Today’s generation shocked they might have to care for their parents Pushing a pram gives a young middle-class man status in Scandinavia. But when will it be just as cool to push your old father around in a wheelchair?
Babies can show signs of autism early in life Babies who were just 10 months old and who later received a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder took less initiative than other children to communicate with adults.
Dogs mirror owner’s stress level New research suggests that long-term stress is transmitted from human to dog.
Scientists discover brain mechanism that regulates body weight A neurotransmitter in the brain affects whether we gain or lose weight, a new study in mice suggests.
What the Swedes learned from the terrorist attack in Stockholm Five people were killed and ten injured when a terrorist drove a truck into the crowd in central Stockholm on 7 April 2017.
Snoring prevents the body from repairing damage to the pharynx Snoring triggers a vicious cycle that can cause sleep apnoea and difficulty swallowing, according to Swedish research.
Wolves, but no dogs, in Scandinavian wolf population’s heritage There is no evidence that Scandinavia’s wolf population has been influenced by dog-wolf hybrids, new research shows.
Written in the blood: Researchers detect signs of cancer risk years in advance of disease Some serious cancers have been linked to an increase of certain proteins in the blood as early as 15-25 years before a person becomes ill, a series of Swedish studies shows.
Anxiety and depression high among undocumented migrants in Sweden Half say they often go hungry and few have permanent places to live, according to a survey of 88 migrants.
Crosswords, knitting and gardening lower the risk of Alzheimer's Physical activity can prevent dementia in the elderly. But activities that stimulate the brain, such as reading, going to concerts or weeding the garden, also lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease regardless of how much physical activity the person does, a Swedish study says.
Warrior buried in a Swedish Viking grave was actually female When archaeologists excavated a Viking grave in the late 1800s and found weapons, they realized they’d found a warrior’s burial place. But it turned out that warrior was a woman.
Older Swedes drink more — and are more prone to accidents, disease Twenty-seven per cent of 75-year-old Swedish men and 10 per cent of 75-year-old Swedish women are considered to be hazardous drinkers, a new report says. Elderly people are more sensitive to alcohol than younger people and therefore are more at risk from drinking-related problems.
Healthiest to limit sugar, but not cut it completely It’s OK to eat a little sugar, but stay away from sugary soft drinks. Still, Swedish researchers are not sure how sugar affects our general health.
Grandsons' health at risk if grandpa ate well in his youth This odd connection may be due to our genes being affected by the world around us.
Eat your spinach, it’s good for your heart If you want to take care of your heart, you may want to eat more spinach or other greens. But eat it raw.
The Arctic: we don’t know as much about environmental change in the far north as we'd like to think The region is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth and its polar bears and melting glaciers have become a key symbols of climate change. But the Arctic, it seems, is not as well researched as you might think.
Slow motion bats are the secret to next generation drones Swedish researchers are studying how bats manoeuvre to create next-generation drones.
The hidden price of Iceland’s green energy In times of runaway climate change, phasing out fossil fuels and increasing the share of renewables is imperative. But this transition is not without pitfalls as shown by a recent study of two large renewable projects in Iceland.
When feeling sick feels great: New study reveals a close link between reward and unease A recent study shows how mice can be made to prefer sickness, nausea, and stress over feeling well, just be removing one specific receptor from the brain. This could open the door to new treatments against various types of malaise associated with disease.
Making academics compete for funding does not lead to better science New study challenges accepted science policy that more competitive funding and powerful top-down university management is the best way to boost the quality of science produced.
Just one sleepless night can tell your body to start storing fat Sleep is one of those physiological necessities that continues to puzzle researchers. But a new study illuminates how missing one single night of sleep can initiate a series of physiological changes, and not necessarily for the better.
Why you can't have free trade and save the planet OPINION: For centuries world trade has increased not only environmental degradation, but also global inequality. The expanding ecological footprints of affluent people are unjust as well as unsustainable.
Tax havens can drive environmental degradation A new study from Sweden shows how the use of tax havens is indirectly linked to illegal fishing as well as deforestation in the Amazon.
Loss of marine habitats is threatening the global fishing industry – new research New study reveals the first quantitative global evidence for the significant roles that seagrasses play in supporting fishery productivity.
Mass extinction 66 million years ago paved the way for modern shark communities The famous mass extinction of dinosaurs also impacted oceanic animals and in particular, sharks. A new study reveals how the balance of modern shark biodiversity can be traced back to this very event.
Double the number of children born to women over the age of 45 Scandinavian women are waiting longer to have children. Last year in Norway, 138 women over age 45 had children – twice as many as ten years earlier, according to figures from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.
Why you shouldn’t bring your mobile device shopping If you want to save money after your holiday, leave your mobile phone at home when shopping. Consumers who used their phones in the grocery store ended up with fuller shopping carts.
Time to re-think the climate change challenge OPINION: We now know enough about the nature of the earth system that the risk of crossing a planetary threshold that propels us into a Hothouse Earth needs to be taken very seriously.
Swedish youth prescribed more anxiety medications Use of medications for anxiety, insomnia and epilepsy has increased significantly in Sweden among children and adolescents, a new study shows.
A visit to Rome using centuries-old guidebooks "There were big differences in what people thought was important and noteworthy, beautiful or ugly," says Anna Blennow.
Girls experience sexting more negatively than boys A new study finds that Swedish boys and girls have very different reactions to sexually explicit texts. One researcher thinks this is very disheartening.
Fathers with more education more likely to take paternity leave Swedish doctors and lawyers take twice as much parental leave as their less well-educated peers. But the trend is the opposite for well-educated women.
Autoimmune diseases more often affect people with stress disorders A major study shows an association between stress-related disorders and subsequent autoimmune diseases such as arthritis, celiac disease and type 1 diabetes.
A tiny dragonhead illuminates life in a Viking trading town This little head dates from the Viking Age and was produced in unique style.
Fear of reprisals muzzles Swedish police The consequences of working in a culture of fear can be serious.
New research may explain why some people become alcoholics Several studies suggest that a brain function related to the handling of emotions and stress may be abnormal in people who are addicted to drink.
Power to the people - How to make the low-carbon energy transition work A recent study of two successful energy transitions in Denmark and Germany shows that transparency and community participation are essential to drive the clean energy agenda forward at the local level.
1600-year-old evidence of beer brewing in Sweden And there’s every reason to believe that people in the Nordic countries have been brewing beer much longer than that.
Caesarean section versus natural birth – an obstetrician examines a new review Caesarean section should not be “marketed” as a safe way to avoid pelvic floor problems. The reality is more complex than that.
Grasping the nettle: Swedish tax to tackle aviation’s impact on climate OPINION: The new aviation tax aims to change consumer behavior by taxing one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the world.
Here’s why firefighters don’t get burned out In spite of encountering stressful situations, firefighters have good coping strategies that keep them healthy and protect them from burnout, a new study shows.
Is it bad to sleep in on the weekends? A large study suggests that a few extra hours of sleep on the weekend are probably not detrimental to your health.
Fake researcher fabricated finding that HPV vaccine causes cervical cancer A research article alleging that HPV vaccines can cause cancer has now been withdrawn. "Extremely serious," says Karolinska Institutet.
Can birth control pills make teens depressed? A Swedish study shows that hormone-based contraceptives are associated with an increased use of antidepressants among young girls.
Evidence uncovered of a 1500-year-old massacre in Sweden The remains, discovered by researchers, appear to have been left in the same places where they had been slaughtered.
Coma patients might feel pleasure and pain like the rest of us Emerging evidence suggests the unconscious can experience many of the things that conscious people do. What does this mean for medical ethics and even how we perceive ourselves as humans?
The great escape: Birds fly away from disease New study reveals how birds avoid disease by migrating and colonizing new habitats.
What’s the best place to hang a birdhouse? If you go to all the trouble to hang a birdhouse, you definitely want to put it in the right place. But which is better: Sun or shade?
Incontinence affects more than 200 million people worldwide, so why isn't more being done to find a cure? We need to start talking about incontinence. We cannot be shy about a condition that is likely to affect many of us at some point in our lives.
Nordic Stone Age diet was dominated by fish Red meat seems to have been less important in Northern European Stone Age diets than previously thought.
Family life makes Nordic men happy But this is not necessarily true for men elsewhere in Europe, a new study shows.
Turning around boy culture in the classroom Dominant cultural norms result in boys doing worse than girls in school, according to new Swedish doctoral research. But it's possible to turn it around, says the researcher.
Gaming doesn’t prevent Swedish teens from having friends Young Swedish gamers seem to do just fine with friendships, researchers have found.
Handling extreme ideas in the classroom The classroom should be a safe place for students to openly voice their opinions. But how far should a student with intolerant or extremist ideas be allowed to go before a teacher does something?
Can a baby’s smell help with depression? A newborn’s head has a distinctive smell. Could it be harnessed to treat mental illness? A team of Swedish scientists thinks the idea has promise.
Communities recover quickly from terrorist attacks Terror attacks can initially cause more ethnic segregation. But things return to normal after three years.
Can you trust “safe periods” as a form of birth control? It’s a well-known phenomenon that a woman’s body temperature can help predict when she is least — or most —likely to become pregnant. Swedish researchers have studied this phenomenon and are selling a mobile phone app as a form of natural birth control. Their efforts are not without controversy.
Africa has plans for a Great Green Wall: Why the idea needs a rethink It could improve life and resilience in the drylands that surround the Sahara. But progress on the ground is inconsistent with lofty political ambitions.
Traumatic brain injuries linked to dementia risks A person who has suffered a brain injury is more likely to develop dementia. The worse the injury the greater the risk, shows a new Swedish study.
Palaeolithic diet gives slightly more weight reduction A Swedish study shows that elderly women who stuck to a Palaeolithic diet achieved more health benefits than those who followed the dietary recommendations of Nordic country nutritionists.
Strength training isn’t enough Older women gained noticeably stronger muscle mass from resistance training. But that wasn’t enough to prevent falling.
First Scandinavians came from north and south Scandinavia has been a melting pot of cultures ever since the first people arrived after the last ice age, new DNA analyses show.
Swedish women less trusting of researchers Norwegian women seem to trust researchers and research more than Norwegian men do. Next door in Sweden, it’s the opposite.
How does a newt make a new tail? Scientists have found the genes that are linked to the regrowth of body parts.
New gene therapy gives hope to people born with inherited eye disorder We are now on the cusp of being able to offer hope to the thousands of patients who suffer from inherited retinal degeneration.
Dogs and cats are big business in Sweden Just how many jobs do pets — and their loving owners — actually create? Swedish researchers have now provided some numbers to answer that exact question.
New research shows explaining things to ‘normal’ people can help scientists be better at their jobs Science communication could have a huge impact on learning, research, and democracy. But to make use of this power, scientists need to “zoom out” and connect their research to the world outside.
These are the fruits and vegetables we waste the most Seven vegetables and fruits represent about half of all produce that goes to waste in supermarkets, according to a Swedish study. A focus on these can cut costs and help the environment.
Ailments contribute to low life expectancy after first suicide attempt People who have attempted suicide tend to live shorter lives than others, even though their deaths are mostly caused by disease.
Scientists are making smoothies with potato milk A Swedish food scientist has made a milk substitute out of potatoes. This is said to be more neutral in taste than soya or oat milk.
New treatment for irritable bowel syndrome? A new study might bring hope of treatment for persons plagued by irritable bowel syndrome.
Breastfeeding does not prevent asthma and allergies A Swedish study shows that breastfeeding does not lower the risk of allergies, hay fever and asthma.
Traumatic childhood experiences pass down to next generation Thousands of Finnish refugee children were evacuated to foster homes in Sweden during WWII. Many of their descendants continue to struggle psychologically with the trauma that caused.
If it sounds and smells good, it helps us buy Customers lingered longer and bought more based on the atmosphere in the store.
Rising number of Swedish women suffer recurrent miscarriages A new Swedish study indicates that a rising number of women have experienced three or more miscarriages in a row. The medical researchers are uncertain as to the cause.
Those who feel their own heartbeats are more generous A new study shows an association between kind-heartedness and detecting one’s own heartbeats.
Bowel disease in childhood raises cancer risks People who suffered Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis before the age of 18 have twice the risk of developing cancer, according to a Swedish study.
