Contents 2001

Saving lives with zinc
University of Bergen scientists who have carried out large-scale studies in Nepal and India believe that zinc supplements can both treat and prevent diarrhoea. Their research project has produced such good results that the World Health Organisation (WHO) wants to bring zinc into the routine treatment of diarrhoea.

Rebuilding the "Harvard of Africa"
After being "out for the count" for many years, Makerere University in Uganda is in the process of regaining its academic self-respect.

A source of multidisciplinary research
What can bring natural scientists, students of the humanities and social scientists to the same conference? With a subject as universal as water, researchers from a wide range of cultures and specialities have good reason to get together, as they will during the international water conference in Bergen on August 9 - 12.

Fjords and philosophy
Researchers of Wittgenstein from all over the world now come to Western Norway, where Wittgenstein once sought peace and solitude.

Pilot study on CO² in the sea
The concentration of dissolved CO² in the ocean will probably double in the course of this century. Ingrid Zondervan and Ulf Riebesell from the Alfred Wegner Institute in Germany are in Bergen to study the implications of this for life in the sea.

National initiative against bullying
More than 80,000 pupils in Norwegian primary schools are regularly affected by bullying. But now the Government is about to finance Professor Dan Olweus' action programme on bullying and violence in Norwegian schools.

Mapping the mysteries of the brain
Mapping the mysteries of the brain Professor Kenneth Hugdahl leads an interdisciplinary research group which has gained expertise in mapping the functions of the brain. Their expertise has brought people from far and wide to be tested.

When the Earth quakes
Every day, thousands of earthquakes take place all over the world. Most of them can hardly be noticed, but now and again, they really go off with a bang. When that happens, it is a busy time for earthquake scientist Kuvvet Atakan and his colleagues in the Norwegian National Network for Earthquake Research at the University of Bergen.

Treasure chests at the bottom of the sea
Huge figures are involved in petroleum research. But the valuable liquid itself lies deep below the bed of the North Sea, which is where Roy Gabrielsen, Professor of Geology at the University of Bergen, does his research.

When the head overrules the stomach
Pain in your stomach? Did you know that intense stress can make your digestive system switch off? Interactions between head, stomach and gut are being paid more and more attention, and a research group at the University of Bergen is trying to find out whether negative experiences in childhood may lead to stomach problems when we grow up.

EU Commissioner for Research visited Bergen
Philippe Busquin, The EU's Commissioner for Research, visited the University of Bergen at the end of June. Bergen was chosen to be the venue for his visit because Norway has strongly emphasised the need for a joint European effort in the fields of marine and climate research.