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The concept of a multifunctional drug resembles that of the Swiss army knives, which are available in many different versions according to the needs of the users. Foto: Andrew Toskin / CC BY-SA 2.0 A graphical representation of a new multifunctional drug: the gray mesh represents the platform of DNA strand mounted with drug molecules (red), an isotope for illumination (orange), targeting ligand molecules (blue), self-penetrating peptides (purple) and albumin binders for transport (green). Grafics: Kurt V. Gothelf. Professor Kurt V. Gothelf heads the new Centre for Multifunctional Biomolecular Drug Design. Photo: Lars Svankjær.

2018.03.27 | Public / media

Drugs of the future: Swiss army knives in pill form

Researchers at Aarhus University are developing a new method for making multifunctional drugs that can be assembled quickly and inexpensively according to the needs of the individual patient

2018.03.15 | Public / media

A small protein with many applications

Researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics and from the Department of Biomedicine at Aarhus University have collaboratively developed and described a llama-antibody that might have significant impact for future diagnostics and treatment of, e.g., kidney diseases.

Past oil disasters have shown that only 15 to 25% of the oil can be effectively removed from the marine environments. Photo: Janne Fritt-Rasmussen. Greenland Oil Spill Response conducts training to be prepared for oil spills in the Arctic. Photo: Lonnie Bogø Wilms. Leendert Vergeynst, Aarhus Universiet og Lorenz Meire, Grønlands Naturinstitut, samler havis fra Godthåbsfjord i Grønland for at studere olie-spisende bakterier i arktisk havvand. Foto: Wieter Boone. Schematic diagram of Arctic-specific conditions that affect microbial degradation of oil spills: A) Sea ice and icebergs hamper wind/wave-induced mixing in the upper water column and cause a thicker oil slick, which, in combination with low temperature, reduces evaporation, dispersion and dissolution. All these effect result in larger oil droplets, which microbes cannot degrade. B) Most oil compounds are not soluble in water. Therefore, the bacteria form a biofilm on the oil droplets in order to be able to consume the oil compounds. A small fraction of the oil compounds is water-soluble and thus consumed by both biofilm and free-living bacteria. C) Oil-mineral and oil-phytoplankton aggregates, which may enhance oil sedimentation ('dirty blizzards'), are formed upon interaction with sediment plumes from glaciers and phytoplankton blooms, respectively. D) Photooxidation by ultraviolet radiation from sunlight can be important, espectially during summer. Ultraviolet light helps degrading oil molecules, but at the same time, the oil toxicity towards marine organisms may increase. E) Deep mixing of the water column and upwelling cause nutrient replenishment. Oceanographical conditions may thus be important to provide fresh nutrients for oil-eating microbes. (Credit: Leendert Vergeynst)

2018.03.08 | Public / media

Oil-eating microbes are challenged in the Arctic

Bacteria play a major role in cleaning up oil spills and mitigating its environmental impacts. In a review published in ‘Science of the Total Environment’, researchers from Aarhus University, Denmark, examine the major limiting factors for microbial degradation in Arctic environments.

[Translate to English:] En vulkansk "hot pool" med archaea i forskellige, orange farver voksende langs kanten. Henover billedet ses den tredimensionelle opbygning af anti-CRISPR-proteinet. Foto: Colourbox og Ditlev E. Brodersen

2018.03.06 | Public / media

Arms race among microbes

The hot, muddy pools of Iceland are home to a number of simple, single-celled organisms, and new research shows that they also constitute a true biological battlefield and the basis for an arms race of unprecedented magnitude. The new knowledge about the struggle between living organisms in hot pools gives us a much better understanding of how…

Professor Søren Fournais, Department of Mathematics, Aarhus University. Photo: Søren Kjeldgaard

2018.03.12 | Public / media, Staff

Elite Research Prize awarded to Professor Søren Fournais

Most of us are unaware of the mathematics that lies hidden in our daily lives. Søren Fournais is an expert in describing the world through the equations, particularly tiny quantum physical phenomena. On 1 March, he received an Elite Research Prize 2018 of DKK 1.2 million from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

[Translate to English:] Ph.d.-studerende Mark Simkin, Institut for Datalogi, Aarhus Universitet. (Privatfoto)

2018.03.12 | Public / media, Staff

Elite Research travel grant for young computer scientist

PhD student, Mark Simkin, from the Department of Computer Science receives an Elite Research travel grant 2018 from the Ministry of Higher Education and Science.

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Revised 24.02.2020