Science

Brazil poised to overtake Italy as country with third-highest death toll – as it happened

Sweden death rate now higher than France; Pakistan records largest single day rise in new infections; global deaths pass 380,000. This blog is now closedFollow the latest global coronavirus live blog here 12.26am BST We’ve launched a new blog at the link below: Related: Coronavirus live news: Germany reveals major stimulus plan as global cases grow by 100,000 a day 11.52pm BST At least three people were reported dead as coronavirus-hit Mumbai appeared to escape the worst of Cyclone N...
Tags: Science, Sweden, Biology, France, China, Germany, India, Africa, Americas, UK News, World news, Australia news, US news, Medical Research, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa

Coronavirus live news: Brazil poised to overtake Italy as country with third-highest death toll

Sweden death rate now higher than France; Pakistan records largest single day rise in new infections; global deaths pass 380,000Exclusive: governments and WHO changed Covid policy bases on suspect data from tiny US companyArchitect of Sweden’s coronavirus strategy admits too many diedAir pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may followUK coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 6.13pm BST If you like all your daily coronavirus world news wrapped into one nea...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, Biology, France, China, India, Africa, Americas, US, Eu, UK News, World news, Australia news, US news, Medical Research

Coronavirus live news: Sweden passes France's death rate as virus chief admits room for improvement

Pakistan records largest single day rise in new infections; global deaths pass 380,000; Yemen aid funding falls short by US$1bnExclusive: governments and WHO changed Covid policy bases on suspect data from tiny US companyArchitect of Sweden’s coronavirus strategy admits too many diedAir pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may followUK coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 4.29pm BST Donald Trump, the US president, said he will seek a new state to host t...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, Biology, France, China, India, Africa, Americas, US, UK News, World news, Australia news, US news, Medical Research, Asia Pacific

Coronavirus live news: Sweden virus chief says 'we could have done better'; Austria scraps land border checks

Global deaths pass 380,000; Yemen aid funding falls short by US$1bn; Australia sinks into recession; global cases pass 6.3mExclusive: governments and WHO changed Covid policy bases on suspect data from tiny US companyArchitect of Sweden’s coronavirus strategy admits too many diedAir pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may followUK coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 2.33pm BST The links between obesity and the risk of becoming dangerously ill with cor...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, Biology, Australia, France, China, India, Africa, Americas, US, UK News, World news, Australia news, US news, Medical Research

Coronavirus live news: Sweden virus chief says 'we could have done better'; global deaths pass 380,000

Yemen aid funding falls short by US$1bn; Australia sinks into recession; global cases pass 6.3mArchitect of Sweden’s coronavirus strategy admits too many diedAir pollution in China back to pre-Covid levels and Europe may followGlobal report: Germany eases travel ban and cafe culture returns to ParisUK coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 10.25am BST Berlin’s senate has switched one of the three “Corona traffic lights” in its pandemic warning system to red, after the R nu...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, Biology, Australia, China, Germany, Berlin, India, Africa, Americas, US, Spain, European Union, UK News, World news

Architect of Sweden's coronavirus strategy admits too many died

Anders Tegnell defends strategy but says there is ‘potential for improvement’Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageSweden’s chief epidemiologist and the architect of its light-touch approach to the coronavirus has acknowledged the country has suffered too many deaths from Covid-19 and should have done more to curb the spread of the virus.Anders Tegnell, who has previously criticised other countries’ strict lockdowns as not sustainable in the long run, told Swedish Radio on ...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, World news, Infectious Diseases, Swedish Radio, Coronavirus outbreak, Anders Tegnell

Key gene in leukemia discovered

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most common forms of blood cancer among adults and is associated with a low survival rate, and leads to the inhibition of normal blood formation. Now, a research team at Lund University in Sweden has identified one of the genes that is the basis for leukemia stem cells' survival and multiplication. The study is published in Cell Reports.
Tags: Science, Sweden, AML, Lund University

COVID-19 will almost certainly never infect more than 25% of the world’s population

Email that I’ve sent out to a few people: This chart below is the final nail on the covid panic (and yet, this is a serious disease – I don’t mean to downplay its seriousness – see my text below). This chart was created by someone who used Neil Ferguson’s model, applied it to Sweden, […]
Tags: Travel, Science, Sweden, Current Affairs, Neil Ferguson

Coronavirus live news: European commission proposes €1.85tn Covid-19 recovery plan

WHO sounds alarm over surge of Covid-19 cases in Latin America; unrest grows in UK PM’s party over Dominic Cummings lockdown breachTory unrest increases pressure on PM to sack Dominic CummingsUK coronavirus updates – liveCoronavirus latest: at a glance 1.23pm BST Ninety-five more people have died from Covid-19 in Sweden, according to the latest update from the public health authority, increasing the total death toll from the country’s coronavirus outbreak to 4,220.The number of confirmed cas...
Tags: Europe, UK, Science, Sweden, China, Russia, Africa, Americas, Spain, UK News, World news, Australia news, US news, Medical Research, Asia Pacific, Middle East and North Africa

New method reveals where DNA is at risk in the cell

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have developed a new sequencing method that makes it possible to map how DNA is spatially organised in the cell nucleus -- revealing which genomic regions are at higher risk of mutation and DNA damage. The technique is described in an article published in the scientific journal Nature Biotechnology.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Karolinska Institutet

Designing technologies that interpret your mood from your skin

An international team of researchers from Sweden and the UK have developed an innovative way of interpreting biological signals produced by the conductance of our skin. The system displays information in the form of colourful spiral graphics in real time, as well as a recording of data, for the wearer to interpret and reflect on.
Tags: UK, Science, Sweden

Watch: Babies know when you imitate them -- and like it

Six-month old infants recognize when adults imitate them, and perceive imitators as more friendly, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden. The babies looked and smiled longer at an adult who imitated them, as opposed to when the adult responded in other ways. Babies also approached them more, and engaged in imitating games. The research is published in PLOS One.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Lund University

New method provides unique insight into the development of the human brain

Stem cell researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a new research model of the early embryonic brain. The aim of the model is to study the very earliest stages of brain to understand how different regions in the brain are formed during embryonic development. With this new insight, researchers hope to be able to produce different types of neural cells for the treatment of neurological diseases more efficiently. The study is published in the journal Nature Biotechnology.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Lund University

Sweden 'wrong' not to shut down, says former state epidemiologist

Scientist who oversaw the response to Sars says country has failed the vulnerableCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe predecessor of Sweden’s state epidemiologist has broken her silence on the country’s controversial coronavirus strategy, saying she now believes the authorities should have put in place tougher restrictions in the early stages of the pandemic to bring the virus under control.Annika Linde, who oversaw Sweden’s response to swine flu and Sars as state epid...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, World news, Infectious Diseases, Finland, Sars, Linde, Denmark Norway, Coronavirus outbreak, Anders Tegnell, Annika Linde

Sweden’s Covid-19 policy is a model for the right. It’s also a deadly folly | Nick Cohen

The Swedes were the Brexiters’ poster nation, but now have Europe’s worst death rateCoronavirus – latest updatesTell us: have you been affected by the coronavirus?Covid-19 is nature’s way of making bad situations worse. From the moment it turned the world upside down, you could have predicted that the Chinese Communist party would have arrested whistleblowers and covered up the threat to humanity. It’s what it does best, after all.You would not have needed mystical powers to divine that Viktor O...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, European Union, World news, Medical Research, Hungary, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Boris Johnson, Donald Trump, Viktor Orban, Nick Cohen, Chinese Communist, Coronavirus outbreak

Just 7.3% of Stockholm had Covid-19 antibodies by end of April, study shows

Official findings add to concerns about Sweden’s laissez-faire strategy towards the pandemicCoronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageJust 7.3% of Stockholm’s inhabitants had developed Covid-19 antibodies by the end of April, according to a study, raising concerns that the country’s light-touch approach to the coronavirus may not be building up broad immunity.The research by Sweden’s public health agency comes as figures suggest the country’s death rate per capita was the highe...
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, World news, Stockholm, Coronavirus outbreak

Update: Sweden’s pandemic has probably (a little) more distance to go

  Email I just sent out to a group of interested persons: === Hi all Just thought I’d update since I’d earlier considered Anders Tegnell’s view (that Sweden will achieve herd immunity by end-May) to be broadly in the ballpark, but it now turns out that he was somewhat over-optimistic. Initial serological studies in Stockholm […]
Tags: Travel, Science, Sweden, Current Affairs, Stockholm, Anders Tegnell

Obesity not related to how close you live to fast food or gyms

A new study from Lund University in Sweden has shown no correlation between obesity and how close you live to fast food restaurants or gyms. Studies from other countries have previously indicated that these factors may be important in adult obesity.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Lund University

Emissions from road construction could be halved using today's technology

The construction sector accounts for a quarter of carbon dioxide emissions, in Sweden and globally. Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg studied the construction of an eight km stretch of road and calculated how emissions could be reduced now and by 2045, looking at everything from materials choice, production technology, supply chains and transport.
Tags: Science, Sweden, University of Gothenburg, Chalmers University of Technology

Notes on Swedish Public Health Authority serological study IFR 0.6%

On 15 May 2020 Lisa Brouwers, head of analysis at the Public Health Authority published this. I’m happy to accept this figure as being reasonably valid. MY NOTES   That's better – more in the range I've been thinking about. Estimates of 0.1% have seemed too low. But that should not change Sweden's strategy – […]
Tags: Travel, Science, Sweden, Current Affairs, IFR, Public Health Authority, Swedish Public Health Authority, Lisa Brouwers

As Europe emerges from lockdown, the question hangs: was Sweden right? | Simon Jenkins

Stockholm gambled in its response to coronavirus, but neither its economy nor its healthcare system have collapsedWho on earth is right? We cannot all be right.One country has all but dropped off the Covid-19 radar: Sweden. Just two months ago, it held hands with Britain in rejecting total lockdown and trusting “social distancing”. Then on 23 March, Boris Johnson did a U-turn, leaving Sweden and, to a lesser extent, Germany, on its own. Since then the divergence has become radical and political....
Tags: Europe, Science, Sweden, Germany, World news, Medical Research, Britain, Infectious Diseases, Boris Johnson, Stockholm, Bernie Sanders, Simon Jenkins, Coronavirus outbreak

Social good creates economic boost

As unemployment rates skyrocket around the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a world-first study out of Australia and Sweden has found social venture start-ups not only alleviate social problems but are also much more important for job creation than previously thought.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Australia

Effects of internet CBT for health anxiety on par with face-to-face treatment

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have compared two ways of delivering cognitive behavioral therapy to treat people with health anxiety, a condition that may increase in the wake of COVID-19. Out of about 200 study participants, half received Internet-CBT and half received conventional face-to-face CBT. The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, show that Internet-delivered treatment had comparable effects, and could serve as an alternative in helping people who are worried about th...
Tags: Science, Sweden, Karolinska Institutet, CBT, COVID

New measure of broad psychopathology can predict future care requirement

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden show that different measures of psychopathology can be combined into a single factor, 'p', which predicts the patient's prognosis and need of extra support. The general factor of psychopathology reflects the overall risk of adverse psychiatric outcomes with an accuracy equal to that currently used for intelligence, they report in a paper published in World Psychiatry.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Karolinska Institutet

Antihistamines may help patients with malignant melanoma

Can a very common allergy medicine improve survival among patients suffering from the serious skin cancer, malignant melanoma? A new study from Lund University in Sweden indicates that this may be the case.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Lund University

Early mammography screening lowers risk of developing fatal breast cancer

An analysis published in CANCER of more than half a million women in Sweden reveals that mammography screening reduces the rates of advanced and fatal breast cancers.
Tags: Science, Sweden

Newly discovered mechanism can explain increased risk of dementia

Millions of people around the world use acid suppressants called proton pump inhibitors for conditions like heartburn, gastritis and stomach ulcers. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now report that how the long-term use of these drugs could increase the risk of developing dementia. Their results are published in the journal Alzheimer's & Dementia.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Karolinska Institutet

Official Swedish data show a minor increase in total deaths that’s reverting to normal

When I shared this I got a request for the original source. Sweden's deaths are now starting to track LOWER THAN IN AN AVERAGE YEAR. See also: https://t.co/v4kJlfBzM7 pic.twitter.com/po8Ll5vY3c — Sanjeev Sabhlok, Pope @Church of Reason & Liberty (@sabhlok) May 5, 2020 Here’s the source of this official Swedish data: https://www.scb.se/en/About-us/news-and-press-releases/highest-mortality-this-millennium-noted-in-sweden/ This webpage contains a […]
Tags: Travel, Science, Sweden, Current Affairs, Sanjeev Sabhlok Pope

Plasma electrons can be used to produce metallic films

Computers, mobile phones and all other electronic devices contain thousands of transistors, linked together by thin films of metal. Scientists at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed a method that can use the electrons in a plasma to produce these films.
Tags: Science, Sweden, Linkoping University

Global trade in soy has major implications for the climate

The extent to which Brazilian soy production and trade contribute to climate change depends largely on the location where soybeans are grown. This is shown by a recent study conducted by the University of Bonn together with partners from Spain, Belgium and Sweden. In some municipalities, CO2 emissions resulting from the export of soybean and derivatives are more than 200 times higher than in others.
Tags: Science, Sweden, University of Bonn, Spain Belgium