The International EMA2024 Symposium on Photosynthesis Research in Honor of Eva-Mari Aro will take place on 8-11 September in Turku. Aro's life's work will be celebrated at the symposium's opening ceremony on Sunday, September 8, with a portrait unveiling and a plenary lecture.
Although Finland never had any colonies, the encounters in the Owambo region and their descriptions had various colonial features, according to the new book. The work and cultural interaction initiated by the missionaries built the basis for Finns' relationship with Africa.
The Elias Tillandz prize 2024 was awarded to an outstanding research article which offers a possible explanation as to why higher breast density and older age increase the risk of breast cancer. The Prize was awarded to the researchers at the BioCity symposium on Thursday, 29 August 2024.
A citizen science project, which invites members of the public to take part in identifying cosmic explosions, has already identified 20 new astronomical discoveries. Over 2,000 volunteers across 105 different countries have worked on 600,000 classifications over a six-month period.
Physicist Stefan Hell, who started his research at the University of Turku in the 1990s, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in autumn 2014. The 10th anniversary of the prize will be celebrated on 4 September with a portrait unveiling at 12-14 in Alhopuro lecture hall and a science and art event open to the public at 14-20 at Visitor Centre Joki.
During September, Rector Marjo Kaartinen will appoint the vice rectors of the University of Turku for the five-year term starting on 1 January 2025.
A recently published article studies the mutually beneficial ecological relationships and evolutionary adaptations of tarantulas. The study reveals that the infamous spiders are actually often on friendly terms with amphibians, reptiles, and even army ants, which are known to feed on spiders. The researchers suggest that the dense hair covering tarantulas may have in fact evolved as a defence mechanism against these predatory ants.
Yuko Mori conducted a large international school survey for her doctoral dissertation in child psychiatry. The research showed that around 5% of young people had attempted suicide. Students who had been victims of both cyberbullying and traditional bullying were the most likely to have attempted suicide. The survey also found that around a third of young people feel unsafe at school and that young people rarely seek professional help for their mental health problems.
Heidi Furu, MD, has been elected Professor of Practice in Occupational Health and Occupational Medicine at the University of Turku. She is a distinguished researcher, occupational health physician and teacher of occupational health physicians. The main role of the Professor of Practice is to promote research in occupational health and medicine and to contribute research knowledge to the societal debate.
Jovana V. Milić, starting as an Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry of the University of Turku, has received esteemed research funding from the European Research Council (ERC). Milić received the funding for a project that aims to develop a new generation of smart and environmentally friendly materials, such as for more effective use of solar energy in photovoltaics and brain-inspired computing.