Nowadays, a photograph taken by a normal mobile phone camera is almost 2 MB in size. It is therefore possible to imagine the huge quantities of data produced by scanners that take thousands of three-dimensional images of a single body part or tissue sample.
In a large hall on Margaretavägen in Lund, next to LDC, the air is full of the hum of computers. The supercomputers Alarik, Erik and Platon – the most powerful in southern Sweden – are busy computing complex problems that Lund University researchers are not able to solve on their own. At the moment, a simulation of a future MAX IV beamline is underway, alongside calculations in astrophysics and data from the Lund University Bioimaging Centre (see related article).
We are experiencing a minor revolution with the growth of big data, according to Professor of Mathematics Magnus Fontes at LTH. He therefore recently took the initiative to establish the Centre for Mathematical Modelling, to gather the University’s expertise in big data modelling and calculations. The idea is that less initiated researchers will also be able to receive support from colleagues with experience of issues concerning modelling and analysis of big data. It will also be easier for colleagues, funding bodies and researchers at other universities to find and contact those with appropriate expertise.
Astronomic amounts of new digital information about the world, our genetic heritage and our habits are continuously being generated. This information is a goldmine for research – as long as the data can be accessed, stored and analysed.
“We have a lot of expertise in the field. More and more areas of Lund University are nearing the threshold for big data as an integral part of research and teaching”, says Sven Strömqvist, Pro Vice-Chancellor for research and research infrastructure.
… Professor of Functional Zoology and Cancer Cell Biology, who is helping to develop a world-class cell culture laboratory in Bolivia. It is part of a SIDA-funded project to study how medicinal plants can influence cancer cells.
A lot of research on human behaviour is based entirely on words: researchers read, ask questions, send out questionnaires and write reports. But this means they miss a lot of elements concerning sound, sights and people’s interaction with their physical surroundings.
A pink cleaning trolley is an unusual sight. But even if the colour is the first thing to catch your eye, it is not the pink gleam that makes people stop and talk.
Off the coast at Haväng, forests several thousands of years old are hidden below the sea. When researchers dive down to examine the well-preserved tree-trunks, they are literally diving deep into human history.
A great deal of moral courage or a really desperate situation – these are the requirements for someone to disclose state secrets. And life will most certainly never be the same again. This is what emerges from the experiences of the Cold War’s first major defectors, Mr and Mrs Petrov, as from those of Edward Snowden, who will perhaps never be able to return to his homeland without risking severe punishment. Intelligence professor Wilhelm Agrell is among the few people in a position to present new research in the form of a spy novel.
Political scientist Hanna and psychologist Emma have more in common than their surname, Bäck. They are sisters but also make up an interdisciplinary research team. By combining their subjects, they are attempting to gain a complete picture of what motivates people to take part in political protests and why some of them resort to political violence. The research indicates that people who have previously experienced exclusion from social contexts have a greater tendency to take part in these kinds of activities. This is particularly true of people who are extra-sensitive to rejection.
