Sweden

Diabetes

Up to 47% higher risk of diabetes may stem from these demanding jobs

If you have a high level of interaction with patients, students, clients or the general public in your work, you might be at much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. And, if you also have poor support at work, it could worsen your odds further.

The youth are on drugs, but it's not their choice

Biology

Drugged-up salmon are acting weird and we don't know how to fix it

A benzodiazepine seeping into waterways is causing young Atlantic salmon to behave strangely, with fish in the wild migrating more rapidly and taking more risks on their journey from river to ocean. It even seems to be messing up their social lives.

A study has found that Swedish Viking dentistry was surprisingly advanced

Science

Swedish Vikings were surprisingly good dentists, research finds

Researchers have examined the teeth of Swedish Vikings and found that aside from decay and loss, they engaged in surprisingly advanced dental practices not dissimilar from modern practices. The study provides a rare insight into Viking life.

A Swedish study has found adult ADHD to be linked to a higher risk of 34 out of 35 other diseases studied

ADHD & Autism

Large study finds links between adult ADHD and 34 out of 35 other diseases

A large study tracking some four million patients has linked adult ADHD diagnosis with a higher risk of a range of other diseases, including nervous system, musculoskeletal, respiratory, gut and metabolic conditions. Only arthritis wasn't correlated.

This thread-shaped red algae fossil is one of the oldest known plant-like fossils, and pushes back the start date of multicellular life by several hundred million years

Biology

Earliest-known plant fossil discovery pushes back date of advanced life

The history of life on Earth is shrouded in shadow, but we're slowly shedding more light on where we came from. Now, newly-discovered fossils of what look like red algae discovered in India, suggest that multicellular life arose several hundred million years earlier than previously believed.

This meal of pasta and fried vegetables marked the first time a plant had been cooked and eaten that had had its genome edited with the CRISPR-Cas9 tool

Science

First gene-edited meal served up from CRISPR cabbage

It’s not often that a dinner makes history, but that was the case when two men tucked into a meal of pasta and fried vegetables. The historic ingredient? Cabbage that had had its genome edited with CRISPR-Cas9, marking the first time such a plant had been grown, harvested, cooked and eaten.

The trial will see two diesel hybrid trucks shuttle along the electric highway and use a pantograph mechanism to connect with the overhead wires

Environment

Sweden cuts the ribbon on electric highway for trucks

Working to rid its independent transport sector of fossil fuels by 2030, Sweden has opened up its first electrified highway, which will serve as a testbed for a possible wider deployment in the coming years.

The tests took place in the Quest airlock (Photo: ESA/NASA)

Astronomy

ISS astronauts use airlock to test lungs

The airlock of the ISS was turned into a laboratory last week. In a station with as much space as a 747, that may seem a bit odd, but its purpose was part of a study of the lungs of space travelers by monitoring the effects of one the astronauts' most surprising hazards: dust.