A study conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Aalborg University reveals that people look at fake news headlines for shorter periods than what would be considered normal.
About 55 test participants were given a pseudo-task to rate 108 news headlines and determine which ones were the most recent – without being told that a third of them were fake headlines.
The eyes do not lie
Using eye-tracking technology, the researchers discovered that the participants’ eyes stayed a little longer on the real headlines.
“People gave fake news a little less visual attention, even though they did not know it was fake news,” said Casper Hansen from the Department of Computer Science at the University of Copenhagen, co-author of the study.
Possible algorithm
The researchers envision that eye-tracking technology can help with fact-checking of news stories if it is possible to collect data from people’s reading patterns.
The expectation is to create an algorithm based on eye movements that can accurately predict whether a news headline is false.
Drilling of millions of years old ice in Antarctica to study climate change
The Danes are among the climate scientists currently drilling through ice that is more than a million years old in Antarctica, reports Videnskab.dk. The ice will reveal how the climate has evolved over that time, and knowledge may help scientists predict future climate change. The EU-funded project Beyond Epica consists of researchers from 10 European countries, including Denmark. Exercises previously developed by Danish researchers to drill through Greenland’s inland ice have been adapted to the project. According to Videnskab.dk, Denmark is a leading country in ice core drilling.
Danish researchers: freezing treatment works effectively against kidney cancer
According to a new Danish study conducted by Aarhus University Hospital, kidney cancer can be treated quite successfully using ‘freezing treatment’. The results reveal that only 6 percent of the patients had relapses after treatment, while 3 percent of the patients died as a result of kidney cancer in the follow-up period of up to 10 years. Freezing treatment of kidney cancer has been used by Aarhus University Hospital since 2005, when it became the first place in Denmark to do so. However, the treatment is controversial at an international level – US and European guidelines generally recommend surgery.
Researchers mapped microplastics in a sea of โโNuuk
Researchers from DTU Aqua, DTU Environment, Aalborg University and the Greenland Institute of Nature have for the first time mapped microplastic in Godthรฅbsfjorden, which runs past Nuuk in the sea west of Greenland, according to DTU. They found about 1 particle per 10 liters of water, which is similar to other places in the North Atlantic. Professor Torkel Gissel Nielsen from DTU Aqua emphasizes that the amount of plastic is not at a critical level.
New Guinea is the most plant-rich island in the world – study
A new biology study, in which three Danish researchers have participated, reveals that New Guinea is the most plant-rich island in the world, according to Aarhus University. Some 99 botanists from 19 countries have identified 13,634 species on the world’s second largest island. New Guinea therefore surpasses Madagascar (11,832) as the most species-rich island in the world with 19 percent more diversity. However, New Guinea is far from fully explored – researchers estimate that another 4,000 plant species will be found within the next 50 years.
Danish researchers are finding cheaper ways to produce aircraft components
Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark, together with the companies Terma and Technicon, have developed a solution that can reduce the costs of producing components for cars, wind turbines and especially aircraft. The large robot technology system Flexdraper places fiber mats on molds during the manufacture of composite parts. The technology is expected to lead to lighter and cheaper aircraft, less fuel consumption and lower CO2 emissions.
Source: The Nordic Page