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A gene that is often lost in childhood cancer plays an important role in the decision between life and death of certain cells, according to a new study published in the journal Developmental Cell. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Ludwig Cancer Research in Sweden have discovered the process by which that gene, KIF1B-β, kills cells and thereby suppresses tumour development.

This spring the first version of the mHealth service tRAppen will be released. It is hoped that it will provide patients with better opportunity to take responsibility for and affect their health positively. The development of tRAppen is described in a thesis who Åsa Revenäs, physiotherapist and PhD at the Division of Physiotherapy, defended on the 5th of February 2016.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have identified for the first time a cell type in the brain of mice that is integral to attention. By manipulating the activity of this cell type, the scientists were able to enhance attention in mice. The results, which are published in the journal Cell, add to the understanding of how the brain’s frontal lobes work and control behaviour.

Paolo Parini is a researcher in cardiometabolic diseases and senior Physician at Endocrinology Clinic. Since September 2015 his professorship is shared between Department of Medicine, Huddinge and Department of Laboratory Medicine.

In recent decades much hope was based on the development of personalised drug treatments, in which genetic tests determine the choice and optimal dose of medication for each individual patient. However, the real breakthrough is still to be seen, and now researchers at Karolinska Institutet show in two separate scientific papers that many more gene variants affect how a person responds to medication than previously thought – and thus that today’s analytical tools are too coarse.

The number of articles citing the lyrics of Bob Dylan in the biomedical literature has increased exponentially since 1990, according to a new study from Karolinska Institutet. The results are being published in the special Christmas issue of The BMJ.

A recently published study from the Institute of Environmental Medicine (IMM) at Karolinska Institutet shows that exposure to noise during pregnancy can damage the child’s hearing, with an 80 percent increase in risk in occupational environments with particularly high decibel levels. The results strongly indicate that pregnant women should not be exposed to loud noise.

Karl Deisseroth is a professor at Stanford, where his group has developed two spectacular scientific techniques – optogenetics and Clarity. He has also been working since 2013 at Karolinska Institutet, which has just invested in a Clarity facility.

Head of Department Professor Marie Arsenian Henriksson is featured researcher of the month at The Swedish Childhood Cancer Foundation (Barncancerfonden).