University of Iceland

BMC Seminar - Role of ALKBH3 in the regulation of DNA DSB repair

4. April 2019 - 12:00 to 13:00

Læknagarður

room 201

BMC Seminar Thursday 4th of April at 12:00 in room 201 Læknagarður

Speaker: Dr. Þorkell Guðjónsson, senior scientis at Cancer Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Sturlugata 8, Reykjavik.

Title: The role of ALKBH3 in the regulation of DNA double strand break repair

Abstract: From the thousands of DNA lesions encountered daily by the human genome, DNA double strand breaks (DSBs) are considered to be the most cytotoxic. Unrepaired or incorrectly repaired DSB have the potential to alter the content and organization of the genome, which can have life-threatening consequences. ALKBH3 is a dioxygenase with a well-described function in DNA alkylation repair and RNA demethylation. In our previous work we showed clinically relevant epigenetic silencing of ALKBH3 in breast cancer suggesting potential tumor suppressive function.

Ten years on: Reassessing the Stoltenberg report

3. May 2019 - 14:00 to 15:30

The Culture House, Hverfisgata 15

Launch of a New Report: Ten years on: Reassessing the Stoltenberg report

This year marks ten years since the Stoltenberg report was published containing 13 proposals on how to strengthen Nordic cooperation in the foreign and security domain. How important was the Stoltenberg report for boosting Nordic foreign and security policy cooperation? What progress can we observe in the decade that has passed since the report was released?

To commemorate the ten year anniversary of the report the Nordic Foreign Ministers commissioned five Nordic institutes of international affairs to put together a brief report assessing the status of the thirteen proposals today.

We invite you to join us at the launch of the report on Friday May 3, from 14:00 - 15:30 at Safnahúsið/Culture House.

Internationalization at Home

17. September 2018 - 16:00 to 17:00

Háskólatorg

HT300

Faculty Member Engagement in the Context of Internationalization at Home at the University of Iceland: A Collective Case Study

THE ROAD TO "BREXIT": POTENTIAL IMPACT ON UK AND EU/EEA LEGAL ORDERS

26. September 2018 - 16:00 to 17:00

Lögberg

102

Final LL.M. Thesis - Ms. Elizabeth Patricia Corrigan

THE ROAD TO "BREXIT": POTENTIAL IMPACT ON UK AND EU/EEA LEGAL ORDERS

A contextual critical analysis of several routes to withdrawal

Summary:

The UK’s decision to withdraw from the EU, gives rise to a multitude of social, economic, political, and legal concerns. As such, this lecture and supporting thesis evaluates the core issues regarding the reasoning behind the British electorate’s desire to withdraw from the Union, and the possible frameworks governing alternative future arrangements between the UK and EU.

Clearing the Road: Women in Science and Engineering

4. October 2018 - 17:30 to 18:30

Veröld - Hús Vigdísar

VHV-023

The purpose of this event is to encourage young women to find themselves in science and engineering by having empowering female pioneers share their experience and wisdom. While the glass ceiling is still hindering women in this industry it is very important to have inspiring female role models.

Newton, Tesla and Musk are probably the first names that come to mind when you think of the achievements in the department of science and engineering.

But what about Curie, Rachel Carson and Shotwell?
The need of making female role models that have had great successes in this profession more visible is of the utmost importance. We have invited three women, who have all studied and are now working in the field of science and engineering, to tell their story. The aim is to inspire and empower young women and others that are taking their first steps in choosing a career path.

Dynamic communication of science at Researchers' Night

28/09/2018 - 12:05

Drinking water from drops in the atmosphere, Viking relics from Mývatnssveit, training the taste buds, nature treatment in Social Work, the use of condoms among teenage boys, and pollutants in mussels and crabs are among the many subjects that scientists and students at the University of Iceland will present at the Researchers’ Night on Friday 28 September between 4.30 and 10 P.M. The European Researchers' Night is held simultaneously in many European Cities to show science and the scientists behind the research in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere to the general public, and to raise awareness of the work of researchers and their contribution to contemporary society.

A special focus is given to families and young people, that might consider a career in science. European Researchers' Night is funded by the European Commission and organised in over 300 towns and cities all over Europe.

Flowering season becomes shorter in northern ecosystems in warmer climate

28/12/2018 - 09:13

Plants in the Arctic, that normally flower late in summer, respond to climate warming by speeding up the flowering faster than early flowering plants. This, in turn, leads to a shorter overall flowering period, affecting the survival of various species in the area. These results are published in a new scientific article by 38 plant ecologists in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution this December.

Their study is based on up to 20 years of phenological observations of 253 species at 23 sites across the Arctic and alpine tundra world-wide. Among the authors is Ingibjörg Svala Jónsdóttir, Professor of Ecology at the Institute of Life- and Environmental Sciences. She has studied plant responses to climate warming both in Iceland and Svalbard.

Manuscripts of recent centuries

Sigurður Gylfi Magnússon and Már Jónsson, professors at the Faculty of History and Philosophy, and Davíð Ólafsson, adjunct lecturer at the Faculty of Icelandic and Comparative Cultural Studies.

Archives all over the country contain hidden treasures that could shed light on the lives and history of ordinary Icelanders over the centuries. These documents and manuscripts have provided a solid foundation for the research of a group of scholars and students in the humanities. Their findings have more often than not been published in the series Sýnisbók íslenskrar alþýðumenningar (Anthology of Icelandic Popular Culture), which is published by the University of Iceland Press in collaboration with the Centre for Microhistorical Research at the University of Iceland History Institute. Last year, this series celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first publication.

Developing a new drug for acute myeloid leukaemia

Elvar Örn Viktorsson, a lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences

A group of natural materials, hitherto little researched, appear to be effective against both certain kinds of cancer and multiresistant bacteria. These were the findings of Elvar Örn Viktorsson's doctoral project at the University of Oslo, from which he graduated in late 2017. Elvar is now working as a lecturer in pharmaceutical natural product chemistry at the University of Iceland, where he intends to further pursue this remarkable research.

The economic secrets of Snæfellsjökull

Jukka Siltanen, MS in environment and natural resources

"Where the glacier meets the sky, the land ceases to be earthly, and the earth becomes one with the heavens; no sorrows live there anymore, and therefore joy is not necessary; beauty alone reigns there, beyond all demands." Few sentences have better described the beauty and magnetism of Icelandic glaciers than these lines from World Light by Halldór Laxness. The words penned by the Nobel Prize winner have certainly been confirmed in recent years by the flood of tourists into the national parks that have been established around glaciers here in Iceland.