News

The monitoring study led by the University of Tartu reveals that the number of infectious adults in Estonia has at least tripled compared to mid-November. At the same time, people are following government-imposed restrictions more carefully than before, wearing masks and refraining from physical meetings.

Large amounts of new particles can form in the valleys of the Himalayas from naturally emitted gases and can be transported to high altitudes by the mountain winds and injected into the upper atmosphere. The emitted particles may eventually affect climate by acting as nuclei for cloud condensation. These new findings about particles’ formation and sources will contribute to a better understanding of past and future climate.

On 30 November, the council of the University of Tartu (UT) decided to establish the company UniTartu Ventures OÜ, adding an opportunity to direct the intellectual property created by UT researchers to research- and technology-intensive companies. “With a university-owned private limited company, we can help researchers and also students to launch their business by directing the university’s intellectual property to start-ups they establish and by looking for investors for that,” said the UT Vice Rector for Development Erik Puura.

In early summer, nearly 500 people wanted to take part in the study by researchers of the University of Tartu and donate their blood plasma so that it could be used to treat people suffering from COVID-19. Eleven of them made it to the donor chair and donated 20 plasma doses in total. Now, the first severely ill corona patient has received the plasma transfusion with antibodies to SARS-CoV-2.

Students’ business idea competition Kaleidoskoop invites student teams to join the competition for the 15th time already. In the online competition, every student team has three minutes to present their idea to a panel of judges. Registration for the pre-selection is open until midnight on 7 December.

A study by University of Tartu researchers indicates that the sensitivity of tests used to detect viral antibodies in a blood sample may differ significantly. The combination of several tests may give the best result. At the onset of COVID-19 symptoms, first, the nasopharyngeal swab is taken to verify the presence of the virus. But if the aim is to determine whether an asymptomatic person has been in contact with the virus or, vice versa, to know which acute disease the person recently suffered from, a test detecting antibodies in a blood sample comes helpful.

Researchers and doctors from the University of Tartu and Tartu University Hospital evaluated the use of a novel revolutionary method, flow cytometry, for diagnosing urethritis in Estonian men. The study published in PLOS ONE confirmed the efficiency of the method and showed that most often urethritis was due to chlamydia. Gonorrhoea caused the strongest urethral inflammation.

Viljo Allik, Chief Engineer of the Tartu Observatory, and researcher Tõnis Eenmäe achieved a connection to satellites Koit (Dusk) and Hämarik (Dawn) in cooperation with TalTech's software specialist. Koit had been orbiting in silence for almost a year and a half. Hämarik joined Koit in September this year.

Like every year, students have elected the recipients of this year’s teaching excellence awards and the Academic Affairs Committee has announced the programme directors of the year and the laureates of the teaching quality enhancement award. Teaching staff of the year have been elected since 2006, the teaching quality enhancement awards granted since 2012, and the programme directors of the year recognised since 2014 at the University of Tartu. Teaching Staff of the Year

On Tuesday, 1 December, the university members celebrate the 101st anniversary of Estonia's national university.

Watch or read Rector Toomas Asser's greeting on the 101st anniversary of Estonia's national university. Dear university community, dear new PhD holders, dear friends of the university! Today is an exceptional day for Estonia’s national university. Hopefully, it is this one time only. We cannot celebrate the 101st anniversary of the national university in the traditional way, but we will not leave it uncelebrated either. Let us celebrate the anniversary, each in their own way!

Read the greeting on behalf of the honorary doctors from Helena Kääriäinen, who is a professor and the head of the Department of Clinical Genetics at Turku University Hospital. Kääriläinen was granted an honorary doctorate in medical genetics for her achievements in the research and development of medical genetics and long-term successful cooperation with the University of Tartu researchers.

Watch or read the academic Lecture "Interculturality and the virus" by Professor of German Studies Marko Pajević. Dear university community, ladies and gentelmen! I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak here, today, to you, at this honourable occasion.

On the 101st anniversary of Estonia’s national university, Rector of the University of Tartu Toomas Asser announced the laureate of the award for contribution to Estonian national identity – the theatre researcher and historian, critic and lecturer Lea Tormis.

Next year, the expatriate Estonian visiting professorship of the University of Tartu will be held by Jaan Valsiner, professor of cultural psychology at Aalborg University. He is one of the world’s leading cultural psychologists, whose research focuses on the intersections and interconnections of psychology and semiotics, and who has helped to promote Estonian research in the world. Jaan Valsiner has worked as a professor of psychology at Clark University in the USA, and is currently a professor of cultural psychology at Aalborg University in Denmark.

A new stage in the coronavirus prevalence study begins on 26 November, led by the University of Tartu researchers. Its aim is to determine the prevalence of coronavirus infection among adult population and estimate its change compared to the study conducted two weeks ago. In the new stage that runs until 4 December, researchers also observe changes in people’s behaviour patterns in relation to the restrictive measures introduced by the government.

Researchers of the University of Tartu Institute of Dentistry participate in a 15-million-euro project Sleep Revolution that aims to transform the research, diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnoea and the related disorders. As one part of the project, a digital platform will be developed to help patients with snoring and sleep apnoea to exercise the muscles of the tongue and face.

So far, the university has favoured preferring face-to-face learning to distance learning. However, as the coronavirus infection rate is increasing, the Rector’s Office decided at its today’s meeting that it is reasonable to rapidly reorganise studies wherever possible to safeguard the health of all university members.

View the video address of Rector Toomas Asser focusing on coronavirus prevention at the university on UTTV and read revised coronavirus guidelines at the university. This week the Government of Estonia announced new coronavirus measures and based on the government’s recommendations, members of the UT Rector’s Office have laid down the following guidelines.

Quite understandably, the university cannot remain untouched by the spread of the coronavirus. The growth in the number of the infected has put the Health Board under a lot of pressure, which is why the necessary information does not reach all potential close contacts as quickly as we would like. The least we can do to help the Health Board is inform the members of our university. Thereby we help ensure that students and employees do not unknowingly spread the virus.