Swedish News:

Magnecyl reduces risk for cancer. High weight at birth - higher risk for adult obesity. Silver treasure found on Gotland. Grain of gold for the ministers. 

  • Magnecyl reduces risk for cancer
    According to a new Swedish British study, Magnecyl (Sweden's aspirin), even in small doses, protects against colon cancer. Earlier studies show that high concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid (which can be found in brand names such as Magnecyl, Albyl and Treo) prevent colon cancer, while at the same time also cause internal bleeding. But the new study shows that even small amounts may protect against the cancer, which causes 1800 deaths in Sweden each year. How small? About 75 to 300 milligrams a day, which researchers say carry a small risk for bleeding. “Anyone who is over 50 and has colon cancer in the family should consider taking the drug. For others, the benefits are likely less,” says Peter Rothwell, a professor at the University of Oxford. Rothwell, together with researchers from the Karolinska Institute and Lund University, has looked into four major studies with over 14,000 participants. What they found is that the acetylsalicylic acid lessened the risk for colon cancer by 24 percent. Mortality decreased by 35 percent. The study has been published on the website of the medical journal The Lancet.
    www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(11)61654-1/fulltext

  • High weight at birth - higher risk for adult obesity
    If you had a high birth weight, it may increase your risks of having to deal with obesity as an adult, particularly if you are a girl, according to a new study at the Karolinska Institute and Uppsala University. This is also true in the next generation because obese mothers more often have children with high birth weight, writes Upsala Nya Tidning. The study is based on information from more than 160,000 mothers and their firstborn children between 1973 and 2006.

  • Silver treasure found on Gotland
    A huge silver treasure has been found on southern Gotland in an area that has already yielded similar findings. The latest treasure consists of several thousands of Western European coins in a container made of bronze, according to Radio Gotland. The container and the coins, which have been X-rayed by Riksantikvarieämbetet (Swedish National Heritage Board), were discovered last week with the help of a metal detector and will be shown on Wednesday during a press conference.

  • Grain of gold for the ministers
    A bear, an oil derrick music box, and a whole lot of shields. The lists of what the Swedish ministers receive in gifts, are long and at times boring, but they also include high lights that make reading them worth the while. Dagens Nyheter’s Ossi Carp did and found some interesting nuggets. Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt is the minister who has received most gifts. Just in time for his first New Year’s celebration as Prime Minister, he received 24 bottles of wine and 4 boxes of dates by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. A few months later he received a bear statue from California’s governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Those gifts have been followed by glass vases, candy, and less exciting items like “Painting. Motif: Strassburger Münster Cathedral” and useful items like a combined bottle and letter opener. Three years ago, he was given a “used vacuum cleaner”, which was left in a storage room for gifts at Rosenbad. But what happened to the tables adorned with lions that the Prime Minister received from Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Morgan Tsvangirai? And why was Italian Silvio Berlusconi so generous? And what was in the box from Barack Obama? Carl Bildt usually gives away glass bowls when he meets with foreign leaders, but in return he has been given a more inspired collection of stuff. Moldavia’s President Vladimir Morovin gave Bildt the exciting combination of “6 bottles of wine, a bottle of liquor, and a book”. Greek politician George Papandreou gave him “Picture: ‘Golden flutters’, silkscreen, a bottle of red wine, and a bag of nuts”. In total, the Swedish Foreign Minister has been given a lot of art, groceries and alcohol, but also a music box shaped as an oil derrick, and three pair of pants and a polo shirt (from a private person in Malmö). As well as an Indian CD called “Junk for joy”. Interesting. Minister for Finance, Anders Borg, has received a whole lot of books, mostly on economy. And in his office sits a glass bowl from President Barack Obama, filled with candy - something to nibble at when difficult issues need to be solved.