Press releases

A private donation of USD 5.5 million (approximately SEK 43 million) will allow Karolinska Institutet to create a brand new research centre where alternative forms of treatment can be assessed scientifically. It is intended that work will start at the centre in 2006.

Antonius Stradivarius violins are shrouded in more myths than any other instruments in world history. At Mid Sweden University, researchers are using modern technology to uncover his secrets. At the international acoustics conference ICSV12, taking place in Lisbon on July 11-14, 2005, Associate Professor Mats Tinnsten will be presenting the latest research findings in the field.

As a part of a research collaboration, scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy at Göteborg University, Sweden, have developed a new drug candidate against HIV-infection. The new substance, named alphaHGA, will be tested on patients this year. In a thesis from the Sahlgrenska Academy, parts of the research essential for the performance of the clinical trial are presented.

Parents whose children are born with a low birth weight run greater risk of dying of cardiovascular diseases. Even the fathers are at greater risk. These findings are published in a new report by Karolinska Institutet. The report shows that genetic factors affect both birth weight and the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Can vision problems cause musculo-skeletal complaints and vice versa? This is a key question for anyone who works in front of a computer screen every day. Together with research colleagues at the Karolinska Institute, Uppsala University, and in the U.S., Associate Professor Hans O. Richter at Gävle University College has recently shown that when the tone is reduced in the focusing muscle of the eye, nerve impulses to the neck and shoulders are also affected. Now the team wants to go on to investigate the connection between eye problems and neck and back complaints in a cross-disciplinary study.

Not everyone can enjoy the fresh strawberries in summer. Some experience an allergic reaction with itching and swelling in mouth and throat. Biochemists at Lund University have identified a strawberry allergen among the thousands of proteins in a strawberry. Screening is now performed to find strawberries with no or little of the allergen protein. Sofar, a colourless, “white” strawberry variety has been found to be virtually free from the allergen.

Karolinska Institutet’s solution for the financing of early discoveries will be presented at the biotech fair in Philadelphia on 21 June.

A study by the Swedish Road and Transport Research Institute VTI shows that milled rumble strips at the centre of a two lane road are probably an excellent measure to reduce the number of head-on collisions which occur because tired and inattentive drivers inadvertently leave the lane they are driving in.

Just as placebos have been shown to bring relief from pain, researchers at Karolinska Institutet have now found that they can affect emotion, alleviating the impact of unpleasant experiences. The study is published in the June 16, 2005, issue of Neuron.

Wet work and its health effects attracted much attention at the conference “Occupational and Environmental Exposures of Skin to Chemicals – 2005”, which was held in Stockholm, Sweden 12-15 June 2005. The experts agreed that the harmful effects from wet work affecting large parts of the population have been neglected far too long and that action is needed.