A study led by the University of Turku has found that small, fiercely predatory damselflies catch and eat hundreds of thousands of insects during a single summer – in an area surrounding just a single pond. In terms of weight, this equates to a total prey mass of just under a kilo. Dragonflies mostly catch different kinds of midges, but also large numbers of other insects.
President of the Republic of Finland Sauli Niinistö was awarded the Alum of the Year recognition at the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the University of Turku on 28 February 2020. As the Alum of the Year, President Niinistö encourages scientists and scholars to boldly pursue results that help to build a brighter future.
The Itla Children’s Foundation donates two professorships, one to the University of Turku and the other to the University of Oulu. The research field of the donated professorships is intervention and implementation research. The professorships are unique in the research of children’s well-being in Finland and are also globally significant.
On Thursday, 27 February, the University of Turku invites staff and students, citizens of Turku, and visitors to celebrate the University’s 100th anniversary. The UTU100 Carnival starts at the square between the Old Academy Building and Turku Cathedral at 6pm, from where the participants continue in a torchlight procession towards the University Hill.
World leading diabetes research foundation JDRF from the United States has granted the University of Turku three-year funding for its PAMP project (Pathogen Associated Molecular Patterns) with the total sum of over €520,000.
Researchers from the University of Turku (UTU) in Finland, and veterinarians from the Myanma Timber Enterprise (MTE) in Myanmar have investigated the trends behind Asian elephant calf mortality during the taming period. They found that calves that were younger at the onset of taming and those with less experienced mothers were more likely to die during taming. Calf mortality in taming age was notably higher than that of wild elephants of the same age. The results of the study were published in the esteemed Scientific Reports journal.
According to a study conducted in Finland, the risk of ADHD was 34 percent higher in children whose mother had a vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy than in those children whose mother’s vitamin D level was sufficient during the first and second trimesters. The result was adjusted for maternal age, socioeconomic status and psychiatric history. The study was done in collaboration between researchers from the University of Turku, Finland, and Columbia University, New York.
Researchers at the University of Turku, Turku University Central Hospital, and Western Cancer Center (FICAN West) have discovered a new RNA molecule, PRECSIT, which regulates the growth and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin. In the future, PRECSIT could potentially serve as a new marker for the detection of rapidly advancing or spreading squamous cell carcinoma and as a target for new therapies.
AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) has recognized 25 notable alumni from AACSB-accredited business schools who have created lasting impact in the world. Turku School of Economics at the University of Turku is an accredited member of AACSB.
Infectious disease scientists identified strains of group A streptococcus that are less susceptible to commonly used antibiotics, a sign that the germ causing strep throat and flesh-eating disease may be moving closer to resistance to penicillin and other related antibiotics known as beta-lactams.