Medicor 2018 #1 by Medicor MF Magazine

medicor medicinska föreningen’s

2018 #1

student magazine

HI THERE SCIENCE, MEET SOCIETY page 12

REBRANDING RESEARCH page 14

NOT THAT KIND OF (MAD) DOCTOR page 30

EVOLVING WITH SOCIETY

Prelude

Photo: Jarda Zaoral (www.jardazaoral.com)

Medicor Magasin Grundad 2006. Trettonde årgången. Utges av Medincinska Föreningen i Stockholm ISSN: 1653-9796 Ansvarig utgivare: Joanne Bakker Tryck och reproduktion: Elanders Adress: Medicinska Föreningen i Stockholm Nobels Väg 10, Box 250, 171 77, Stockholm Utgivningsplan 2018: nr 1: maj, nr 2: oktober, nr 3: december. Kontakta Medicor: chefredaktor@ medicor.nu www.medicinskaforeningen.se http://medicor.nu Frilansmaterial: Medicor förbehåller sig rätten att redigera inkommet material och ansvarar inte för icke beställda texter eller bilder, samt tryckfel. Upphovsman svarar för, genom Medicor publicerat, signerat frilansmaterial; denna(e)s åsikter representerar nödvändigtvis inte Medicors eller Medicinska Föreningens. Freelance material: Medicor retains the right to edit incoming material and does not take responsibility for unsolicited texts or pictures, and printing mistakes. The contributor agrees that, through published and signed Medicor material, their opinions do not necessarily represent those of Medicor or Medicinska Föreningen.

Dear Medicor readers, Before long, many students will leave Karolinska´s campus to enjoy the seemingly endless summer before boomeranging back in September to fill up the library with their laughter, the microwaves in the lunch rooms with their food, and the lecture halls with their questions. As the semester is coming to an end and this issue of our magazine has reached its final shape and form, a great adventure is coming to an end for me as well. It is with the utmost pleasure I am addressing these words to you for the first, but unfortunately also the only time. As Tolkien once wrote, “little by little, we travel far.” It has been amazing to be a part of the Medicor team for the past years, and I am honoured to have ended up as Medicor magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, if only for a brief time. Following up Yildiz Kelahmetoglu, who took the magazine to a whole new level, seemed a daunting task, but thanks to the entire Medicor team and dedicated people at MF we made it happen. I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the current issue: it would not have been possible without your help. In the past months, we have also expanded the organisation behind Medicor, which now includes our first online team. By being more active on our social media and our website we are working hard to take Medicor into the future. I am happy to announce that this process will be continued by Isabelle Wemar, who will take over the reigns of the magazine from now on. I am sure Isabelle will do a great job as the new Editor-in-Chief, having experience with almost every task needed to create Medicor magazine - from writing to proofreading and photographing - and having been a fantastic Associate Editor for these past months. In the current issue, we are focusing on an exciting topic: science and society. While science does not happen in a vacuum, scientists sometimes tend to hide in their ivory tower, only descending to the masses when it is time to announce the Nobel Prize Laureates. Society in its turn can seem too focused on short-term wins and applications, not always realising that this is only made possible by fundamental science in the first place. In a world plagued by misinformation, for example from anti-global warming and antivaccination movements, it is especially essential now to leave one’s comfort zone and try to bridge the gap between science and society by communicating clearly and honestly. In this issue, we are trying to contribute to this important task. Our cover story addresses how changes in society fuel research in specific directions – for example, how we will produce enough food to feed the growing population. We have had the luck to interview prominent researcher Kristina Alexanderson on the topic of insurance medicine, which is a new scientific field that has emerged due to societal demand. Furthermore, we discuss how you as a scientist can reach out to the audience, and why this is important. And finally, we examine how scientists and the science they are doing are portrayed in popular culture. As always, we hope this issue will inspire you to come and tell your story. We can’t make this magazine without you. We work hard to make it for you, so we want to hear about your dreams, your ideas, what makes you get out of bed in the morning. Come and tell your story. Even if you think you don’t have one, come talk with us and we will help you find it. I would like to thank all the writers of this issue for telling their stories. Now it’s your turn to come and tell yours.

Warm regards, Joanne Bakker, Editor-in-Chief Cover: Illustration by Isabelle Wemar and Lauren Lyne 2

Overture GLOBAL FOCUS

SCIENCE SCIENCE SNIPPETS A glimpse in the latest findings in the research community.

LIVING FOREVER? HERE’S WHAT AWAITS YOU

HI THERE SCIENCE, MEET SOCIETY

Elin Doyle explores the healthcare system in Nepal.

10 28 12

Science communication to the public is important. Find out why and how you can get involved.

Lina from SiF counters all doubts and questions you might have about doing research.

CONDUCTING RESEARCH FOR SOCIETIES

EVOLVING WITH SOCIETY

How does science adapt to the changes in society? Yolanda Rao and Patrik Bjärterot explore how societal developments have affected research and interview KI researcher Kristina Alexanderson.

Learn how studying science can affect your view on society.

NOT THAT KIND OF (MAD) DOCTOR

IS THIS REAL LIFE, OR IS JUST FANTASY?

Iris and Laura glimpse back on their progress so far as (vice)president and look ahead.

SCIENCE: IN THE WORLD AND AROUND US

Zach Chia revisits the promises of Donald Trump and analyzes what the 45th President has done regarding healthcare and the environment.

Vicente Martinez-Redondo talks about how the “crazy doctor labcoat” image in popular culture is hopefully changing.

It´s on TV, so it must be true. Does this count for science too?

How does iGEM answer societal problems? This year´s Stockholm team will let you know.

MF PRESIDENT´S WORD

ONE TRUMPIAN YEAR LATER

CULTURE

CAMPUS REBRANDING RESEARCH: WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED SCIENCE

SEE IN SWEDEN, RIGHT?”

COVER STORY

Read about the human desire to live forever and the pros and cons that come with it.

“THIS YOU NEVER

medicor Joanne Bakker • Editor-in-Chief Isabelle Wemar • Associate Editor, Cover Story Editor Lauren Lyne • Editor of Campus | Varsha Prakash • Editor of Science Zach Chia • Editor of Global Focus | Paula Valente-Silva • Editor of Culture

TAKE A WALK ON THE ART SIDE What way to better appreciate summer than with the free outside activities Parkteatern has to offer?

SHOW REVIEW: HOW TO BECOME SWEDISH IN 60 MINUTES Join Gabrielle on his road to “Swedification” and become a fika-holic!

Joanne Bakker, Isabelle Wemar • Layout Design | Jarda Zaroal, Isabelle Wemar, DTU Biobuilders, Jing Wu, Lauren Lyne, Yingshan Qin, Elin Doyle, Youssef Boulkaid, Karen Lundqvist • Photographers| Paula Valente-Silva, Boyao Zhang, Ayla de Paepe, Alexandra Jurczak, Lina Abdel-Halim, Chrismar Garcia, Puck Norell, Blanca Campaña Lopez, Nuha Salem, Sofia Pilström, Iris Peña Arriarán, Laura Andersson, Yolanda Rao, Patrik Bjärterot, Elin Doyle, Zach Chia, Vicente Martinez-Redondo, Alba Corman, Gabriele Girelli • Writers | Emelie Braun, Roksana Khalid, Nigel Kee, Mauricio Barrientos, Carmen Fourier, Martin Axegård, Joanna Castro, Isabelle Wemar, Zach Chia • Proofreaders | Isabelle Wemar, Lauren Lyne, Dr. Jones via ratbotcomics.com, Pixabay, Freepik, JHall for CollegeHumor, Vicente Martinez-Redondo • Illustrations

Aperture The long winter season has ended, and summer is near. Isabelle Wemar captured the traditional bonfire at the Valborg celebration at Skansen on DjurgĂĽrden. Want to showcase your photography skills? Email us at chefredaktor@medicor.nu and get a chance to see your photo here in the next issue of Medicor.

Smorgåsbord By Paula Valente-Silva Photo: Wesley Hetrick (Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility - NASA´s Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia The Helix Bridge - Gainesville, Florida The Helix Bridge is a pedestrian/bike overpass over US Highway 441. It is also known as “the DNA bridge”, as it structurally resembles the double strands of DNA. Although it has been around since 1980, the bridge got its scientific makeover in 2012. Interestingly, the DNA design is not new. A similar pedestrian bridge called “The Helix” in Singapore was built in 2010 with the same idea in mind, and even represents the DNA backbone bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T).

Inaugurated on May 5th, 2017, this building honours Katherine Johnson (1918-), who was once a “human computer” at NASA and produced critical calculations for the first American manned flight in space.

Photo: NASA_LANGLEY (Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Einstein Avenue, Santiago, Chile One of the main avenues of the city is named after the physicist and Nobel prize Laureate Albert Einstein. The avenue also has a Metro stop named after Einstein.

Do you know more places named after scientists? Post your example on the Medicor FB page or IG @medicor_mag using #celebratescience 6

Photo: Bernard Spragg (Flickr)

Photo: Santiagonostalgico (Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

Celebrating science around the world

The Monument to the Laboratory Mouse - Novosibirsk, Siberia The Monument to the Laboratory Mouse can be found in a park in front of the Institute for Cytology and Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It honours the sacrifice of all laboratory mice used in scientific research. Designed by Andrey Kharkevich, it was completed in 2013.

Photo: Irina Gelbukh (Wikimedia Commons)

Photo: Jeremydxg (Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Darwin City, Autralia Photo: Yann Caradec (Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Pasteur Metro station in Paris, France Inaugurated in 1906, it is named after the famous French microbiologist and chemist Louis Pasteur (1822-95). Far from being the only French tribute to Pasteur, nearby we can also find the Pasteur Institute of Research and the Boulevard Pasteur. Tributes to Pasteur aren’t limited to France, and you can also find Pasteur metro station in Milan, Italy and Pasteur metro station and Pasteur calle (street) in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Darwin City is the capital of Northern Territory of Australia in honour of Charles Darwin (1809-82), the English naturalist, geologist and biologist, world-famous for his studies of evolution. Initially the port was named Port Darwin and the settlement became the town of Palmerston, later renamed to Darwin.

There is a multitude of peaks, islands, creeks, and other landscape named after famous scientists in New Zealand. Here you can find only a few! Banks Peninsula (photo), New Zealand Named also by captain James Cook after the botanist and natural sciences patron, Joseph Banks (1743-1820). Solander Island, New Zealand Named by captain James Cook (1728-79) after his friend and mentor, the Swedish naturalist Daniel Solander (1733-82). He had an important part in describing and cataloging Australia’s flora. Nee islands, New Zealand Named after Luis Née (1735-1807), a French-born Spanish botanist and pharmacist interested in medicinal plants and their applications. Cuvier Island, New Zealand Named after the eminent French anatomist and palæontologist Georges Cuvier (1769-1832), whose work was key to establish the fields of comparative anatomy and paleontology.

SCIENCE

Science Snippets By Alexandra Jurczak MOSS THAT PURIFIES THE WATER

IF IT HURTS, GO TO SLEEP

Approximately 150 million people worldwide are exposed to arsenic, a toxic and carcinogenic compound that poisons groundwater supplies due to mining. Luckily, scientists from Stockholm University might have found an environment-friendly way of purifying contaminated water, making it safe to drink. Warnstofia fuitans, an aquatic moss native to Sweden, can absorb up to 82 percent of arsenic from contaminated water in just one hour. Scientists hope to lower the threat of arsenic exposure by incorporating the moss into the polluted waterways and preventing the toxins from reaching water supplies. (Environmental Pollution, April 2018)

Getting a goodnight’s sleep or drinking a reinvigorating cup of coffee could be more effective than taking painkillers, a Harvard study suggests. Research shows that five consecutive days of sleep deprivation can significantly exacerbate pain sensitivity in otherwise healthy mice. Surprisingly common analgesics including ibuprofen did not block the sleeploss-induced pain while stimulants like caffeine did. Researchers conclude that instead of relying on painkillers, chronic pain patients might benefit more from better sleep habits coupled with daytime stimulating agents to break the pain cycle. (Nature Medicine, May 2017)

HEALTHY WASTE

NEW MALE CONTRACEPTIVE

DIET

PRODUCES

A recent study from University of Vermont shows that nearly 422 grams of food per person are being wasted every day, and healthy diets might share a big part of the blame. Unexpectedly, the healthier you eat, the more waste you produce since vegetables and fruits are trashed in greater quantities than meat or dairy. Conversely, items least likely to be thrown out include salty snacks, candy and soft drinks. The study concludes that education on preparing and storing food in addition to meal planning would be of a great benefit to the environment. (PLOS ONE, April 2018)

A preclinical study in the field of reproductive medicine addresses the gender inequality by creating a male contraceptive that lacks major side effects. Investigators from North Carolina injected monkeys with a non-hormonal compound that turns off sperm’s ability to swim and observed reduced fertilization capabilities that lasted for approximately 24-48 hours following administration. If successfully tested in humans, this male contraceptive could become an alternative to condoms, vasectomy and hormonal pill. (PLOS One, April 2018)

LIFE SAVING “TATTOO”

WINNING THE FIGHT WITH DRUGRESISTANT BACTERIA

Would you believe if you heard that tattoos would soon be saving lives? A biomedical tattoo transplanted into the skin has been developed to recognize cancer in its early stages, thus increasing the chance of survival. The implant relies on calcium as an indicator of a developing tumor. Once its concentration rises and persists in the blood, transplanted cells would produce melanin (tanning pigment) and form a mole on the skin, indicating the need for a medical check-up. Although only a prototype, this implant could become a cost-effective and life-saving diagnostic tool in the future. (Science Translational Medicine, April 2018)

While antimicrobial resistance (AMR) continues to rise with 700,000 people dying from drug-resistant infections each year, researchers from Lincoln University claim that they have produced an antibiotic effective against “superbugs”. A synthetic form of a natural antibiotic teixobactin was proven to be highly potent against two most virulent bacteria: Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococci. Although the new antibiotic was tested only in mice, it is being considered as a big step ahead in the fight against AMR and is expected to be available at the pharmacies in the coming years. (Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, January 2018)

A University for Diversity

Photo: Gunnar Ask

Join Karolinska Institutet in the EuroPride Parade Stockholm! Saturday 4 August 2018 Students and staff members registered for joint participation in the parade will meet up at 11.30 AM on campus Solna, where light food and drinks will be served. Keep your eyes open for more information on KIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Queerolinskaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Facebook.

SCIENCE

Photo: Charly W. Karl (Flickr, CC BY-ND 2.0)

Living forever? Here’s what awaits you!

By Boyao Zhang

Increasing life span is a commonly discussed topic and the idea is attractive for various reasons. The concept of ‘more’ time in our lives gives a sense of security and a belief of more possibilities, but are we ready for the enormous changes that will come along with the boon? “I would really love to be immortal”, a friend of mine used the sentence as an icebreaker during a lunch meeting with some new colleagues and it worked! People got interested in the topic immediately - “yes I would be able to travel to so many places in the world without the worry of falling behind in career goals!” was a commonly shared sentiment. On our way back to the lab, my friend brought up the topic again, “actually I was thinking, it’s going to be so much fun to have all the time in the world to do whatever research I’m interested in.” Such a nerd, I thought. I will probably get so bored after ‘too many’ years of living and if I’m not healthy I will have to put up with that as well for a longer period of time. What a torture that would be!

Celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Stephen Fry are raising awareness for a longer and healthier lifestyle, biologists are trying to find out the causes of diseases, clinical scientists are trying to improve disease diagnosis and treatment strategies, pharmacologists are coming up with remedies that claim to extend life expectancy, and the public are obsessed with finding out the oldest person in the world. We, as humans, try our very best to avoid dying because we simply think that we do not have enough time to understand the main themes of life: identity, meaning, faith and family, among other things – so we end up undervaluing the process of building experience while obsessing over the end. I still remember feeling daunted by the future when I was an undergrad because

I never seemed to have enough time to learn and gain work experiences in all the fields that I was interested in, leaving me in a confused state about my career. As a matter of fact, many of the students at my age were experiencing the same exact confusion as I was, and the only solution to that seemed to be more time. As time flows, our experience grows, our skills get polished and our view gets broadened. And the future will simply look more lucid. Furthermore, on a societal level, the world will be driven by a bunch of more self-conscious, motivated young people. Time is the essential ingredient to nurture creativity We are always expected to be hard working, productive, and efficient, but can we really be efficient with all the

SCIENCE time pressure on our mind? For example, if we are granted more time for each task, we probably will be more relaxed and end up having a balanced life with more time for our loved ones. This is also an efficient way of getting more productive and creative at work with our physical and mental health in harmony. Relaxation or idleness can actually act as a catalyst for innovation. ‘Inspired by Distraction Mind Wandering Facilitates Creative Incubation’ is a paper published in 2012, which shows that problem solving skills seem to be improved by the state of reverie. Wouldn’t you agree that the internet is a by-product of laziness over digging through hundreds of pages in the library to seek out information? Can it not be argued that automation was born out of our laziness to do redundant tasks? And machine learning was developed out of the need in the present society to adapt to the growing demand of the technological and industrial growth?

“The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.” (Junot Diaz)

Living longer is not always a bonus However, similar to most innovations that create a paradigm shift in society, such as the internet, we could potentially be opening a Pandora’s box, without major predictive power for its effects. Prolonging people’s life will mean that there will be a lot more people present on earth at the same time given that the birth rate is not reduced, so will there be increased competition for resources? Furthermore, there will be people from all stages of life, so will there be more harmonisation or division in the society? Taking one step further, if our body starts declining when we are about 40 years old, does extending lifespan mean that we stay ‘old’ and less functional for longer? For example, an ambitious project launched by the Calico Labs funded by Google in 2013 aims to extend people’s lifespan to 500 years, and in that case, what will the society do with the huge number of elderly people who are no longer able to work? Will there be a change to the moral code of society, to the meaning of marriage, loyalty, faith and family if you are allowed to live another 400 years? There will be things that are worsened and not improved by increased lifespan. For example, not every country in the world has a comprehensive medi-

cal care system at present, not to mention the chaos that will show up when there is a dramatic rise in population and with more types of diseases that will develop when people live longer. Overcrowded classrooms, housing difficulties in big cities, and natural calamities due to overexploitation by humans are all potential problems we will come face to face with. Even the most promising technology like artificial intelligence can bring about an even more competitive job market and lead to severe unemployment. So should we just stop working on improving people’s lifespan? Come on, that’s just a feeble way out. Although there are questions we simply do not have a feasible solution to, there are the questions we do. Research in reversing ageing and the research in lifespan improvement could complement each other so that the increased lifespan is well accompanied by an improved quality of life and health. Though our excitement of new discoveries and inventions is sometimes flushed away by the downsides of them, the only way forward should probably be more understanding of the drawbacks of the otherwise brilliant concepts, and to find novel ways to circumvent the obstacles. Increasing people’s lifespan might lead to unprecedented changes in human society, some of which might be complete disasters while others might be wonders. Rules and regulations will help maintain the order in our society, but more importantly, people’s beliefs and moral disciplines should be closely monitored and refined in parallel with the more technical and industrial development of the society. •

Photo: Cinty Ionescu (Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0)

Creativity also needs time and patience in addition to passion. As the American writer Junot Diaz once said: “The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Always listen to the art.” For example, the famous painter Van Gogh wouldn’t have been able to liberate his imaginative power on producing the different life stages of the sunflowers with the shades of yellow that

precisely and beautifully depict the spectrum of life in one of his world-renowned paintings if he was pressured to meet deadlines. Innovations and flourishment of civilisation are fostered by the commonly known ‘idleness’ which actually allows us to focus better at things we are interested in - thanks to the extra years in life.

SCIENCE

Hi there Science, meet Society By Ayla de Paepe

If you’re reading this, chances are high that you’re a student, doctor or researcher, and a lot of the people you interact with on a daily basis probably belong to that group too. If, on top of that, you’re an expat who moved in the last couple of years, likely this demographic holds all of your social contacts. Being in this academic bubble makes it fairly easy to forget there’s a whole world out there, with people who have other jobs, interests and backgrounds, that are not as drenched in science as ours. It’s not surprising then that, when elections come around, not everyone cares as much about climate change, research funding or that one specific protein you’ve built your career on. So how do we give people the opportunity to care? The three missions of universities As bachelor and master students, we’re mostly aware of the university’s first mission: teaching. As PhD students, PostDocs, Professors and others, we’re mostly aware of the mission to perform research, the second mission. But there’s also a third mission, one that reaches outside of the academic bubble: the mission of service. The university’s service to society is twofold: (1) transfer of knowledge into society and (2) transfer of technologies and innovations into public and private sector.

nology Centres (SAASTEC). Basically, it’s a wonder you’ve missed them so far.

a proxy for how well we’re doing in the public’s eye.

VA, an example of organising science outreach

Taking the pulse on Sweden’s view of science and researchers

In 2002, Vetenskap och allmänhet (VA), was founded to enhance communication between researchers and the public in Sweden. It is a non-profit organisation, consisting of over 80 members, including universities, governmental in-

Since the goal is to represent the whole of Sweden, the VA barometer is based on telephone interviews with around 1,000 random Swedes, between 16-74 years old old. They ask questions like “How much confidence do you have in research?” or “Would you like to work as a researcher in the future?” and track the changes in answers over the years.

The third mission is often seen “It started in Sweden, but other as a waste of time that should incountries are also doing baromstead be spent on teaching and reeters now. Germany got inspired search. But it is actually the way to by us, and they’ve had their own engage the public, and show them barometer since 2014. Germany why your protein is interesting and then inspired Switzerland,” Maria why politics should care about the explains. The German barometer environment and research funding. is organised by “Wissenschaft im This can be done on a scientist-byDialog”, which, with some German scientist basis, but there are also skills, translates to “Science in Diorganisations, often museums, that work specifically with this interComic: Dr. Jones via ratbotcomics.com (CC BY-NC 4.0) alog”, pretty easy to spot the similarity to VA. New barometer initiaplay between science and the pubstitutions and companies and is part of, tives cross borders, making it possible to lic. Initiatives like the European network among others, the European Ecsite netcompare opinions in different European for science centers and museums (Ecsite) work mentioned earlier. We interviewed countries directly. “We’re leading a joined unite organizations that are committed to Maria Lindholm, Director of Research at EU study with six European countries, so inspiring people with science and techVA, to find out more. According to her, 6,000 samples in total, we just got in the nology. Ideally not just one-way info, but several European countries have some data,” says Maria. a dialogue with society. Although the title kind of equivalent of VA, sometimes part says “European”, by now centers from all of the government, sometimes independMore science in Swedish fall elections over the world have joined. Still feel bad ent. So what do they do? VA facilitates the about the eurocentricity? Don’t worry, dialogue between science and society by With the VA Barometer showing more other parts of the globe also have their supporting science events, giving media demand for research-based politics, VA own team-ups, like the Asia Pacific Nettraining seminars to scientists and being just launched a campaign leading up work of Science and Technology Centers involved in European open science proto the Swedish elections this fall. Fun (ASPAC), the National Council of Science jects. Still, they are probably most known fact: the launch was on the internationMuseums in India (NCSM) and the South for their annual VA Barometer, a check of al March for Science 2018 day, Saturday African Association of Science and TechSwedish public opinion on science, and April 14th. The new campaign even has 12

SCIENCE

Photo: Isabelle Wemar for Medicor a super catchy hashtag #hurvetdudet, translating to “How do you know that?”. It’s trying to target everything from cherry picked statistics provided by supposedly trustworthy sources to outright lies on social media.

“Maybe you like sharing your science-based opinions in a social setting, maybe you don’t, but at least give society the benefit of your questioning nature.” So why bother? How much can really change in one 4-year election cycle, isn’t it always a bit the same? Well, in addition to changing political and environmental currents, which may even sway a seasoned voter, it’s good to realise that many people will be allowed to vote for the first time, either because they reached the right age, or because they, well, reached Sweden. When it comes to age, it’s easy to see that the new generation of voters is probably more social-media savvy than the ones who’ve been around for a while. And yes, for the 2014 election, 11% of people between 19 and 29 years old have reported to be contacted by political parties or candidates directly via social

media, while that’s only 2% for 65-80 year olds. Wait, #hurvetdudet? Well, I thought you’d never ask! Göteborg Universitet has something called Valforskningsprogrammet, literally the election-researchprogram, and they have loads of reports on these kind of things. A lot more fun facts to be found here, you can just, you know, google them. With all our paper-reviewing, hypothesis-making and result-interpreting, we as people in science are trained to question.

Maybe you like sharing your sciencebased opinions in a social setting, maybe you don’t, but at least give society the benefit of your questioning nature. So, next time your social media feed turns up a scientifically-dubious statement, put them on the spot with #hurvetdudet. And if the opportunity comes up, ask politicians that question directly, so they can’t get away with alternative facts just like that. •

VA Barometer - results of 2017 Confidence in research: • 60% fairly/very high, 6% fairly/very low Confidence in researchers at universities (percentages shown reflect people with fairly or very high confidence): • • •

Slightly less compared to last year (from 89% to 83%) Higher educated more confidence (75% for compulsory-level education, 90% for tertiary education) Dramatic decline in confidence by women (from 91% to 76%) while stable for men (around 89%)

Want to become researcher (<30 years old): • 22% of women, 44% of men Regard for research in policy-making: • 42% think there is too little now

CAMPUS

Rebranding Research

-what is this thing called science? Photo: Isabelle Wemar for Medicor

By Lina Abdel-Halim Most people who do research fall into it the way children learn how to walk. By accident. Many cannot fathom doing research at all, and for a very select few, research has always been a part of their plan. For me, it’s been a combination of the three. Born to researchers, I spent my formative years detesting the very idea of research and labs. At some point, I can’t for the life of me figure out when, I decided that you can’t nix it without trying it, so I did. During a summer, I cultivated cells and pipetted my thumbs off. It was horrible. But I really wanted to become a physician, and it seemed as if the words physician and research always went hand in hand. “Oh, research you say? I LOVE research, always have, always will. What kind of research, you ask? Eh, well, you know, ANY kind really. That’s how much I love it.” Fast-forward a couple of years. I tried to get into medical school, was 14

rejected and figured that the adult decision would be to not waste time and do something reasonable whilst continuing to apply. I applied to the biomedical programme at KI. If anything, biomedicine made me resent labs with an even more intensified passion. But then I got accepted. Here’s where things got interesting. I wouldn’t say that I loved the beginning of medical school. However, when I finally did something that I’d worked so hard for, and found the topics to be interesting, research began to seem like a natural extension of that.

“It was eerily similar to a small child wobbling around and falling down much more than standing up.”

It wasn’t until my second semester, when we began reading physiology, that I finally realised that research could mean research on something that I liked. One of those areas was exercise physiology. So I walked up to a lecturer and suddenly found myself in a lab. And I really liked it, which in turn sparked an ensuing interest for research in general and the reason behind why I joined SiF and why I’m writing this article. Thus, my experience with research can be summed up as John Green put it, “the way you fall asleep; slowly, and then all at once”. Although in my case, referring to my previous analogy on children learning how to walk, it was eerily similar to a small child wobbling around and falling down much more than standing up. Here at Karolinska, the science we 6000 students are taught every single

CAMPUS day, in every single programme that the school offers, is based on the research millions have contributed to. In order for this to continue, we must add to that body of knowledge. That Swedish students are pursuing research to a lesser and lesser extent seems to be a commonly held opinion and a very disconcerting one. This is what “Studenter i Forskning” or SiF wants to rectify. First created in Gothenburg, SiF found its way to KI through our president Caroline and first saw daylight in June 2017. The point was to make the interaction between students and research groups more fluid and easier. We wanted it to become easier to find information about what research actually entails, easier to find a lab and a supervisor, easier to understand what’s expected of you and from the lab and, most importantly, we wanted to make people understand that research can be fun and interesting. That it can be combined with the rest of your life and that it doesn’t have to rank higher than anything else. At the same time, we wanted to educate on the benefits of research, the critical perspective it gives you and how it helps contribute to the health care community.

“It can be combined with the rest of your life and it doesn´t have to rank higher than anything else.” When asking randomly selected students on campus why research is on the back burner, the answers I received can be summed up to “I don’t have the time”, “It seems really boring”, “Isn’t being in school full-time enough?” and “Honestly, I don’t even know what research means”. As this seems to be general thoughts on research, we’ve decided to respond to them. Axel! You’re one of our heads of recruitment. What’s your take on this? Does research take time? “Haha yeah I guess so, why?”. Eloquently put Axel. I’m stunned by the beauty of your words. I’ll elaborate myself. I thought it would. That I would need to either spend time on research, or on school, or on the rest of my life. And at 22, should I really prioritise research? Turns out that no one is assuming that you’ll spend every second of your life in a lab and no one is assuming that you’ll jeopardise

school. I mean, honestly, you’re useless to labs in the end without a degree. But on the other hand, no lab is going to accept you roaming the lab like a drunken sailor on leave, risking equipment worth millions, without receiving some kind of reassurement from you. Not in a “caressing the PCR machine whilst whispering soothing words”-kind of way, but more of a “being honest and upfront with your supervisor”-kind of way.

“Realizing that you may be the first one to see a certain pattern, to be someone that is the first one to gain an experience and enhance knowledge. It’s a really nerdy and satisfying feeling!” Research can be tedious. Sure. But also fun. Caroline, you’re our big boss, the reason we exist and your second home is an oncology-pathology lab. Tell us more about how fun or boring research can be. “Well, this question is difficult to give a neat answer to that can give a broad picture of the work as a scientist. For me personally, the most fun is often the possibility to get completely involved in your work, to polish a specific technique and dive into a specific and small subject of all of your knowledge. Whilst doing so, also realizing that you may be the first one to see a certain pattern, to be someone that is the first one to gain an experience and enhance knowledge. It’s a really nerdy and satisfying feeling!” “There is no way of hiding the fact that research is time-consuming and may get to your nerves. The most boring part has to be the waiting time for an analysis to run and for different steps to fall into a cohesive time plan. Also, after having completed the same procedure for some weeks, getting no conclusive results, is really annoying. On the other hand, if the results give you something, then it is a complete feeling of fulfillment!” Hi Betty! You’re my partner in crime when it comes to marketing and also graduating soon from the biomedical programme. Why research? “Research is a great platform for advancements and opens the possibilities of discovering something new! It is fascinating to try something that has never been done before and is a career path where you grow in knowledge daily.” Right.

That’s how you normally market research. But what about you, Betty? “What captured my interest in medical research is the potential to have a long-term impact on people’s lives through science. Science is an inquiry and it is our job as researchers to try to answer these questions. Despite the formality and restrictive views of science, it requires a level of curiosity and creativity to solve nature’s puzzles.” How exactly am I supposed to know what I think is fun? What if I don’t like the first group I find? Or the second? Or the third? Who should I throw this question at if not Emma, head of recruitment and responsible for our supervisor list. “As goes for most things - the only way you can know for sure if something is fun or not is if you try it! And the best thing about conducting research is that no research experience is a bad experience - even if you don’t happen to love your first, second, or third lab, you’ll be sure to gain valuable knowledge, skills and insights from all three. How, then, do you even begin to start thinking about what kind of research you might think is fun? Well, begin by scrolling through our supervisor list to see if you can find a lab that catches your eye! And most importantly - take your time and don’t stress about finding a lab right away. Take your time to do your own research about the lab, the department, and the field you might soon call yours.”

“No research experience is a bad experience.” Research isn’t for everyone. But as we’ve tried to convey, you can’t know until you’ve tried. I should know. And that’s the single most important objective we have at SiF. To make you try. Become a member and join us for the great adventure that is research. On our merry way you’ll get the chance to go to lectures, seminars and workshops. You’ll get to meet inspiring new people bound to change the world and, most importantly, you’ll dip your toes into the lab world and all that it entails. Who knows? You might just love it. •

Photo: DTU Biobuilders

iGEM Stockholm

Conducting Research for Societies By Chrismar Garcia, Puck Norell, Blanca Campaña Lopez and Nuha Salem

The world is facing many challenges. Not only do we have a high health burden – with a skewed proportion of underweight and obese individuals - we are also facing challenges within economics, sustainability as well as in disease prevention and treatment. There are many approaches to tackling these problems, one is synthetic biology. A competition focused on solutions In 2003, a group of students from MIT were taking a course during their Independent Activities Period, designing biological systems, making cells blink. This was the springboard for the competition that would be named iGEM – International Genetically Engineered Machine. The 2015 competition, the Giant Jamboree, saw 259 teams from all over the world compete, and for the first time it included a team from Stockholm. iGEM is an international competition that focuses on building a better world by solving problems with the help of synthetic biology, an interdisciplinary area combining computerized models and laboratory research to design biological systems.

iGEM Stockholm - for diversity iGEM Stockholm 2018 wants to tilt the focus towards equality, a topic that has gained increasing momentum. Inequity can be found in many areas, with social constructs such as gender and gender roles, in energy and food resources, as well as in economics just to mention a few. This ultimately affects research in both good and bad ways. Good in the sense that research is used as a tool to make these social gaps smaller, but negative in the way that research might tend to attract or mainly be accessible to people of certain backgrounds and gender.

“iGEM Stockholm 2018 wants to tilt the focus towards equality, a topic that has gained increasing momentum.” This year’s team represents eleven different nationalities, as well as men and women from different social backgrounds and disciplines. Combining students from Karolinska Institutet, KTH, and Konstfack, which brings expertise from many areas of study.

CAMPUS

Meeting the communities’ needs The iGEM competition is unique in that the focus of the projects is on the communities’ needs. The competition encourages teams to go beyond the lab and study the social context to gain an understanding of problems and issues around us. That means focus first on the needs before jumping into solutions. Previous teams have explored topics concerning ethical, legal, social, economic, biosafety or biosecurity issues related to their project. The engagement of society is an essential part of research; if research is not conducted for the benefit of society, then what is it good for? Rousing public engagement iGEM Stockholm 2018 hopes to arouse public engagement. Therefore, we intend to connect people’s needs to our research project and synthetic biology. This year’s team wants to incorporate ethics, sustainability, social justice, and education by hosting different events such as seminars, debates, and public outreach activities. Two areas that are targeted this year that have not been greatly considered in previous years are science in relation to religious beliefs, as well as gender differences within research and academia. We believe that that these factors affect who gets to conduct the research and therefore the quality of the research. Sharing the science with society Since the first foundation of iGEM Stockholm, the initial goal has grown from trying to turn the passion of young scientists into reality, to also trying to share this passion with the rest of society. iGEM Stockholm has always been known for combining the best talents from different disciplines, and they benefit from this by creating innovative projects to solve real-world problems. iGEM has continued to respond to the scientific community’s challenges. •

CAMPUS

Photo: Isabelle Wemar for Medicor

MF President´s word Dear members! At the beginning of the year we were thrown into the the job at full speed. With large shoes to fill left by our predecessors Max Kynning and Pontus Dannberg, and the great work that they had done, we knew that we would need to be the best version of ourselves to lead this student union the coming year and continue to build on the foundation they left. Now almost a term has passed and we are happy to say that we have not crumbled yet. We are happy to say that we are still standing strong. Our strength lies in our board, our student council and all of our motivated members. We are surrounded by enthusiasts or, as we say in Swedish “eldsjälar”, which literally means fire-souls, without which we would not have been able to accomplish the few but important steps that will mark work to come this year. Laura Andersson, who is responsible for internal affairs and is a central participant in the work being done for the future student union house, has been meeting with most sections and organs within MF to strengthen communication and cooperation. Iris Peña Arriarán is responsible for student representation and is working within higher organs at KI to ensure 18

that student influence is valued and enforced throughout the KI organisation. Iris is also involved in the Vision Group for Strategy 2030 that is working with the Vice-Chancellor to ensure that students and Medicinska Föreningen will remain an active part of the campus. Together with Alice Weréen, President of the administration committee, we form a strong team that will hopefully keep our promise to further benefit the whole union.

“Our strength lies in our board, our student council and all of our motivated members.”

can represent our students within different organs of KI. We have taken an active interest in the review conducted by UKÄ or Universitetskanslersämbetet (Swedish Higher Education Authority). We’re also trying to build a new student-safety network (Studerandeskyddsombudsnätverket) to ensure our members get a good education as well as a great student life. We both had goals for the year when we were chosen for these positions. Now we have even greater goals as we have seen the possibilities, through our work so far, as well as the potential that MF has as an organisation. We want to develop the union for the better and leave it a better place than when we began. • Iris Peña Arriarán and Laura Andersson

So far we have been able to exert our influence as a union on several levels. The article that we submitted to and was published by Svenska Dagbladet concerning the situation of the master students at the beginning of the year, the subsequent response we received and further articles in collaboration with the Doctoral Student Associtation (DSA). Also our report to DSA shows that when it comes to making our voices heard we are quite capable. During 2018 we will continue to survey KI. Our board is drafting proposals to further clarify in which situations we

President & Vice-President Medicinska Föreningen ordf@medicinskaforeningen.se vordf@medicinskaforeningen.se

Science

CAMPUS

- in the world and around us By Sofia Pilström

One could argue that we live in a peak age of reason. We put great faith in those that bring about new knowledge. Idolisation of science can be seen with the prestige of for instance the Nobel Prize, and young children dream of becoming scientists. But the tabloid headers and clickbait of the Internet show us otherwise – their slanted and highly selective presentation of knowledge is in complete opposition with the essence of science. This presents so apparent to me, and so the question arises – how does studying science impact one’s way of viewing the world? Science teaches us source criticism, experimental method, logic and deduction. As someone who has studied science my entire life, it is difficult to understand how anyone could ever be uncritical of their sources and unaware of bias. I was struck by the thought of how our politics might look if people were taught more science at school – maybe our world leaders wouldn’t be refuting knowledge about climate change (no, a snow storm does not mean that global warming is a hoax). Maybe they wouldn’t believe that a scientist receiving money from oil companies is a reliable source on the topic.

“Easy as it is to glorify scientific minds, not even science is the one source of irrefutable truth.” Indeed, perhaps our politics would be more rational and problem solving with a greater influence from science, but easy as it is to glorify scientific minds, not even science is the one source of irrefutable truth. Race biology was once recognised as a scientific field, holding its own insti-

tution at Uppsala University until as late as 1958. This shows how even though science shapes society, society and the reigning worldview shape science in return. Our society’s values can be deduced from the research we choose to fund, the results we choose to present, and the facts we adopt as our truths. At the individual level, studying science makes one see connections between the big picture and the tiny details – we see populations and genetic drift, but also understand the molecular processes that keep us alive. Humans aren’t the only inhabitants of this planet, and there is an understanding that we are just another animal with biological drives and instincts entirely geared toward survival and reproduction. It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing yourself and those around you as just a highly organised lump of cells, and especially as a medical student, the human body becomes so dedramatised. We don’t think twice about getting undressed in

Photo: Lauren Lyne for Medicor

front of each other to take ECGs or listen to each other’s lungs. There’s a real sense of detachment; my body is just a vessel for my brain to move around in. There are so many factors influencing a person’s body and behaviours – an enormous number of determinants beyond our control. To realise this is humbling, as is acknowledging how large the body of knowledge is that we don’t yet have. So what do we do? We keep at it. We do our best. We follow the scientific method, and let it seep into our lives, brains and, inadvertently, our views of the world. •

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COVER STORY

Evolving with Society â&#x20AC;&#x201C; how science adapts to the needs of the public

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by Patrik BjĂ¤rterot and Yolanda Rao

Society is a macroorganism whose demands keep growing and changing. Even though we humans are at the top of the food chain, it does not mean that we are done evolving. Think about any period of time; it could be the last 1000, 100 or even 10 years, and consider all the changes society has gone through. Some important driving forces behind the changes have been technology, intercultural exchanges, food production and shifts in population. Especially in recent years, the internet, globalization and increased life-spans have played a major part. In this story, Medicor will explore how the advancements of society have affected science by interviewing Kristina Alexanderson, a researcher in a relatively new scientific field, Insurance Medicine. Photo: Isabelle Wemar

C O V E R COVER STORY STORY

Best of both worlds – the smartphone

The telephone and the computer are two of the most important inventions of the 20th century. But in the 21st century, these two devices shrunk in size, became more portable, and merged into the smartphone – to meet the popular demand of communication and exchange of information. Now barely a decade old, most people would find it unimaginable to go about their day without using a single application on it in addition to the call and text services. However, the smartphone would not be of much use if it were not for the internet. Like many other major inventions, the internet came from military research. It was originally created by the United States military during the Cold War as a decentralized network that could not be infiltrated by the Soviet Union, unlike phone lines and mail correspondence. Eventually, the Cold War ended, but the network remained and found itself in the public sector. After years of development, it became what we now call the internet. Even though we think of the internet as a very recent invention, some of the biggest breakthroughs happened over 45 years ago. The first email to ever be sent was in 1971, and the first file was sent through the network in 1973.

Over these years during the development of the internet, society has influenced what this global network should be and what it will become. Content on the internet evolves in a Darwinian manner. Websites need to be up to date with current trends, or else they disappear in cyber space. As for now, the future of the internet lies in the hands of the computer scientists, who are developing great software that fills the needs and demands of society, while also making improvements to ensure utilization is maximized.

Globalization – bridging the distances

One of the best things about the internet is how far we can travel and still stay connected, especially with the help of social media. These factors have greatly contributed to the overall trend of globalization. With excellent telecommunications, you can have your cake and eat it too – exploring the world while not losing touch with your hometown. Globalization is also seen on a state-basis, with countries opening up to an international job market. Ever since Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, it has become much easier to travel within the EU. Better yet, travelling in the Nordic countries does not even require a passport for Swedish citizens. With these advancements in legislature, researchers have been able to make the economical point that improvements in transportation would greatly benefit globalization.

And so money has been poured into engineering and high speed trains have emerged. Big investments have been made to lay rails between our largest cities. High speed train tracks are planned to go between Stockholm-Gothenburg and Stockholm-Malmö. Stockholm to Malmö, a trip that today takes around 4.5 hours and is over 600 kilometers, is estimated to be reduced to 2.5 hours in the future. This means that if you are living Photo: Isabelle somewhere in theWemar middle of this railway, it would take you less than 90 minutes to get to either of these cities – maybe even allowing you to commute between the two.

“Content on the internet evolves in a Darwinian manner.”

Food for thought

A more dire example of how society exerts its demands on science is the food industry. The urbanization seen around the world has led to more people crowding the cities and few left on the countryside – which means more people consuming and less people producing food. If it were not for countless scientific advancements on the agricultural front, food scarcity would have been a huge issue. But thanks to technology we are able to provide for ourselves despite the dwindling number of farmers, as most aspects of food production have been automated. Globalizaion is also to thank, as we in Sweden are able to import much of our food. The global population growth and environmental pollution has increased the demands on the food industry and the need for agricultural innovation. According to the Swedish Board of Agriculture, the total area of croplands has steadily decreased over the last 100 years, despite production having increased by over 500%. Still, the number of farmers is an ever decreasing quantity, which can partly be attributed to import and export; however, with the increased demand for locally grown, steadilyavailable food that we are accustomed to, agricultural science has to step up and deliver, especially as people are moving further and further away from the few places that actually produce our food. As the number of farmlands decrease and the demand for food increase, scientists must now look for other ways of producing food. One novel way of food production is meat that has been artificially created in labs. The in-vitro meat has some challenges ahead, but seems to be moving forward. Firstly, the price of the meat needs to be adequately low in order for businesses to make the fiscal case that people should make the switch from “in-vivo” meat. Secondly, the plight of proponents of labcreated meat to convince people to actually try the new food. Lab-created meat is still in its infancy, however, there is no doubt that we will see more of it in the future.

“Thanks to technology we are able to provide [food] for ourselves, despite the dwindling number of farmers.”

COVER STORY

Healthcare for everyone and anyone

Healthcare does not follow the traditional market rules of supply and demand. To investigate the public needs in healthcare, one must evaluate possible improvements more extensively. The goal of healthcare is to keep every person alive and healthy and this can manifest itself in many ways in research. Medical research is often valued due to its impact on society. In other words, by evaluating how well it cures illness can be improved and how many people it can reach. However, one must not forget that the needs of society may not always be the needs of individual citizens. Most would agree that there is a demand to cure diseases like cardiovascular conditions, infections and cancer. However, individual demands might be more specific. For example, the societal need for curing aquagenic urticaria, water allergy, might be quite low. Although, for the individuals affected by this condition, the demand is great. It is important to remember that societal demands are not the only important drivers of novel research. Thankfully, there is research being conducted in both academia and industry that aims to cure the rarer diseases like aquagenic urticaria. On the other hand, general public demand can lead to specific scientific advancements. Take Alexander Fleming as an example; he was studying Staphylococci when he accidentally discovered penicillin. Thus a general demand of learning more about specific bacteria, in order to treat common infections, led to a universal antibiotic.

“The needs of society may not always be the needs of individual citizens.”

Ensuring longevity

An inevitable effect of improving healthcare is increased lifespans. According to Statistics Sweden(SCB), the mean life expectancy in Sweden has gone from 71 years for men and 75 years for women in 1960 to 81 and 84 in 2016, respectively, and is projected to continue to increase. The number of citizens in Sweden over the age of 80 is projected to increase from 499,000 to 1,210,000 by 2060. Such a radical increase requires huge scientific breakthroughs in order to accommodate the elderly population. Longevity is the research area that studies prolonged life. That and the advances in geriatric care are the pillars of increasing lifespans. Longevity has always been a societal demand, and with modern medicine, it becomes more and more of a reality. However, with increased life spans comes the demand of further research in, for example, geriatric care and general medicine, in order to increase the quality of life of an ever-aging population.

“The demand for more comprehensive healthcare at all stages of life is always going to be immensive. ”

Aside from the changes in legislature that follows such a trend, there is also the demand for progress in information. A lot of money will be spent to maintain the growing population, which means there is a lot of resources to save with advances in efficiency and quality of life. The demand for more comprehensive healthcare at all stages of life is always going to be immense. People who get sick, injured or have disabilities, may want to return to work, and people over pension age might want to continue to work. Regardless, people will always be looking to increase their quality of life. With more research, we can hopefully accommodate the growing and aging population. A completely new area of research has, in the last few years emerged, due to public demand – insurance medicine. Studying an aspect of life, namely, the time between sickness and health, it is often overlooked, but critical for workplace conditions. For instance, during treatments for various malignancies, chronic or temporary, patients often have to go on sick leave. Some might be out for a few days, while others might never be able to fully go back to work.

COVER STORY

“Sweden has only recently begun to recognize sickness certifications as a part of healthcare, which means that it now needs to be managed and quality assured in the same way as other treatments.”

Photo: Yingshan Qin

Professor Kristina Alexanderson on the field of insurance medicine Insurance medicine studies how people deal with their leave of absence and by making improvements beneficial for the patients. A prominent KI researcher in the field, Kristina Alexanderson, leads a large research group called “Sickness absence, health and living conditions” as well as the Division of Insurance Medicine. Their aim is to develop both knowledge and competence in the field of insurance medicine.

“What is exceptional to my group is that we have been able to study sickness absence not only as an outcome, but also as an exposure”, Kristina says. “We look at possible ‘side effects’ of being absent from work due to sickness. Sweden has only recently begun to recognize sickness certifications as a part of healthcare, which means that it now needs to be managed and quality assured in the same way as other treatments.”

“Sickness absence and disability pension are important aspects of welfare states, contributing to the financial security of both the citizens and the country. Despite this, the research on sickness absence is still very limited. Most decisions politicians and professionals make on sickness absence and similar policies seem to be based on opinions rather than scientific knowledge, so it is important to develop a scientific competence and knowledge in the field”, Kristina tells us.

“We do not only conduct smaller studies, we also test our findings in large samples in order to be able to achieve more valid results. Recently we sent out a questionnaire to over 34,000 physicians about their work with sickness certification of patients – basically all physicians in Sweden that have such tasks. We have also sent out a questionnaire to 18,500 long-term sickness absentees.”

Her group studies four aspects of sickness absence: risk factors for sickness absence, factors affecting return to work, consequences of being absent due to sickness, and sickness certification practices among e.g. physicians. “We study sickness absences in general, but also the ones that are related to specific diagnoses – MS, cancer, chronic pain – and specific occupations and life situations.”

“Scientific literacy is a societal responsibility” 24

Kristina also wants to emphasize the societal responsibility of scientific literacy. “We need to be aware of publication bias. For instance, say out of 50 studies, only 3 show significant data and the other 47 do not – that would indicate that there likely are no interesting findings. But if only the 3 that show significance are published, the public will be lead to believe that there is a trend. A problem for my group has been that there are so far no scientific journals dedicated to insurance medicine only, which means most people who review what we submit are unfamiliar with the field. We publish in both English and Swedish to allow both the public and governing bodies to access our research.”

COVER STORY

Science and society striving towards the same goal As time goes on, the societal demands on science keep growing and changing. Whether it concerns transportation, technology or healthcare, it is clear that scientific advancements have to keep coming. But, with all the great studies being conducted, at KI and otherwise, there is no reason not to feel optimistic. Our dire need to communicate in every corner around the globe has been addressed by impressive technology. Our strong desire for an improved quality of life has also been prioritized by medical innovations. However, perhaps what remains equally important is not the constant demand of research to merely outrun society, but a more conscious balance of the two elements. Like Kristina has emphasized, responsibility in publishing unbiased data is critical to avoid misleading the public. The possibility that public policy decisions could be based on these results also implies that the quality of the science must be ensured. Thus, at every sharp turning point of society’s development, we ought to take time and carefully consider how the research at hand can continue to steer the progress smoothly. Bearing this in mind, science and society can always strive towards the same goal of a better living. •

“Science and society can always strive towards the same goal of a better living.” Photo: Isabelle Wemar 25

GLOBAL FOCUS

“This you never see in Sweden, right?” Text and photos by Elin Doyle

Elin Doyle is a medical student currently on a one semester sabbatical in Nepal interning with the international organization PMU Interlife. She is writing a three part story about the Nepali healthcare system. We present some snippets of her stories, read the full three part series at www.medicor.nu. We took off early in the morning. Serpentine roads with precipices hundreds of meters steep next to them followed by the roughest and bumpiest dirt roads I’ve ever travelled on in my life. Women dressed in red, green, and yellow slowly carrying huge packs of leafy grass on their backs and children in school uniforms and braids with colorful ribbons staring at us with big eyes as we drove by. After hours and hours, we finally reached the Nepali village of Tamajor. I was going to spend the next four months on an internship in rural eastern Nepal to try and get a grip of the country’s healthcare. From the moment I walked my first steps on Nepali ground, I was hit by cultural difference. People literally everywhere running around talking (screaming) with loud voices, the smell of dirt, curry, it was a very different place. “Crash! Ouch! Hey!” airport trolleys rammed into me from back and front…

My mind ran in all directions as I tried to figure out where to go next, I could hardly even hear my own thoughts. I was overwhelmed. Was I to be able to tough it out through these next four months? -------------------------------------------------The bumpy roads took me to a village guesthouse in the mid-eastern hills – my home for the coming 2.5 weeks. In the twostory mud and stone house, there were two wooden beds with one-centimeterthick mattresses for me and my local translator to sleep on. I was glad I had brought my sleeping bag; it still got quite chilly at night, especially in these hilly areas. Meals were cooked over open fire; noodle soup or homemade fried donuts for breakfast and “dal bhat” (lentil soup and rice) for lunch and dinner. 6.15 am, while the sun was still rising over the round, tree-covered hills, I headed off to the village literacy center together with my translator. I was there to teach personal hygiene, basic anatomy, first aid, and English to adult women who never had gone to school as children. “In this village people are not allowed to drink water when having diarrhea”, one of the women interjected when I discussed the importance of rehydrating from diarrhea. Another woman thundered, “a girl should not touch a fruit tree while menstruating. All fruit will die and fall down. This is true!”. She looked at me quizzically, her face winced with confusion when I explained that a menstruating girl could do whatever a non-menstruating girl did.

The women were learning important knowledge to improve their lives, then one day, I arrived to find the women deep in discussion. “They say we should be at home and do work.” The women exclaimed. Some of their husbands didn’t want them to attend the classes in the mornings, admonishing their wives, “you’ve never been to school, and you’ve managed your whole life anyway. How important could it really be to learn reading and writing now?” -------------------------------------------------I spent three weeks in a health post, the center for primary care in the village, during that time, there were three deliveries. It was already dark when a scream called us out to of the post. A woman who had previously been recommended to go to Kathmandu to deliver her child had turned up at the health post. She arrived carried by six men on a homemade stretcher of bamboo and colorful dresses. They had been walking for around three hours to reach us, and the woman now could hardly stand on her feet. She was in desperate need of caesarean section, but the post was lacking in medical resources. “Light, light!” the midwife called out. I fumbled into my pocket and took out my phone, it was going to have to do. Luckily, the baby boy survived, but with the mother getting a huge perineal tear. “This you never see in Sweden, right?”, the auxiliary midwife on duty asked me, while she carefully sutured the wound of the woman writhing in agony. “No, we probably don’t see this in Sweden.” •

GLOBAL FOCUS

One Trumpian year later By Zach Chia

In an election result that sent shockwaves throughout the world, Donald Trump was elected the 45th President of the United States on 8th November 2016. Immediately after the results, shell-shocked Americans took to the streets and protested loudly, the hashtag #notmypresident trended across the United States. Many would-be Cassandras predicted the end of the world and prompted more panic than rationality. Deciding to play our part to combat fear and irrationality, we at Medicor wrote a piece (“On his actions”, in Medicor 2016 #4) that aimed to shed light on Trump’s pledges related to health care and the environment. Now that more than a year has passed since the Trump presidency began, we have decided to review what has happened to these promises. The Paris Agreement – a U-turn on a U-turn

2020, a day after the next presidential election.

One of the enduring narratives of the Trump presidential campaign was that if he was elected president, the United States would withdraw from the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The agreement was signed by almost all countries in the world with the purpose of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and coordinating adaptation efforts to the changing climate. The central goal is to limit the global temperature rise during the 21st Century to 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and limit further temperature increases to 1.5 °C.

“The central argument against the Paris Agreement that was put forth by the Trump campaign was a nationalist one – that the Paris Accord would hand over sovereign rights of the United States’ energy production to foreign bureaucrats”

The central argument against the Paris Agreement that was put forth by the Trump campaign was a nationalist one – that the Paris Accord would hand over sovereign rights of the United States’ energy production to foreign bureaucrats. In his speech at the Rose Garden on 1st June 2017, Donald Trump signaled his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, stating: “The bottom line is that the Paris accord is very unfair at the highest level to the United States.” He argued that it would cause losses to the country of more than 3 trillion USD and 6.5 million jobs. Despite the statement of intent, the withdrawal of the United States is not a given. Because of the legal framework for the agreement, the United States is only able to withdraw from the agreement on 4th November

It is also not a given that will push ahead with the withdrawal, should Donald Trump be reelected in 2020. In a rather quick aboutface, Time reported that Trump told several foreign leaders that the United States is open to rejoining the Paris Accord if a better deal can be made. Obamacare – a complicated tangle If the Trump campaign used nationalistic arguments against the Paris Agreement, then it used efficacy arguments against the Affordable Care Act (popularly known as Obamacare). The politically controversial bill, negotiated during the Obama era, had aimed to make it easier for low-income individuals to afford health coverage

from insurance firms. The complex deal included, among other things, mandates for health care coverage of all staff employed in companies with less than 50 people. The roll-out and implementation of the scheme was flawed, most notably with a massive system failure at the onset. However, the scheme has give more than 30 million Americans health coverage with almost 12 million people joining the scheme in 2017 – a benefit that is taken as a given right in Sweden. Health insurance is essentially a pulled fund. By paying money into a system, you hedge against a future where you need to take money for healthcare. The insurer attracts your patronage by covering you for a much larger sum than you actually pay in. They can do this and thrive because they offer the same deal to a lot of people and use probability to their advantage – although 10,000 people pay into a scheme, only 1 of 10,000 is statistically expected to meet that illness. The fundamental premise of Obamacare was economics: the more people on insurance, the lower the cost of insurance. The individual mandate forced individuals to buy insurance. Since the young and healthy are less likely to buy into insurance, this scheme brought in more healthy people to the insurance scheme thereby lowering the cost of insurance for those who needed it. At least, this is how it works in theory. The Trump campaign decried the massive disaster that was Obamacare.

GLOBAL FOCUS

Some Republican politicians argued that it would lead to a loss of jobs as companies would lay off more workers to save money. Others argued that this level of government oversight was intrusive. The reliance on insurance companies to do the right thing was suspect. Trump had declared that the scheme would be replaced with something much better if he were elected.

“If the Trump campaign used nationalistic arguments against the Paris Agreement, then it used efficacy arguments against the Affordable Care Act” Despite having control of the Presidency, Senate and Congress, the Republican party has been unable to repeal Obamacare because its proposals have met with internal resistance. A first bill led by Senator Mitch McConnell was voted down by prominent Republicans while a second one was tabled but not voted on. Notwithstanding the lack of a replacement bill, the Republican party has made several attempts at weakening the Affordable Care Act: advertising funding to encourage people to sign up was cut by 90 percent, enrollment support for the act was cut by 40 percent, and subsidies to insurers were halted. Further attempts to break down Obamacare were made later in 2017, when a bill passed that removed the individual mandate law. No money for the Green Climate Fund On the list of promises made by President Trump, was cutting the billions paid to the Green Climate Fund and rechanneling the funds into the improvement of US infrastructure. The Green Climate Fund is a fund within

the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, set up in 2010 to help developing countries adapt and mitigate practices to counter climate change. The fund takes donations from companies and the US and EU governments, distributing them to selected organisations in other parts of the world. Former President Barack Obama pledged 3 billion USD in funding to the scheme and had already delivered 1 billion USD. As discussed in Medicor 2016 #4, the scheme is however plagued by issues of financing, enforcement and realisation. The 2 billion USD freed up from not funding the Green Climate Fund is supposed to be spent on infrastructure in the US. The Trump administration introduced an infrastructure plan in February 2018 promising 200 billion USD of federal funds to incentivize 1.5 trillion worth of infrastructure investments. The US infrastructure plan will not be realistically implemented until after the midterm elections toward the end of 2018. The Old and Young In our previous article we mentioned that little has been discussed about childcare and eldercare reform in the Trump manifesto. We also noted that tax breaks did not seem controversial, it costs more in the US to put a child into childcare than to pay for a college degree. We were wrong. The Trump administration announced the details of tax breaks on childcare in February 2017. The idea is applaudable: to decrease the cost of healthcare, parents who pay taxes will receive tax deductions. The controversy comes in that many working class families make too little to pay federal taxes and will therefore not be able to take advantage of the tax breaks.

breaks therefore do not help those who will most need these deductions. Some critics have attempted to suggest this is a sign of Trump policies favouring the rich, but others like activist Marie-Ann Slaughter have said that any progress in making childcare affordable should be encouraged.

“While it is fashionable to attack anything that emerges from the White House however, not everything Trumpian has been unilaterally bad” On the other end of the age spectrum, the Trump administration in Dec 2017 is rolling back fines for nursing homes accused of mistreatment or neglect – this after industry players complained that inspectors were intent on finding wrongdoings in the nursing homes rather than helping the facilities. However, some media sources have lambasted the move using leading words such as “gutting eldercare protections”. Summary Despite loud noises emanating from the White House, it would be fair to say that the most controversial of Trump’s proposals have not been implemented the way they were promised. As for the less focused-on issues of childcare, eldercare and the Green Climate Fund, actions have been taken by the Trump administration. While it is fashionable to attack anything that emerges from the White House however, not everything Trumpian has been unilaterally bad, as some baby steps have been made in areas like childcare that need to be encouraged. •

According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the tax 29

CULTURE

Not that kind of (mad) doctor Text and illustrations by Vicente Martinez-Redondo

Popular culture, which reflects and dictates society’s perception, has for long associated science with the iconic figure of the mad doctor that recklessly breaks technical and moral barriers on his way to an impending doom. Despite a positive shift in the last decades, pioneers Victor Frankenstein and Henry Jekyll, with their cautionary tales of uncontrolled technological progress, cast a far too large shadow that has prevailed until quite recently. Mad, Bad and Dangerous Scientists might sometimes feel like a bit of a failure for not meeting their relatives’ expectations at family reunions. Let’s face it. Most of them assume you always sport a lab coat over disarrayed clothes, keep a wild and scruffy mane and might interrupt the conversation with hysterical fits of laughter. Yet, you decided to keep your true self well concealed and display the most common and ordinary appearance... For that discrepancy, we have, of course, fiction to blame.

In his book Mad, bad and dangerous? The scientist and the cinema, Christopher Frayling states that in 30% of the films released in the UK between the 30s and the 80s the villain is a scientist. The archetypal crazed-bespectacled, wild-haired doctor was first featured in Metropolis (1927) and thrived in the Universal´s films. Later on, Cold War era nuclear nightmares (Dr Strangelove, 1964) and B-horror movies also feed the collective imaginarium with the idea that scientists had rather low ethical standards. But besides the visuals, more recognizable traits apply to mad doctors. While the three main hazards for real scientists are the lack of publishable results, losing your funding and the difficulty in conciliating work with family life, the triple curse for a fictional evil scientist are not being understood (even by peers!), social awkwardness (and thus loneliness) and a high probability of a gruesome death. However, sometimes even mad doctors need a helping hand to do their dirty job. Thus, from his very origins director James Whale gave to troubled doctor Frankenstein a (somehow) incompetent sidekick that unwillingly often thwarted the doctor´s masterplan, a recurrent trope in fiction.

“Flux capacitator...fluxing!” The mad scientist has also a prominent comedic representation. They are extremely capable and decent nerds whose better morals spare them from becoming genetically-engineered dinosaur fodder. They appeared as parodic portrayals of their evil originals, like Julies Kelp (The Nutty Professor, 1963) or Frederik Fronkonsteen (Young Frankenstein, 1974). On the fringe between genres (pun intended) lies sassy psycho-transvestite Dr Frank N. Furter (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 1975). Family flicks gave us heroic nerds (Back to the future, 1985-1990, Ghostbusters 1984) and absent-minded but good-natured wacky doctors (Honey, I shrunk the kids 1989; Flubber, 1997). Buckaroo Banzai (The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 1984) would deserve a whole article for itself as its main character escapes any intent of classification. If any, we might say that he is the anti-hero and anti-nerd manifestation of all what a pre-millennial male teenager dreamed to be, i.e. neurosurgeon, particle physicist, race car driver and rock star, all in one.

“Cold War era nuclear nightmares feed the collective imaginarium with the idea that scientists had rather low ethical standards.” On TV, nerd epitome Steve Urkel (Family matters, 1989-1997) introduced racial variety and Dr Walter Bishop (Fringe, 20082013) clearly stated that archetypical mad scientists are far from extinction in the

CULTURE XXIst century. But where the mad doctor has specially thrived is in cartoons, where the craziness can be turned up to eleven. Several variations of the same theme are Professors Frink (The Simpsons, 1989-) and Farnsworth (Futurama, 1999-2013), megalomaniac lab mouse Brain (Pinky and The Brain, 1995-1998), whizz-kid Dexter (Dexter´s laboratory, 1996-2003) and schwifty sociopath Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty, 2013-). One might be happy after realising that all these representations agree on the extreme dedication scientists have for their work. But then of course we should face its dark side, whether be it social bereavement or Dr Seth Brundle’s extreme experiences after merging his DNA with that of a fly (The Fly, 1988) in what is probably the grossest metaphor on work burnout ever filmed. So, in broad strokes, and despite the occasional exception of groovy scientists saving the day, we can conclude that the long standing tradition in popculture had it that scientist had either to be feared or pitied. But what about a sincere regard on what a real scientist is? Is this real life? Film and television have not cared much about fidelity when representing scientists. One movie that is thorough about it is The Andromeda Strain (1971). The slow pace, almost real-time characterization of an extra-terrestrial infectious microorganism by a group of scientists isolated on a military underground facility, is as close as filming your everyday in the lab could be, including a thrilling full-day long decontamination scene, that is luckily solved in about 4 minutes.

“The Andromeda Strain is as close as filming your everyday in the lab could be.” Many space-flicks have way-too-cool action-hero physicists and only a few care about a realistic approach (2001: Space Odyssey, 1968, The Martian, 2015). Biopics apart, the movie that perhaps represents scientists better is Experimenter (2015), a quasi-mockumentary that follows psychologist Stanley Milgram´s academic endeavours and difficulties with tenure track. Although The Big Bang Theory (2007-) still reels around the parodic figure of the socially awkward nerd, we might consider this show somehow a victory since it tries to normalize the figure of the professional scientist for the 21st century society and more important, de-

picts scientist women with regularity for the first time.

“The Big Bang Theory tries to normalize the figure of the professional scientist for the 21st century society and more important, depicts scientist women with regularity for the first time.” Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the Earth Sexual revolution often turned mad doctor’s hunchbacked serf into a voluptuous lab assistant, and for decades that was women’s role in fictional science. The late appearance of female scientists in pop culture spared them the evilness and, to some extent, the funny looks. The late eighties-early nineties were a tipping point in improving their representation. On cinema, scientific heroines range from real-life primatologist Diane Fossey (Gorillas in the mist, 1988), to brave astrophysicist Dr Arroway (Contact, 1996) or erudite paleobotanist Dr Sattler (Jurassic Park, 1993).

(2002-2016) and Bones (2005-2017). Scientist women came to stay, and again Interstellar is again, an excellent proof of that, for there we can actually find not one, but two female scientist saving the day (and humankind). As it happens, this trend might have a happy outcome. A recent meta-analysis on gender perception in science pointed that, when children are asked to draw a scientist, a rough 33% would draw a woman, against a mere 1% in the 1970s. As more female scientists are featured in media, the increase in awareness is shifting the image of scientists from a previously male-dominated territory. By shaking off the shackles of sexist representation we might also be able to get rid of the negative image of the mad scientist playing God or trying to take over the world, that has lived in the mind of the public for most of the last two centuries. •

“As more female scientists are featured in media, the increase in awareness is shifting the image of scientists from a previously male-dominated territory.” More recent encouraging depictions of female scientists are featured in Gravity (2013) or Interstellar (2011). But, besides all the glitter from the big screen, we cannot forget that on TV, in the muddy trenches for female empowering we have FBI special agent Dana Scully (The Xfiles, 1993-). Agent Scully was the down-to-earth, skeptical medical doctor that helped to shape a whole generation of strong and efficient women roaming the labs of many procedural series to come in the next decades, including long-time running C.S.I. 31

CULTURE

Comics: JHall for CollegeHumor

Is this real life, or is it just fantasy?

By Ayla de Paepe

Stories are immensely powerful, yet it is something we tend to forget at universities. Apart from those researchers in fields surrounding yours, nobody will read your scientific publication, but get your science into a movie and the whole world and his dog will have seen it. The idea of witnessing This effect of exposure can not be underestimated. Deciding what information to add to your worldview is an important question, because it will influence the likelihood of believing whatever you are exposed to afterwards. A common attitude is “I’ll believe it when I see it”. But what is seeing nowadays? The chance we’ll ever get to see an iceberg collapse in person is pretty small. Even more so, I hope we’ll never have to see an atomic bomb explode without the help of a recording made long, long ago. And, probably, I’ll never make it to the moon, but I do have an idea of what it looks like, based on pictures and video footage. Still, we trust that all of these things - icebergs, atomic bombs, the surface of the moon - are real things. So if we trust what we see, and something seen on TV is good enough, how do we decide not to trust the existence of Superman? The line between science and fiction People look for “is this logical in the world depicted”. So when (1) Superman flies in and (2) catches a falling person just before he/she hits the ground thus saving this person’s life, we find that it fits with a reality in which superman would visit our humble world from outer space. It feels logical. Point 1, superman being there, I somehow don’t take offence to, it’s fiction after all. However, unless there 32

is a magic force field surrounding superman which makes the laws of physics no longer valid for humans in his vicinity, the falling human would be just as dead when caught by superman as when caught by the pavement below. After all, a sudden stop will kill you, no matter how comforting Superman’s arms may sound. Still, watching this falling-human scene usually doesn’t set off our bad-sciencetingling. We’re not used to witnessing an event like that and, unless you’ve done the math, how could you know this person would die in the arms of a hero, if all events you’ve ever seen - the ones in movies - tell you the person ought to survive? How about those exciting space battles? Unless you’ve ever really stopped and thought about it, your expectations of them are probably filled with the roaring of other space ships and explosions all around, because that’s how we witness it in movies. But wait, there’s no atmosphere in space, so no medium through which sound waves could be propagated so it ought to be… yes, totally silent. I still remember how shocked I was the first time I realised this. And then there’s the hype of cryopreservation. True, living stuff can be frozen, stored, thawed and behold - live! We do it with cells all the time in research. However, just blasting a human with a freeze ray (how does that even work?), and after defrosting finding them totally fine, is pretty

far from realistic. Humans contain a lot of water, which expands when frozen. If you would freeze a human in an instant, without proper dehydration or equivalent, they’d be damaged beyond repair. No way you’ll casually let them melt and have a conversation about the weather. So although cryopreservation may become a thing, no need to start contacting companies just yet, and definitely don’t just jump in your freezer. Still, all of these examples are seen in movies all the time, and they speak to our lack of understanding of the natural world in not-so-common situations. So why put it in if it’s wrong? Scientists in Hollywood Basically, entertainment. As long as one can get away with it, why wouldn’t they go for artistic freedom and take the more exciting version? Most people don’t know what’s supposed to happen anyway. And yes, some filmmakers are really strict on their science, involving science consultants from script writing to filming, but it takes a lot of time and money to combine that with an entertaining movie - and let’s face it, reality can be boring at times, and boring doesn´t sell. So we get it. But for a second, just imagine how much easier that physics exam would have been had movies shown you how to correctly think about forces working on a falling body! •

CULTURE

Take a walk on the art side Photo:Youssef Boulkaid (http://yboulkaid.com)

By Alba Corman

Summer is around the corner, flowers are blooming, the sun is shining and everyone is going out to enjoy the nice weather. What could make it even better? Some free music and theatre performances around the city. Is it real? Yes, it is Parkteatern. Parkteatern is an initiative developed in collaboration with Kulturhuset Stadsteatern that elevates Allemansrätten (the right to freely roam in natural public spaces) to the stage. This idea started in 1942, gathering people of all ages to enjoy music, circus, dance and theatre outdoors for more than 75 years. Parkteatern starts its season at the beginning of June and goes the entire summer till the end of August, when it ends with the last show in Vitabergsparken. So there is plenty of chances to attend any of the shows held in the parks in the inner city and the suburbs (find the venues here: http:// kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/parkteatern/ Spelplatser/ ). The very diverse programme allows you to have a very sophisticated morning listening to some cello music at Kungsträdgården, going a bit wilder for some hip-hop dance show in the afternoon at Rålambshovsparken, and perhaps attending an evening theatre play at Långholmens Amfiteater. Additionally, you can do all of this while having a picnic with friends. Pratar inte svenska? No problem, not all performances are in Swedish

plus you can also explore other cultures without even moving from the grass of Galärparken, last year’s Bollywood show was very popular. So there is room for everything and everyone in this event. In any case, take also a chance to immerse yourself in Swedish culture by attending some folk music concert or theatre plays, for which you don’t even have to be fluent. Thanks to Parkteatern, asking your friends for going for a walk would become a much more interesting experience than just enjoying the sun, because the Parkteatern formula: sun + shows + good company always works!

“The Parkteatern formula: sun + shows + good company always works!”

come more popular year after year and can be your the chance of discovering new bands, partying with some DJ music and have fun with your friends outdoors.

“This summer, take the chance of going outside and experiencing some culture.” The programme of Parkteatern 2018 hasbecome available on the 17th of May in their website (http://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/parkteatern/Programmet/ ). Do not hesitate to be (or not to be) spontaneous and go into whatever is happening in any of the parks of the city while you are going for a walk, it will be definitely interesting and enjoyable! So, this summer, take the chance of going outside and experiencing some culture. •

Perhaps you have heard of the music festival Popaganda, but have you heard of #Popapark? This initiative driven by Parkteatern together with Popaganda is a one-day spin-off of the festival with the same indie and fresh vibe, but for free! Unlike Popaganda, #Popapark has be33

CULTURE

Show review:

“How to Become Swedish in 60 Minutes” By Gabriele Girelli

What does it mean to be Swedish? Or better, is there a set of skills or characteristics that identify the Swedish? Like an intrinsic Swedishness, an impalpable feeling that surrounds you when walking downtown in Stockholm, but that you cannot really grasp? Photo: Karen Lundqvist As a Mediterranean, when I moved to Sweden a couple of years ago, I encountered a society with a clearly different set of values from my own. It took me a couple of months to understand and follow these “new” social rules, and eventually get used to them. And, I have to admit, over this period of time I have collected a number of anecdotes that, when recounted during family dinners back in Italy, are usually met by frownings or surprised expressions. Things like the Swedish ability to stay in line, the Saturday’s candies (lördagsgodis), the fact that “I booked laundry time (tvättid) that evening...” is a common issue when trying to organize something among friends, the passion for the Melodifestivalen and EuroVision are just some of the many things that I had never encountered in my country. I will admit that in the beginning I was a bit skeptical towards the show, as I worried it would just be a collection of stereotypes, but I was happy to find out that that was not the case. While the show covered many of the Swedish peculiarities I had 34

already experienced, it did so in a light and funny way. Also, I enjoyed learning new things about the Swedish way of life (which I won’t spoil here) that I had not had the chance of discovering in the past couple of years.

The show opened with a short and funny recap of Swedish history, from the first man setting foot on the Scandinavian peninsula to the modern days. Then, in the following 60 minutes, Niklas taught us 14 short, but vital, lessons on how to become Swedish, covering language, customs and traditions. We travelled from the southernmost to the northernmost corners of Sweden, encountering different ways of speaking the same language, which were magistrally reproduced in English

for everyone to enjoy. Some parts of the show, but not too many (or lagom, as the Swedish say), focused on songs and music: from the passion for choruses, to the EuroVision, and of course the never missing ABBA! And, by the end, the whole audience, which included people from many European countries and some Americans, was officially declared to have become Swedish. So, I highly encourage you to attend the show if you get the chance, as they will be back in Stockholm next fall, on September 4th and October 2nd! I am sure that you will enjoy it as much as I did! If you have recently moved to the country, you will get a quick, fun and painless introduction to all those concepts and traditions that you would otherwise take months (or even years) to try and grasp. If you have been around already for a few years, there might still be a few surprises waiting for you, like Snoppen och Snippan! •

SAVE THE DATE

EVENT CALENDAR FOR

JUNE - AUGUST 2018

GRADUATION PARTY

JUNE / SEP

MF, Nobels väg 10, Solna

Summer is (almost) here, school is (almost) out.. Let’s celebrate this together with the newly graduated students at the hottest party of the year, the Graduation Party!

More info:

https://www.facebook.com/ events/436932393427330/

The Aging Research Center’s seminar series is open for all and covers topics within geriatric epidemiology, psychology and social gerontology. This time, Anne B. Newman from the University of Pittsburgh is welcomed.

OPEN SCIENTIFIC SEMINAR SERIES: PREVENTION OF STROKE IN STOCKHOLM HEALTHCARE REGION

Sjöqvist Library C1:68, Karolinska university hospital, huddinge, 14:30

Associate professor and MD Mia von Euler will discuss ongoing studies on clinical, pharmacological and public health approaches.

JUNE

Aula Medıca, Karolinska Institutet 09:00 - 13:00 Even though the program will only be released in June, Stockholms Culture Festival is something to look forward to each summer. Previous editions provided an interesting mix of music, theater and outdoor cinema events: a perfect way to end the summer.

More info:

https://kulturfestivalen.stockholm.se/skf/

http://kulturhusetstadsteatern.se/ parkteatern/

Help to fix MFs sports cabin Solvik in the Stockholm archipelago and earn a free night there if you are part of a union body and work 2x8 hours. More info: https://www.facebook.com/ events/200319300582326/

BIOMUSICUM PERFORMS IN BIOMEDICUM

JUNE

Solnavägen 9, fl 3, 12-13

JUNE

13 18

Come and listen to the first performance of Biomedicum’s very own musical choir Biomusicum.

More Info:

https://ki.se/en/staff/calendar/biomusicumperforms-in-biomedicum

EUROPRIDE WITH QUEEROLINSKA

JUNE NOV

Stockholm and Gothenburg

27 JULY/ 5 AUG

STOCKHOLM CULTURE FESTIVAL

Find the program here:

Färjholmsvägen 3, Ingarö

5-9

Gävlegatan 16, floor 8, 10 AM

Do you like free events? And spending time outdoors in summer? Read more about why you should attend Parkteater´s events on page 39.

SOLVIK FIXING WEEK

JUNE

HEALTHY AGING: IMPACT OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE

PARKTEATERN

parks in stockholm

14-18 AUG

Karolinska’s very own LGBTQIA+ student association and the Administration plan to represent the University at the Pride Parade in Stockholm. This year is going to be a special version of the Event, Europride, and will be held in not one, but in two Swedish cities: Stockholm and Gothenburg. Join to celebrate LGBTI rights together and show a united Europe.

More Info:

https://www.facebook.com/Queerolinska/

AUG

MIDNATTSLOPPET

ringvägen, 21:20

Stockholm’s biggest 10K race promises to be a great party again as 40000 runners, dressed up or not, run into the Stockholm summer night.

http://midnattsloppet.com/stockholm/ 35

Tell your story Everybody has aa unique uniquestory. story. Everybody has Everybody unique story. You can share itit in in many manyways. ways. Youcan can share You in many ways. Come tell yours. Come tell yours. yours.

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