UTUPEDA Centre for University Pedagogy and Research started its operations in the University of Turku in the beginning of January with the mission of conducting multidisciplinary university pedagogical research as well as offering and developing education based on scientific research. The Centre offers education both in Finnish and in English.
The European Copernicus Programme provides Earth Observation (EO) data free of charge on an open-access basis. The Copernicus services are based on satellite and in situ observations, and cater to even near real-time data needs. The services provide global data which can also be used for local and regional needs. The data can, for example, help to make visible different phenomena affecting Earth, such as climate change and urban development.
What happens in the brain when our conscious awareness of the surrounding world and of ourselves fades during general anesthesia and normal sleep? This fundamental question was studied with novel experimental designs and functional brain imaging by Finnish scientists. They succeeded in separating the specific changes related to consciousness from the more widespread overall effects, commonly misinterpreted as the neural correlates of consciousness. The effects of anesthesia and sleep on brain activity turned out to be surprisingly similar.
Researchers at the University of Turku have discovered what type of neural mechanisms are the basis for emotional responses to music. Altogether 102 research subjects listened to music that evokes emotions while their brain function was scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The study was carried out in the national PET Centre.
The City of Turku, University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku University of Applied Sciences Ltd, Finnish University of Applied Sciences and Arts Ltd, Turun musiikinopetus Oy, and Turku Science Park Ltd have signed a collaboration agreement on launching the co-operation platform of Culture Campus Turku.
Finnish Biomedical Imaging Node FiBI has been accepted as a service-providing Node to the pan-European Euro-BioImaging consortium for imaging technologies. The new Node improves the prerequisites for conducting high quality research and increases the researchers’ opportunities for international collaboration.
DNP, a weight loss agent withdrawn from the market in the late 1930s due to acute toxicity, has become increasingly popular in recent years through online illegal sales. A new study using a lifelong DNP treatment in an avian model found that while no obvious toxic effects were detected on the short to medium-term, DNP reduces lifespan by 20% on the long run.
A population-based study revealed reasons behind elevated suicide risk, attempted suicides, and other selfharm, which require special health care, among adolescents and young adults with autism spectrum disorders. Comorbid disorders, especially non-affective psychoses and the affective and anxiety disorders, explained the risk.
A research group at the University of Turku has led the development of a new method to evaluate vaccine safety. The new method may significantly reduce the use of animal testing in the vaccine industry.
In Finland, the majority of the glacial and warm interval records have been interpreted to represent only the last, Weichselian, glacial cycle that took place 11,700–119,000 years ago. Finnish researchers have now revised the crucial part of the existing stratigraphic documentation in southern Finland. The new findings show that a considerable part of the warm interval records extends further back in time than earlier thought. The new results change the established conceptions about glacial history in the area.