Swedish News

Swedish research can save eyesight. What to wear for fall? Elin’s headache. Wild boar shot in Göteborg.  

  • Swedish research can save eyesight
    Swedish researchers have discovered a way to grow new corneas, which may lead to a revolutionary treatment of certain visually-related diseases and problems. The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber. In order to see well, we need a healthy cornea. Traditionally problems with eyesight have been solved with transplants of corneas. The problem with such a transplant, is that there’s a lack of corneas and the need for an alternative solution has been great. The Swedes have now discovered that if a lens-shaped splinter of the human protein collagen is put into the eye as a scaffolding, it allows cells from the recipient to grow into the graft so that it mimics the original tissue, thus creating a new, nice cornea. Doctor Per Fagerholm of Linköping University implanted the corneas in one eye of each of 10 Swedish patients with central corneal scarring. The researchers found that, after two years, no complications developed and, with the use of contact lenses, vision was as good as with cadaver transplants. Contact lenses are normally used with the latter as well. This new solution, which needs a few more years of study, can be done without donations of corneas.

  • What to wear for fall?
    Stockholm’s fashion week – which took place not long ago – had no royal participants, unlike its sister event in Copenhagen. “I think that’s sad,” said Ebba von Sydow, fashion journalist and royal blogger in a recent interview on Swedish TV. “Danish Crown Princess Mary is always very good when it comes to these things. She was very prominent at the fashion week in Copenhagen. And I do believe Princess Madeleine has a genuine interest in fashion and design, even Prince Carl Philip. Perhaps they were busy elsewhere, but I think that’s all about priorities.” Von Sydow says Swedish women will be seen in fashion inspired by the American TV-series “Mad Men” – a series that has inspired the entire world it seems, when it comes to fashion. “What it means is tailored stuff that can be easily imported if you work in an office, otherwise you can do just one piece as to not look like you’re in a costume. It means cardigan sets, wider pants, and burnt colors – a lot of beige, caramel and cream, also a lot of tweed and fur. And the classic riding boots are making a comeback.”

  • Elin Nordegren’s headache
    Elin Nordegren, newly divorced from golfer Tiger Woods, is on the cover of this week’s “People” magazine. In an exclusive interview, for which Nordegren was not paid, she says she’s been through hell. “It’s hard to think you have this life, and then all of a sudden – was it a lie?” Nordegren said Woods covered his lecherous tracks well - and she was humiliated as a stream of temptresses came forward with Tiger tales. "I felt stupid as more things were revealed," Nordegren said. "How could I not have known anything? The word 'betrayal' isn't strong enough. I felt embarrassed for having been so deceived.” Woods, 34, addressed his wife's pain after wrapping up a pro-am round at the course. "I certainly understand that she is sad," he said. "I feel the same way." Asked if he still loved her, he didn't answer. Among other things, Nordegren was determined to shoot down reports that she clocked Woods with a nine-iron after finding out about his infidelity on Thanksgiving night. "There was never any violence inside or outside our home," Nordegren told People. Woods fled their Florida home after she confronted him, she said. When he did not return, she said, she went outside and discovered he had crashed his SUV into a tree. "I did everything I could to get him out of a locked car," she said. "To think anything else is absolutely wrong."

  • Wild boar shot in Göteborg
    An unusually large wild boar was shot in Hisingen in Göteborg. It weighed 217 kilos (477 lbs), and was more than 2 meters long (over 6.5 feet). Add to that tusks several decimeters long (2 decimeters equals 7.87 inches). Kristofer Magnusson happened on the wild boar when Magnusson was out one evening hunting for deer. The boar was walking across a field, but Magnusson waited until he was close to the beast, when he shot it.