Termites have had farms for millions of years

Food production in modern societies are mainly based on large-scale farming of one single crop at a time – a habit we have spent roughly ten thousand years adopting, and one that we still doubt is sustainable.

A recent publication in the journal Science proves that farming ants and termites are ahead of us by millions of years with their sustainable fungus farms.

This is according to the research news resource, AlphaGalileo.org.

Army ants can also make new friends, study shows

A recent study shows that aggressive colonies of army ants can be cooperative when they have to. If the queen of one colony dies, the colony will attempt to assimilate itself into another.

This is according to new research by Daniel Kronauer of the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Caspar Schöning formerly of the University of Copenhagen, and colleagues Patrizia d'Ettorre and Jacobus Jan Boomsma of the Department of Biology at the University of Copenhagen, as reported in the Harvard Gazette.

See pictures of plant fascination day at uni

The International Fascination of Plants Day gave visitors unprecedented access to the many collections and projects in the University's gardens and greenhouses in Frederiksberg.

Visitors were able to participate in guided tours of the outside gardens and themed talks by University staff.

Open hours in the greenhouses, information booths and a plant sale rounded out the experience. Check out our photos from the plant collection, and highlights of the day in our gallery.

Chloe.deanna.williams@adm.ku.dk

Student project to keep trees from extinction

A walk in the woods is relaxing for most. But the condition of ash trees in the Danish forests has left many researchers troubled. One such researcher is Martin Slot, a student in Forest and Landscape Engineering who is completing his bachelor project on the topic.

Our reporter caught up with Martin to tour one of these troubled areas, Gribskov, for herself.

Tests reveal give-and-take behaviour

People start out being generous. But then they slowly turn into egoists as the game goes along.

This was certainly one of the outcomes of a series of economic experiments that have just been carried out at the Faculty of Social Sciences. In the experiments, student volunteers were paid small cash incentives in what are called ‘public good’ games, explains assistant professor Toke Fosgaard of the Institute of Food Resource and Economics (FOI).

»It tests, in controlled conditions, the social dilemma of being egoistic or social in cooperation situations«.

Myself, or the group, what will I choose?

The instructions are simple: Do not speak with your fellows, sit in front of your assigned computer, and follow the instructions shown on your screen.

I am with a bunch of randomly selected students from different backgrounds in the Laboratory of Experimental Economics at CSS. It seems we are mainly international students attracted by the economic reward.

Photo story: Out on the farm

Top scientist Haja Kadarmideen had taken the University Post and two PhD students from his own department along to the University of Copenhagen’s experimental farm in Tåstrup. The staff out there welcomed our spontaneous visit and gave us a tour of the animals and stables.

»These are the F1s and these are the F2s,« explained one of them, as he pointed to the pigs, before launching into a technical explanation that the University Post did not, quite, grasp.

Follow the photo story here.

Research farm, hospital

Australian scientist gets DKK 19m for obesity work

In the midst of economic gloom and hard times for science funding, one scientist has stood out and apparently found the winning formula.

India-born Australian Haja Kadarmideen of the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences has only been in Copenhagen for one year, but he has already hauled in a solid lump of cash for three different genomics and systems biology projects.