Hair growth gene found. Lisbeth Salander tours. Kirsten Dunst to Trollhättan. King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded by Karolinska Institutet. The world’s most expensive stamp.  

  • Hair growth gene found.
    A research team at Umeå University has found the the Lhx2 gene that determines hair growth. Refuting earlier claims, increased hair growth happens with activation of the Lhx2 gene according to findings by Leif Carlsson’s research team at Umeå University.
    Hair is formed in special follicles in the skin that are formed during fetal development. New hair is generated in the hair follicle by continually undergoing phases of recession, rest, and growth throughout life. The length of the hair is determined by the duration of the growth phase. After growth, hair formation ceases and the follicle enters a rest period after which a new growth period starts and old hair is lost. This complex regulation may enable seasonal adjustments. The scientists proved that Lhx2 is involved in hair formation of hair, and it is the gene that regulates hair growth.
    Contrasting previous findings, Carlsson showed that Lhx2 is primarily expressed outside the bulge region of the hair follicle where the stem cells exist. The Umeå researchers also found that Lhx2 is necessary for the hair follicle’s growth phase to proceed and for the hair follicle’s structuring. Moreover, transgenic expression of Lhx2 after birth is sufficient to activate the growth phase and stimulate hair growth. Lhx2 is expressed periodically, primarily in precursor cells that are distinct from the cells in the bulging region of the follicles, and the gene is necessary for hair to be formed and to grow. Resource: www.medfak.umu.se

  • Lisbeth Salander tours.
    You’ve read the books and you’ve seen the film so now what? Well, how about taking a walk in the footsteps of the characters in Stieg Larsson’s best-selling Millenium trilogy? Over 26 millions have read author Stieg Larsson’s three Millennium books about journalist Mikael Blomkvist and computer hacker Lisbeth Salander, which have become bestsellers around the world. The main characters live and work on the central island of Södermalm in Stockholm and there is great interest in experiencing the atmosphere on location. Follow along in Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander’s footsteps while getting additional background information about the characters and the author. The walk starts at Bellmangatan 1, where Mikael Blomkvist lives, then passes the Millennium editorial office, Lisbeth Salander’s luxury apartment and many other locations mentioned in the books and films. On the way you will also learn more about historical and contemporary Stockholm and its inhabitants. When possible, the tour ends at the small Millennium exhibition at the Stockholm City Museum. Tickets to the tour, which lasts approximately 2 hours, can be purchased at Stockholm City Museum for 120 SEK ($17). www.stadsmuseum.stockholm.se

  • Kirsten Dunst to Trollhättan.
    The American actress Kirsten Dunst is looking for a room with a view in or around Trollhättan. So is Charlotte Gainsbourg, Kiefer Sutherland, and Stellan Skarsgård. The reason? Danish film maker Lars von Trier is planning his latest film, “Melancholia”, and as always he will film it in Swedish Trollhättan. For those who don’t know, von Trier has a fear of flying and for that reason refuses to make movies – or even visit for that matter – the US. So if the mountain will not come to Mohammed, Mohammed will come to the mountain. So far many a Hollywood star has traveled to Trollhättan in order to work with the great von Trier: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, James Caan, Ben Gazzara, and Chloë Sevigny are just a few of those who have looked for bed and board in Trollhättan, a city in Västra Götaland County, located north of Göteborg and with 44,498 inhabitants. Trollywood is the informal name for a film production facility there, and von Trier has shot both “Dogville” and “Dancer in the Dark” there.

  • King Carl XVI Gustaf awarded by Karolinska Institutet.
    In his role as patron of the Karolinska Institutet 200-year anniversary, King Carl XVI Gustaf has received, as first recipient, the Karolinska Institutet Gold Medal. K.I. (Karolinska Institutet) has established an anniversary medal in three qualities: Gold, Grand Silver and Silver, in association with its 200-year anniversary. King Carl XVI Gustaf will be awarded the Karolinska Institutet Gold Medal "for outstanding contributions to Karolinska Institutet's work to improve people’s health through research and education." The medal was awarded at the Royal Palace in Stockholm by Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, President of Karolinska Institutet. "The award of Karolinska Institutet's Gold Medal to His Majesty is to be seen as an expression of our gratitude for the royal patronage that our anniversary enjoys, a patronage that fulfills the tradition of royal involvement that has characterized the history of Karolinska Institutet for 200 years," Wallberg-Henriksson said. She sees also the royal patronage of the Karolinska Institutet 200-year anniversary as an excellent way of living up to the royal motto: "For Sweden - With the times." "Karolinska Institutet is a modern university that has had and still has a great significance for both Sweden and the rest of the world. It is also a university that aims to work 'with the times', and in this way form a better future for people suffering from disease and ill-health."

  • The world’s most expensive stamp.
    The most expensive stamp in the world is Swedish and it is for sale – if you feel like shelling out 15 million SEK ($2,092,024.36). The pride of Swedish philatelists, a yellow three-shilling stamp estimated to be from 1857, is the only stamp from a small series of misprints. The three-shilling stamps were supposed to be green. No other yellow three-shilling stamps have been found. The stamp was first sold in 1886 for 7 SEK (90 cents) and then again in 1998, when an anonymous buyer paid over 15 million SEK. Now it is on sale again. According to the British Stamp Magazine, the stamp will be shown in London in May and will be sold by the Swiss auction firm David Feldman. The reason the stamp has such a high value, is that it is believed to be the only one of its sort in the world. “It’s a unique stamp,” says Bengt-Göran Österdahl, director of Sveriges Filatelist-Förbund (Swedish Philatelic Federation). “The previous buyers have had a lot of money and have been interested in this particular stamp.” The stamp was found on a farm in Västmanland in 1886, it was sold in 1886 for 7 SEK, and in 1894 it was sold for 8000 SEK ($1,112.22), in 1937 the Romanian king Carol II bought it for 97 000 SEK ($13.483.51), then 1950 it was sold to the millionaire René Berlingin for 250 000 SEK ($34,751.83), in 1984 Ingvar Pettersson bought it for slightly over 3,5 million SEK ($486,629.28) and in 1998 an anonymous person bought it for over 15 million SEK ($2,092,024.36).) It is now on sale again. A little yellow, misprinted Swedish three- shilling stamp – the most expensive stamp in the world.