The researcher who became a stand-up comic Marianna Keisalo defied her own nerves to become a stand-up comic in Denmark and Finland. “It’s given me an entirely new perspective on humour.”
Fossil DNA reveals new theory on colonisation of America New theory: The first Americans could not have migrated via the ice-free corridor as most scientists believe.
Evolution will make our wisdom teeth disappear A simple mathematical formula explains why our teeth look the way they do and suggest that our wisdom teeth will eventually disappear.
Do stricter border controls increase human trafficking? Are the EU's strict migration rules increasing the risk of women falling prey to traffickers, as their only way into Europe? New research project aims to find out.
Ice Age hunters reveal new line of European ancestry Scientists discover a new line of European ancestry in the Caucasus Mountains, which suggest that we are the result of a mixture between four groups.
How skeletons reveal gruesome secrets about our ancestors A new study provides a unique insight into what life was like in the Middle Ages.
Anthropologist: this is how I met the spirits What a scientist learned from his encounter with a necromancer and the spirits of his ancestors.
Prehistoric humans were far smarter than previously assumed 325,000-year-old stone tools go to prove that our forefathers were far better at collaborating and planning than we thought.
What is a dignified life? The limits for when life is worth living are constantly changing. How long should we actually continue to treat a dementia patient who has lost the ability to speak and remember?
Do adults owe their parents anything? The welfare state has set us free, so we no longer have any obligations to our parents after we turn 18. So what can family members expect of one another when the legal obligations stop?
Following students on study drugs An increasing number of healthy students dope themselves with ADHD drugs. What happens when ‘study drugs’ become normal? A new study sets out to find the answer.
How do we evaluate interdisciplinary research? OPINION: There are plenty of societal challenges that require expertise across disciplines. But how does research collaboration work in practice? How is the funding distributed most efficiently? And how do we assess the quality of interdisciplinary research?
DNA links Native Americans with Europeans Ancient DNA reveals that the ancestors of modern-day Native Americans had European roots. The discovery sheds new light on European prehistory and also solves old mysteries concerning the colonisation of America.
Extreme rituals enhance social cohesion Physically and mentally exhausting rituals promote the spirit of community in society, according to a new study. This is the first time that this hypothesis has been confirmed experimentally.
Denmark’s first farmers were immigrants A new study of flint axes suggests that the first farmers in southern Scandinavia were not Scandinavian hunter-gatherers; they were central European immigrants.
Young Egyptians armed themselves for revolution The number of volunteers has exploded in Egypt in the past few years. The new trend of voluntary work among Muslim youths in Egypt has armed them with a stronger social and political consciousness and the courage to bring about change in their country.
Knowing the end goal makes us better team players When we know what our efforts will end up as, it makes us more cooperative and trusting, study finds.
Hunger increases support for social welfare If we are hungry when we’re asked about our attitude towards welfare, we are more likely to show support for a social welfare policy. This is a biological impulse which ensures survival, new research suggests.
Selling sex solves problems for prostitutes Women who sell sex on the streets do not perceive their sex trading as negatively as their surroundings do. They primarily regard their activities as an effective way of solving their financial problems.
Is the welfare state dying out? OPINION: The economic crisis has given rise to numerous headlines about budget cuts, savings and changes in welfare states. The question is whether the traditional welfare state is dying out.
Archeologists burn pigs to investigate historical mystery Archeologists are puzzled by the fact that bone remnants from children and infants are almost never unearthed from ancient funeral pyre sites.
Prostitution ban misses the target, argue migration researchers Legalise prostitution and consider foreign sex workers as immigrants who leave their home country to earn money to support their families, said researchers at a recent ‘Intimate Migration’ conference in Denmark.
How the heavy plough changed the world New technology ploughed its way to prosperity in medieval Northern Europe.
Brain scans look for Christmas spirit A series of scientific studies in the weirder end of the spectrum can be found in the Christmas edition of a Danish medical journal.
The road to adulthood: car culture in the Faroes Cars dominated Faroese youth culture in the ’70s and ‘80s, as young men found strong symbolic values in owning and driving a car. Today’s youths are, however, finding values in other activities.
Unusual find saved just in time Paddles dating back to the Ertebølle culture in the Stone Age were recently found in Horsens Fjord, Denmark. They were close to being eaten up by the strong ocean currents.
Mysterious bear figurines baffle archaeologists Small bear figurines have led researchers on the trail of hitherto unknown pre-Inuit rituals, indicating that these people practiced a bear cult.
Man has affected the climate for 2,000 years New research using ice cores from Greenland shows that mankind emitted greenhouse gases affecting the climate during the time of the Roman Empire.
Getting Arctic raw materials requires a gentle hand We must be very careful if we want to preserve the Arctic region’s special natural environment and culture while ensuring that the coming raw materials boom doesn’t turn into a disaster.
Victims of sex trafficking return home to great expectations Nigerian women who sell sex on the streets of Europe are met with huge expectations from their families when they return to Africa.
An entire army sacrificed in a bog Archaeologists have found skeletal remains of an entire army in an ancient mass grave in Denmark. The bones confirm reports from written sources of shocking Teutonic massacres.
Myths about the prostitute lifestyle Public debate portrays prostitutes as either victims of human trafficking or strong, independent women who have made a personal choice. However, research reveals an altogether different reality.
Creativity is a social process Having done fieldwork at the fashion house Hugo Boss, a Danish anthropologist concludes that creativity is not a result of individuals. Rather, it’s a social process that occurs among individuals.
Your Danish friend may be a witch Witches in present-day Denmark keep their craft secret – and one in four of them is probably a man.
Dyed clothes came into fashion in early Iron Age Analyses of bog bodies show that dyed clothing became fashionable in the early Iron Age – centuries before previously thought.
Role playing and religion function identically Religious rituals and role playing both require agreement on the rules that maintain a ‘fantasy world’ in which churchgoers and game players find themselves.
Heroin clinics improve addicts' lives State-funded heroin clinics have been set up in several European countries in recent years. They have all showed signs of success, but there hasn’t been any research into why – until now.
How agriculture came to Scandinavia The great archaeological riddle of how agriculture spread to Northern Europe now seems to have been solved.
Inuit drum history longer than realised Two 4,500 year-old pieces of frozen wood found in Greenland have added a couple of thousand years to the history of the Inuit drum. But they help little in revealing the drums’ origin.
What drives a prostitute In a survey of prostitution, the majority of prostitutes say their own sexuality, sexual curiosity and money are the main reasons they chose their line of work.
Organic tools found in Stone Age camp Sensational new archaeological find reveals paddles and bow in underwater Stone Age settlement
Baby cries shorten our reaction time The sound of a baby crying motivates our brain’s alertness and sharpens our ability to react with highly accurate movements. The sound of a woman crying does not have the same effect.
Girls use violence to gain respect A pioneering study shows that some girls feel they gain respect by behaving aggressively and using violence.
Vietnamese farmers smell health risk of faeces Vietnamese farmers fertilise the soil by spreading human excrement on the fields with their bare hands. But it is only the smell they believe to be a health risk.
What will we look like in a million years? What effect does evolution have on human beings, and what will we look like in the future? ScienceNordic gazes into the crystal ball to see what we can expect.
Violent knights feared posttraumatic stress Knights in the Middle Ages were not the brutal and merciless killing machines depicted on film. New research draws a different picture of the medieval military elite.
Granny's getting exploited Danish parents expect grandmothers to turn out and look after their grandchildren. But when they've done that, they are expected to keep their traps shut and not to interfere in the kids' upbringing.
