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The Nobel Prize in Physics 2026 has been awarded to Belgian-born physicist Francis Halzen for his work on neutrinos, elusive elementary particles often nicknamed “ghost particles”, and for his central role in developing the IceCube Neutrino Observatory at the South Pole. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) announced the prize in Stockholm on Tuesday, recognising Halzen “for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”. Neutrinos are electrically neutral particles with an extremely small mass. They are often described as “ghost particles” because they can travel through the Earth, and through the human body, almost without interacting with matter. Halzen, who was born in Belgium in 1944 and is a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the USA, will receive SEK 12 million (about €1.07 million) with the prize. An observatory inside a cubic kilometre of ice Halzen first presented the idea of using Antarctic ice to search for neutrinos in 1988. The concept eventually developed into the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, a detector built into around one cubic kilometre of ice beneath the South Pole. When a neutrino occasionally collides with an atomic nucleus, the interaction can produce light … The post 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics goes to Francis Halzen for neutrino research appeared first on NordiskPost.

Denmark may breach international conventions if a prolonged pause prevents up to 231 stateless children born in the country from obtaining Danish citizenship, legal experts have told DR. The warning comes as citizenship legislation remains stalled while the government considers new screening rules for applicants. In January, 72 stateless children born in Denmark had already met the requirements for citizenship and were included in a bill that would have granted it to them, according to documents obtained by DR. The bill later lapsed when the Danish parliamentary election was called. DR’s investigation found that as many as 231 stateless children born in Denmark could now be affected, including many whose cases have not yet been processed. Stateless children have special rights under international law Denmark is party to both the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness. The Danish Ministry of Immigration and Integration states that people born stateless in Denmark are subject to special citizenship rules because of Denmark’s international obligations. The 1961 Convention requires states to provide nationality to people born on their territory who would otherwise remain stateless, either automatically at birth or through an application procedure … The post Denmark may be violating the rights of 231 stateless children appeared first on NordiskPost.

A Danish personal ID data breach has allowed unauthorised actors to access names, addresses and civil registration numbers belonging to about 8.8 million registered people, in what a cybersecurity expert has described as the largest breach ever involving Denmark’s central population register. The Danish Ministry of Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs said on Monday that the unauthorised access took place through a private Danish company that was legally allowed to search the Central Person Register (CPR). The figure does not mean that 8.8 million people currently living in Denmark have been affected. The CPR system contains records for around 11 million people, including current residents, people who have left Denmark and people who have died. According to Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs Minister Christina Egelund, the unauthorised access continued for around ten days in September. Irregular activity was detected by the CPR administration on Friday, October 2, and the scale of the incident became clearer over the weekend. The company’s access has since been blocked. The incident has been reported to the Danish Data Protection Agency (Datatilsynet), while the National Special Crime Unit is conducting a high-priority criminal investigation. Authorities have not disclosed the company involved, who was … The post Danish personal ID data breach affects 8.8 million records appeared first on NordiskPost.

The 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine has been awarded to Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel for discoveries that made it possible to use light to switch individual nerve cells on and off in a living brain. The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet (Nobelförsamlingen vid Karolinska Institutet) announced the three laureates in Stockholm on Monday, recognising research that laid the foundations for optogenetics, a technique that has transformed the study of the brain. The American researcher Deisseroth works at Stanford University, while Hegemann is at Humboldt University of Berlin and Nagel is associated with the University of Würzburg in Germany. The three researchers will share SEK 12 million (about €1.06 million). How optogenetics uses light to control nerve cells Optogenetics gives researchers a way to control selected cells using light. In neuroscience, this can be used to activate or inhibit specific nerve cells and observe what happens when individual neural circuits are switched on or off. The discoveries behind the technique began with research into a single-celled alga. Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel studied a light-sensitive protein called channelrhodopsin. When exposed to light, the protein opens a channel that allows electrically charged ions to pass through a cell membrane. … The post 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine goes to three optogenetics pioneers appeared first on NordiskPost.

Venstre’s crisis is putting party chairman Troels Lund Poulsen under increasing pressure, but the problems facing Denmark’s Liberal Party go well beyond its leader. Falling support, internal disagreements and a much more fragmented political landscape have been developing for years, making a change at the top unlikely to provide a simple solution. Voices within the party’s local organisation have begun discussing whether Lund Poulsen should remain chairman, according to an analysis by Danish broadcaster DR. But there is currently no organised leadership challenge and no obvious alternative candidate preparing to replace him. The pressure is nevertheless substantial. A recent Voxmeter poll put the Liberal Party of Denmark (Venstre) at 5.8%, its lowest level recorded by the polling institute since it began measuring Danish politics for Ritzau in 2001. A weighted average of three polls at the end of September placed the party at 6.7%. Venstre’s crisis is visible in the numbers The decline did not begin with Troels Lund Poulsen. At Denmark’s 2019 general election, Venstre won 23.4% of the vote and 43 seats. Its share fell to 13.3% in 2022, before declining again to 10.1% in the March 2026 election, when the party won 18 seats. That trajectory spans … The post Changing the leader will not solve Venstre’s crisis appeared first on NordiskPost.