News & Features

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are man-made hazardous chemicals that are spread globally in the atmosphere and as a result they can be found in the rainwater and snow in even the most remote locations on Earth, shows a new study by researchers from Stockholm University and ETH Zurich published in Environmental Science & Technology. According to the authors, PFAS define …

In a new Master’s thesis, Laith Al-Qudah measured air quality during rush hour traffic along two popular bicycle routes in Stockholm for 2.5 months to understand how air pollution affects cyclists’ health. Laith Al-Qudah, a Master’s student in environment and health protection (MHS) at the Department of Environmental Science, recently presented his thesis, for which he measured air quality along …

The ITN PERFORCE 3 research consortium held their biannual meeting on 26 April at Stockholm University where Early Career Researchers (ESRs) of the consortium spent two weeks attending a series of advanced training courses. Highly fluorinated chemicals or PFAS encompass a large and diverse class of over 4700 substances and are widely used in consumer and industrial products. They are …

An international initiative led by researchers at the Bolin Centre for Climate Research, among others, stresses the need to take thawing permafrost into account in negotiations to reach global climate goals. From June 6th to 16th, the UNFCCC secretariat (UN Convention on Climate Change) and Germany hosts the Bonn Climate Change Conference where UNFCCC parties, negotiation groups, researchers and observer …

Professor Cynthia de Wit is one of the two recipients of Stockholm University’s gold medal in the 8th size* awarded to academics whose work to promote the University’s research or education has been longstanding and significant. The motivation behind the decision of the President of Stockholm University Astrid Söderbergh Widding to award Professor De Wit is as follows: As a …

Science has an important role to play in the transition to a sustainable society. But more cooperation is needed and decision-makers must act faster on incorporating scientific evidence into meaningful policies. These were the key messages at the international sustainability conference hosted by the three main  universities in Stockholm and Stockholm Environment Institute. Watch Inger Andersen´s keynote address “The role …

With the present-day remarkable computing speeds used in the Earth system models and super-sensitive measurement techniques for collecting observational data, it is the need of the hour to combine both these in a way that they complement and improve each other. For example, models could be constrained using the observations and experiments could be inspired from model simulations. This is …

Partnership and cooperation are necessary to achieving global goals – and here academia plays an important role –  emerged during the seminar “New Partnerships for Human and Planetary Health,” which was organised by Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of  Technology and Stockholm University, in May. The seminar was part of World Academic Forum Stockholm Summit with representatives from Karolinska Institutet, …

The regulation of antimicrobial substances differs when used in biocidal products compared to cosmetic products, shows a new study led by researchers at the Department of Environmental Science published recently in the journal Emerging Contaminants. Such inconsistencies could potentially endanger both the environment and human health. The researchers performed a systematic comparison using document analysis focusing on aims, scope, information …

Newly-formed particles are important for cloud formation and are persistently observed over almost all regions of Earth’s upper troposphere. However, the vapours and mechanisms that drive the formation of these particles are not well understood. Now, a new study by an international team of researchers, including scientists from the Department of Environmental Science, published in Nature, presents a new mechanism …

The 2022 edition of QS World University Rankings per subject places Stockholm University among the top 50 in four subjects, and the best in Sweden in five subjects. The highest ranked subject was environmental science, where Stockholm University ranks 28th in the world. QS World University Rankings are published by Quacquarelli Symonds, QS, a company specializing in higher education information. …

What can we do to counteract climate change and how this responsibility should be shared? Get answers by taking the course Climate Change Solutions: Bending the Curve this coming autumn! Send your application by 19 April. Dealing with climate change is an urgent issue for humanity today. Most recently, climate change has received attention in the form of two reports …