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Information about the corona virus for staff and students

New understanding of RNA movements can be used to treat cancer

Research from Karolinska Institutet published today in Nature shows that an RNA molecule involved in preventing tumour formation can change its structure and thereby control protein production in the cell. The finding can have important clinical implications as it opens for new strategies to treat different types of cancer.

Women with Neandertal gene give birth to more children

One in three women in Europe inherited the receptor for progesterone from Neandertals – a gene variant associated with increased fertility, fewer bleedings during early pregnancy and fewer miscarriages. This is according to a study published in Molecular Biology and Evolution by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany and Karolinska Institutet in Sweden.

New method reveals where DNA is at risk in the cell

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

Simple blood test may help predict MS progression, study finds

A simple blood test may help predict which people with multiple sclerosis (MS) will get worse during the following year, according to a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden published online in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Family environment affects adolescent brain development

Childhood environment and socioeconomic status affect cognitive ability and brain development during adolescence independently of genetic factors, researchers at Karolinska Institutet report in a new study published in the journal PNAS. The study demonstrates how important the family environment is, not just during early infancy but also throughout adolescence.

COVID-19

Children unlikely to be the main drivers of the COVID-19 pandemic

It is highly likely that children can transmit the new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, but several factors suggest that children are unlikely to be the main drivers of the pandemic. Opening up schools and kindergartens is unlikely to impact COVID-19 mortality rates in older people, according to a systematic review that spanned 47 publications and was conducted by researchers at KI. The paper is published in Acta Paediatrica.

KI researchers to evaluate effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment against COVID-19

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet are coordinating a recently initiated multi-national clinical trial that will evaluate the effect of hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBO) in severe cases of COVID-19. A total of 200 adults admitted to hospital with moderately severe COVID-19 pneumonia will be recruited. The trial could start as early as next week at a hospital in Region Blekinge, Sweden.

KI researcher coordinates large international coronavirus project

EU-financed Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) has boosted funding for research on diagnostics, medicines and vaccines against the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Ali Mirazimi, researcher at Karolinska Institutet and Sweden’s National Veterinary Institute (SVA), coordinates one of eight projects provisionally selected among 144 applicants.

Overlooked protein could play important part in pneumonia and COVID-19, researchers say

In severe cases of COVID-19, a massive release of the endogenous protein HMGB1 in the lungs may contribute to pulmonary inflammation and tissue damage, according to a recent review article published in the journal Molecular Medicine. The researchers conclude that the inflammation could hypothetically be treated with an HMGB1 inhibitor.

Soo Aleman, national coordinator of WHO study: “A global study will give us better answers”

Sweden can contribute solid data to Solidarity, a global study run by the WHO to test the efficacy and safety of drugs considered for use in the treatment of COVID-19, says Soo Aleman, docent and consultant, and coordinator of the Swedish arm of the study.

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

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have compared two ways of delivering cognitive behavioral therapy, CBT, to treat people with health anxiety: Internet-CBT compared with conventional face-to-face CBT. The results, published in JAMA Psychiatry, show that Internet-delivered treatment had comparable effects, and may serve as an alternative in helping people who are worried about their health.

Top-publications list

A limited selection of recent publications in high impact journals to which researchers at KI have contributed.

Hopeful result of stem cell therapy for Parkinson's disease in rats
Single cell transcriptomics identifies stem cell-derived graft composition in a model of Parkinson’s disease, Tiklová K et al, Nature Communications, May 2020.

Environmental factors do not explain increased prevalence of autism
Etiology of Autism Spectrum Disorders and Autistic Traits Over Time, Taylor MJ et al, JAMA Psychiatry, May 2020.

Greater benefit of rituximab earlier in the disease course of Myasthenia gravis
Comparison Between Rituximab Treatment for New-Onset Generalized Myasthenia Gravis and Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis, Brauner S et al, JAMA Neurology, May 2020.

Cells in the nose and lungs wide-open to the new coronavirus
SARS-CoV-2 entry factors are highly expressed in nasal epithelial cells together with innate immune genes, Sungnak W et al, Nature Medicine, April 2020.

More high impact publications

KI in the media

The Macchiarini case: timeline

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View a summary of the events and decisions in the Macchiarini case.

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President‘s blog

Spotlight on COVID-19

In early 2020, a new coronavirus was identified in China, and it has now caused a worldwide pandemic. The official name for this virus is SARS-CoV-2, and the disease that is caused by the virus is called COVID-19. Here we present news and features about KI's efforts to stop the new coronavirus.

Meet our researchers

What causes depression and why is fat cells so hard to study? These are some of the questions that researchers at KI are interested in. Find interviews and articles prevously published here at the news site or in our popular-science magazine, Medicinsk Vetenskap.

Professors' inauguration

On Thursday, 17 October 2019, thirteen new professors were inaugurated at Karolinska Institutet in solemn forms in Aula Medica. The professor's inauguration ceremony is one of the highlights of the academic year of our university.

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