Pioneering spirit, collaboration, and ambition create strong scientific fundamental research

Here you find selected examples of research from departments and centers.

Lab in a Tube: Monitoring Soil Chemistry Without Disturbing It

^{28 May 2025}
A team of researchers has developed a portable and automatic laboratory that can monitor soil chemistry in real time – and without expensive components. The aim is to give us easier access to follow the processes that usually take place hidden beneath our feet.

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Europe’s Forest Plants Thrive Best in Light-Rich, Semi-Open Woodlands – Kept Open by Large Herbivore

^{13 May 2025}
Before Homo sapiens arrived, Europe’s forests were not dense and dark but shaped by open and light-rich woodland landscapes. A new study from Aarhus University shows that most native forest plants are adapted to semi-open, light-filled woodlands – formed over millions of years by the influence of large, free-ranging herbivores such as bison, elk, and wild horses.

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Aarhus astronomers are assisting with Gaia's first confirmed astrometric exoplanet discovery

^{29 January 2025}
ESAs astrometric satellite Gaia has confirmed the existence of an exoplanet for the first time. The discovery is published on 4 February 2025 in a paper in Astrophysical Journal. The discovery team is led by Guðmundur Stefánsson (The Netherlands) and Simon Albrecht and Marcus Marcussen, Department of Physics and Astronomy, AU, are co-authors.

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Discovering the Diet of Early Neolithic Farmers in Scandinavia

^{19 December 2024}
At a Neolithic settlement on the Danish island Funen dating back 5,500 years, archaeologists have discovered both grinding stones and grains from early cereals. However, new research reveals that the inhabitants did not use the stones to grind the cereal grains. Instead of making bread, they likely prepared porridge or gruel from the grains.

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New molecule can mimic the effects of fasting and exercise

^{3 October 2024}
Researchers from Aarhus University have developed a molecule that can mimic a major metabolic response to regular and strenuous exercise and fasting by increasing levels of lactate and ketones in the blood, which are associated with several health benefits. The molecule's effect has shown promising results in animal studies, and it could potentially revolutionize the way we achieve physical health.

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Groundbreaking discovery: Zinc can make crop yields more climate-resilient

^{26 June 2024}
Climate change, drought, increased temperature and other stressors challenge agricultural sustainability. Researchers have now made an unexpected discovery: zinc plays a pivotal role in the plant response to abiotic stress. This groundbreaking discovery not only sheds light on the intricate mechanisms of plant growth but also holds promise for revolutionizing crop resilience, especially in legume-based agriculture.

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New DNA study describes the dietary habits of wild horses and cattle in Mols Bjerge

^{8 February 2023}
Researchers from Aarhus University and the Museum of Natural History have spent a year collecting and analysing environmental DNA from horse droppings and cow pats in Mols Bjerge to see how the diets of feral horses and cattle change with the seasons.

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ENCORE project to transform nylon recycling using enzymatic processes

^{11 July 2024}
The ENCORE project aims to transform nylon waste into new nylon products by using bacterial enzymes, reducing the need for fossil fuel-derived materials. The project will be conducted in close collaboration with the Danish Technological Institute as well as partners from Technical University of Denmark and University of Porto.

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Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

^{7. November 2024}
Trees can absorb large amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere, so if you plant more of them, you can counteract global warming. It just doesn't work in the northernmost latitudes – here tree planting will rather accelerate global warming,

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Scientists have come up with a technology to recycle used clothes rather than simply burning them

^{8 January 2024}
The new technology can separate out the different fibres in the clothes, so that they can be processed and used again.

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The Shrew's Extreme Resting Heart Rate of 17 Beats Per Second: New Study Reveals how

^{30 September 2024}
Researchers affiliated with Aarhus University have discovered a unique change in a heart protein that explains how the tiny shrew can achieve a resting heart rate that is 10-17 times higher than that of humans.

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ESA Ground-based Facility – now at Department of Physics and Astronomy

^{20 March 2024}
Department of Physics and Astronomy's Planetary Environment Facility, also known as the Mars wind tunnel, is now a ESA ground-based facility.

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The evidence is mounting: humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals

^{28 June 2024}
Human hunting, not climate change, played a decisive role in the extinction of large mammals over the last 50,000 years. This conclusion comes from researchers at Aarhus University, who reviewed over 300 scientific articles (28 June 2024).

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Overlooking a low-hanging fruit in climate mitigation: Biochar is much better than its reputation

^{22 January 2025}
A new study shows biochar to be far more effective at long-term carbon storage than previously thought. The study reveals critical flaws in the models used by the IPCC and European climate policymakers.

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Our understanding of atomic physics is still insufficient

^{27 January 2025}
This is the main conclusion in a recent paper in the esteemed publication Nature Communications with Aarhus University professor emeritus Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard as co-author.

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Innovative research paves the way for next-generation agricultural biofertilizers

^{20 December 2024}
In a new study, published in Nature Communications, researchers from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Aarhus University explore the symbiotic relationship between rhizobia bacteria and the protein crop faba bean, with promising implications for the development of new biofertilizers.

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AU Life Science Hub officially open for start-ups

^{19 December 2024}
With state-of-the-art laboratories, office spaces, access to core facilities, and business advisory services through The Kitchen, Aarhus University’s new Life Science Hub – designed to help companies move from idea to realisation – is now officially open.

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Student project: MyOceanEye

^{3 July 2024}
Check out this cool project by IT Product Development students Mads Kristian Steen Vejrup, Magnus Frisk, and Oliver Due Nielsen. Over the past few months, they have created MyOceanEye—a project aimed at raising awareness about the critical state of our oceans.

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Climate change triggered a landslide in Northeast Greenland, causing the entire Earth to vibrate

^{12 September 2024}
Rocks and ice with a total volume of 25 million cubic metres fell into the remote Dickson Fjord in Northeast Greenland in September last year. This created a 200-metre-high tsunami wave and caused tremors that could be measured around the globe.

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Europe was not covered by dense forest before the arrival of modern humans

^{14 November 2023}
For decades, we believed that outside ice ages Europe was mostly covered by dense forest before the arrival of modern humans. Now, a new study shows that there was far more open and semi-open vegetation than conventionally expected.

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Research projects at the Faculty of Natural Sciences are supported by, amongst others

Revised 02.06.2025

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Faculty of Natural Sciences

Pioneering spirit, collaboration, and ambition create strong scientific fundamental research

Here you find selected examples of research from departments and centers.

Lab in a Tube: Monitoring Soil Chemistry Without Disturbing It

Europe’s Forest Plants Thrive Best in Light-Rich, Semi-Open Woodlands – Kept Open by Large Herbivore

Aarhus astronomers are assisting with Gaia's first confirmed astrometric exoplanet discovery

Discovering the Diet of Early Neolithic Farmers in Scandinavia

New molecule can mimic the effects of fasting and exercise

Groundbreaking discovery: Zinc can make crop yields more climate-resilient

New DNA study describes the dietary habits of wild horses and cattle in Mols Bjerge

ENCORE project to transform nylon recycling using enzymatic processes

Planting trees in the Arctic could make global warming worse, not better, say scientists

Scientists have come up with a technology to recycle used clothes rather than simply burning them

The Shrew's Extreme Resting Heart Rate of 17 Beats Per Second: New Study Reveals how

ESA Ground-based Facility – now at Department of Physics and Astronomy

The evidence is mounting: humans were responsible for the extinction of large mammals

Overlooking a low-hanging fruit in climate mitigation: Biochar is much better than its reputation

Our understanding of atomic physics is still insufficient

Innovative research paves the way for next-generation agricultural biofertilizers

AU Life Science Hub officially open for start-ups

Student project: MyOceanEye

Climate change triggered a landslide in Northeast Greenland, causing the entire Earth to vibrate

Europe was not covered by dense forest before the arrival of modern humans

Research projects at the Faculty of Natural Sciences are supported by, amongst others

Thematic research centres

Basic research centres

Research facilities

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainability and climate change