News

Results and updates from our research group


The Arctic Giant from Tromsø (12.10.2023)

Rearchers find the first giant virus from northern Norway (The Arctic Giant from Tromsø | UiT)

In this collaborations on Hunting the giants, Gabriel Magno de Freitas Almeida from UiT The Arctic University of Norway and Victoria Queiroz from The Federal University of Minas Gerais in Brazil. Ph, have succeeded to isolate the first Giant Virus in Norway.

Giant virus from Tromsø

Just how “gigantic” is this virus? Normal viruses are much smaller than the average bacteria, but the “giants” actually rival bacteria in size. The newfound arctic giant virus is twice the size of the corona virus but still 250 times smaller than the diameter of a human hair. And you need an electron microscope to find them. Here you see them as dark spots clustered together inside an amoeba.FOTO: VICTORIA QUEIROZ

UiTs aller første bakteriofager (24.05.22)

Our new Associated professor, Gabriel de Freitas Almeida, are focusing on virus and particularly on bacteriophages that can be an important weapon against antibiotic resistance.

Information on the first findings of marine bacteriophages from aquculture stations, ovens, rivers and sewage systems (here).

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(Foto: Bjørn Gulliksen)

1st September 2018: Research published earlier in the year from our Marine Bioprospecting group was featured in the Norwegian magazine Dykking. The article explores the discovery of new secondary metabolites from marine organisms, specifically anti-microbial peptides from the red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus.


6th June 2018: Congratulations to Unni Louise Lande who successfully defended her master’s thesis today. Unni has been doing her Masters degree in Akvamedisin in our research group under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Hans-Matti Blencke and co-supervision of Dr. Chun Li.