Researchers have discovered and identified 16 new fungus gnat species in the Amazonia. The diverse gnat species maintain exceptionally rich parasitoid wasp species, which shows the importance of interdependence between rain forest species.
Maneta aligera is one of the new fungus gnats discovered in the Peruvian Amazonia.
The President of the Republic of Finland granted the honorary title of Academician of Science to Academy Professor Eva-Mari Aro. Professor Aro is a pioneer in molecular plant biology.
Researchers from Turku Centre for Biotechnology have observed that a protein called SHANK prevents the spread of breast cancer cells to the surrounding tissue. The SHANK protein has been previously studied only in the central nervous system, and it is known that its absence or gene mutations are related to autism. The research was conducted at Turku Centre for Biotechnology.
In the QS Ranking by subject, the University of Turku was the most successful, as a whole, in the fields of bioscience and medicine.
The higher education institutions operating in Turku – the University of Turku, Åbo Akademi University, Turku University of Applied Sciences and Novia University of Applied Sciences – have together with Turku Science Park Ltd established a letter of intent which aims at strengthening the regional educational cluster in technology.
At the 97th Anniversary Celebration of the University on 28 February, Rector Kalervo Väänänen spoke about the history of Finnish education.
Four students from the Rauma unit of the Department of Teacher Education travelled to India for two weeks. They returned with versatile research material and gained many new experiences.
Student Anna Hohtamäki showed the distance between Finland and India on a map to six-year-old first-grade students at a school in Nankari, India. Students Akshita Rastogi and Debangana Roy from IIT Kanpur interpreted to Hindi.
The new animal species discovered by the researchers of the Biodiversity Unit at the University of Turku have attracted worldwide attention and interest. In 2015 and 2016, the researchers formally described, for example, the Rattus detentus rat, the Clistopyga caramba wasp, the Varanus semotus monitor lizard and a wasp that felts spider silk. The new and unique species have quickly become some of the most discussed new animal discoveries in international media and popular blogs.