Six years ago, his picture of a giant virus was chosen as one of that year’s best scientific images by the journal Nature. Now, he and his colleagues have made a major breakthrough in the process of obtaining a picture of an individual protein. “Images are unbeatable when it comes to communicating things such as the structure of proteins,” says Tomas Ekeberg, a biophysicist.

Competition is fierce among researchers at the beginning of their careers, and the dream of becoming independent and leading your own projects can feel very distant. Tenacity is one of the most important characteristics for success, in the opinion of Daniella Ottosson, who has passed through the eye of the needle.

What were researchers like as children? This is the subject of the book “Forskardrömmar – Berättelser för nyfikna barn” (“Research Dreams – Stories for curious children”), which includes 60 stories of the childhoods of researchers, and their paths to research. “We want all children to know that you can research anything you like in principle, and to feel that they become researchers in the future if they want to,” says Robert Lagerström, who is one of the initiators of the book.

She blogs about why and how scientists should use social media för science communication. Stina Börchers is a PhD student at the University of Gothenburg and is working on the neuroscience of feeding behavior and energy expenditure. In her spare time she likes to take long walks to explore Sweden´s nature and cities.

For several years, research infrastructure has been short of funds. It was even uncertain whether the Swedish Research Council could carry out the next planned call. But the Government recently announced that it will inject an additional 1.3 billion SEK to the budget for infrastructure over three years, as part of a major investment in research.

New technology may lead to earlier research findings being re-evaluated. New subjects are emerging from faded rock paintings on a rock face on Hisingen – thanks to a digital imaging program from NASA. This throws new light on both the interpretation and the dating.

The need to quickly increase knowledge about the corona pandemic has led to a tidal wave of new research findings, which are published without first having been reviewed by other researchers. They are known as ‘preprints’, and make it possible to quickly share and partake of results, but they also increase the risk of errors being spread.

While the corona pandemic is closing national borders, a wave of openness is moving through the world of research. Collaboration, open data, and early publication are important ways to quickly increase knowledge about the new virus, and how it can be fought.

How do you make frogs hover, or construct an excellent facemask from a bra? These are examples of research that has been awarded the Ig Nobel Prize. Research that first makes you laugh, and then think. “When you have laughed at something, then you remember it and want to tell others,” says the founder of the prize, Marc Abrahams.

Swedish higher education institutions have been given more freedom to decide how to go about employing a professor. Since 2011, they have more freedom to decide the criteria on which to base the assessment of scientific and educational skill. Curie has taken a closer look at the process at a few universities.