hasn’t been fully implemented yet. This means that all these kilos of coffee grounds used to end up in the general waste bin, destined for incineration🔥. However, as a small activistic initiative, our secretariat member Emilia Djomina Hansen took the lead by purchasing bins and bags for composting. Over the summer, the demand for coffee grounds soared, with staff members eagerly taking them home for their composting needs. While this may seem like a small gesture in the grand scheme of things, we believe it’s important to make the most of the resources we have and to celebrate these acts of sustainability until Aarhus University's infrastructure catches up ♻️.

New study uncovers the secret behind the shrew's extraordinary heart rate: Did you know that the tiny shrew can have a resting heart rate of up to 17 beats per second—that's 1,020 beats per minute? In comparison, humans average around 60-100 beats per minute. So, how do these small mammals achieve such an extreme heart rate?   A new study has revealed an evolutionary change in a heart protein that holds the key! Led by postdoc William Joyce and Professor Kevin Campbell, the team discovered that shrews are missing a crucial DNA region that removes the brakes on heart relaxation time. This allows their hearts to beat much faster, even at rest.   This breakthrough could have exciting implications for biomedicine, as researchers aim to explore how this mechanism might be replicated in human hearts in the future.

 🛠️ After 26 Years of Service, John is Heading for Retirement ✨   Not all of our department's success is driven by biologists—our research also relies on the invaluable support of talented professionals like John, an engineer who has been a part of the Biology workshop for 26 years.   John first joined us as an apprentice in 1978. After a detour working for other companies, he returned and has been a loyal colleague ever since. His incredible career was celebrated with a heartfelt farewell reception in the workshop, where current and former colleagues, apprentices, and students gathered in his honor. True to form, John spent much of the event serving everyone with his famous hot dogs—just as he’s done at so many gatherings over the years.   Work-wise, John is known for his creativity and dedication, and he has often worked tirelessly to bring our researchers' ideas to life, whether it’s inventing a camera that can be attached to a sperm whale or designing fieldwork equipment. As Professor Peter Teglberg Madsen said in his speech, "Without the workshop, the science cannot be done."   John, your skill and social presence will be greatly missed. We wish you all the best in your well-deserved retirement! 🌟 #Retirement #ThankYou #Biology #Engineering #Workshop Photo: Louise Kæseler Poulsen

🌍 Professor Søren Rysgaard receives prestigious grant for new Arctic research center! 🌊❄️   Professor Rysgaard has been awarded DKK 60 million from the Danmarks Grundforskningsfond / The Danish National Research Foundation to establish the Center for Ice-Free Arctic Research (CIFAR). The center will address the urgent issue of Arctic "freshening," caused by increasing freshwater from river runoff and melting ice, which is transforming marine ecosystems and global climate dynamics.   "I am thrilled to have been awarded the center. The timing is absolutely critical, as climate change is accelerating rapidly. This opportunity also allows us to expand upon data analysis from the advanced research infrastructure that we have been developing in Greenland in recent years," said Professor Rysgaard.   CIFAR will focus on understanding the impacts of ice loss and freshening in East Greenland, addressing critical knowledge gaps to predict how these changes will affect both local ecosystems and global climate regulation. You can read more about the center here: https://lnkd.in/d5Kx6gRD   #ClimateChange #ArcticResearch #MarineScience #Arctic #AarhusUniversity #Biology #Oceanography #GlobalClimate

🎉 Big Congratulations to Professor Andreas Schramm, Professor Trine Bilde, and Postdoc Andrei Kalinichev, for each receiving a DKK 2 million Villum Experiment Grant from Villum Fonden!   Professor Andreas Schramm will use his grant to develop a method to retrieve genomes of rare but essential bacteria from animals, starting with wood ants. "Microbes are essential 'little helpers' for many animals and plants but are often hard to study. We aim to accelerate their investigation," says Professor Schramm.   Professor Trine Bilde will explore skewed sex ratios in species like spiders and insects, investigating when and how this imbalance occurs using DNA sequencing. "This will help us understand why extreme sex ratios appear in so many species," says Professor Bilde.   Postdoc and fellow at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS) - Aarhus University Andrei Kalinichev will advance ion measurement technologies by combining electrochemistry and optical sensors to overcome limitations like pH cross-sensitivity. His interdisciplinary project challenges conventional methods and aims to make ion measurements more accurate and reliable.   #VillumExperiment #ScienceInnovation #Biology #Microbiomes #SexRatios #IonMeasurement #AarhusUniversity #Research   Photo credit: Roar Paaske and private photo

🎶 Science Meets Symphony: What Does It Feel Like to Be a Cable Bacteria? 🎶 One of the biggest challenges researchers face is how to communicate their work in a way that resonates with the general public. How can we, for instance, help people relate to something as distant and invisible as a microbe? Robin Bonné, former postdoc at the Center for Electromicrobiology and the Section for Microbiology, tackled this challenge head-on during his participation in the prestigious Baltic Sea Festival in Sweden this August! 🌊🎻 Through his imaginative presentation of "Cable Bacteria," Robin transported the audience into the world of microbes, describing what it might feel like to be one. Combining theater, storytelling, and science, he made the microscopic world come alive in a way that few have attempted. The experience was elevated by a stunning musical composition by Otto Nuoranne, performed by the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. This powerful fusion of art and science was nothing short of mesmerizing! 👀 Watch the performance from minute 1:23:50 to 1:42:00: https://lnkd.in/dtFwF8Su Kudos to Robin for pushing the boundaries of science communication and making microbes relatable in such an innovative way! 🙌 #ScienceCommunication #CableBacteria #BalticSeaFestival #AarhusUniversity #Microbiology Photo: AU Photo/Jens Hartmann

🎓Education doesn’t stop after graduation🎓 Join our continuing education courses for high school teachers, that can boost your skills in genetics, physiology, ecology, or microbiology. The courses give you access to the latest research and plenty of inspiration for topics and experiments you can directly use in your teaching! The courses you can choose from are: 🪰 Genetics of Fruit Flies 🧠 Physiology for High School Teachers 🌍 Microbiology and the Environment 🌊 The Ocean as an Ecosystem ✨ Our courses are part of the Novo Nordisk Foundation continuing education fund, meaning you can get both the course fee and substitute teacher coverage at your school covered. ⏳The deadline to apply for the continuing education fund is already October 9th if you wish to receive support for courses held in the fall of 2025. Learn more and apply for funding here: https://lnkd.in/dMF9ejjM

🎉 Biology student receives prestigious Queen Margrethe II travel grant 🎉   On Friday 13th, MSc student Rebecca Fjord Jørgensen officially received the Queen Margrethe II travel grant of 25.000 kr. The grant is awarded annually to one student from each faculty at Aarhus University.   Rebecca has used the travel grant to fund her and classmate Maria Skovbjerg Slot's stay at the Department of Pharmacology, University of São Paulo, Brazil.   Here, they participated in a project that studies hormones’ function in regulating the heartbeat and blood vessels. They were also taught the Langendorff technique, in which the heart is studied outside the body.   When asked why she thinks her application stood out, Rebecca reflected, “I believe it’s because the project is unusual. If they are right, the project in São Paulo might rewrite our understanding of how the heartbeat and blood vessels are regulated.”   Angela Fago, who supervised Rebecca on her Bachelor’s project at AU, had high praise, saying, "Rebecca is a new talent—creative, driven, and always ready to tackle complex challenges. I’m very proud of her.”   Join us in celebrating Rebecca’s achievement! 🎉👏 📷 Photos by Jens Hartmann Schmidt

🌊 IT'S FINALLY HAPPENING! 🌊 At long last, we can unveil our new project, Kend dit Hav! (Know your Sea) 🌍✨ Kend dit Hav aims to raise awareness about the marine and maritime environment. The goal is to inspire younger generations to take ownership and responsibility for the sea 🌱🌊 The project is led by Peter Bondo Christensen, Signe Brokjær, and Marianne Knudsen, and is based at Institut for Ecoscience - Aarhus Universitet and the Department of Biology at Aarhus University. The project aims to communicate the latest maritime and marine research in an easy-to-understand and engaging way 🧑🔬 Kend dit Hav is funded by the AAGE V. JENSEN NATURFOND and Dampskibsselskabet NORDEN A/S. Want to know more about the project? Visit the website https://lnkd.in/eyF7EGc7 #MarineResearch #MarineBiology #Biology #Aarhus University #MaritimeEnvironment Photos: Per Fløng