GU-Journal 3-2020

GUJournal News

INDEPENDENT JOURNAL FOR THE STAFF AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTHENBURG #3 SUMMER 2020

News

Hijacked dissertation Report

How research is affected by the pandemic People

Aristotle on our five senses

Mapping our DNA Ã…SA TORINSSON NALUAI AS A BIOLOGICAL TIME TRAVELER

GUJOURNAL SUMMER 2020

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Vice-chancellor

Creative solutions and common sense EAR COLLEAGUES, how to sum up this

past semester, which has been like nothing we have ever experienced? The pandemic has dominated practically the entire spring and will continue to do so for a good while to come. At work, we have seen radical changes and at home, we have changed the way we socialise and distanced ourselves from our older relatives and vulnerable friends. However, our sacrifices pale in comparison with those who have been worst hit.

The autumn will continue to demand a high degree of flexibility from all of us. I am really looking forward to a situation where we can evaluate our performance to see what was done well, and what could have been improved upon.

But I want to stress that we are not there yet. We must all handle a different start to the semester after the summer. While there will be a return to campus, it definitely does not mean that everything is back to normal. Many of you are currently planning employee and student flows on the premises, which must be constrained in order to comply with recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Sweden.

OUR SECTOR HAS an opportunity to

be part of the solution to the financial crisis caused by the pandemic. Early on, they turned to the universities and asked them to assess how many additional places they could offer, over the summer, in the autumn semester and next year. Naturally, it is positive that we can help alleviate the crisis but of course, it will be an additional challenge to manage the increased funding agreement target. In the research sector, intense efforts are under-

way in the efforts to develop a vaccine.

This spring, when the universities contacted the minister with questions, the answer was often supplemented with: “Be creative!” And I can understand that. Nobody has the answers to what will happen, or the best way of dealing with situations that we have never before faced. But we are all familiar with our own organisation. That familiarity has been well used. We have been creative and I also think we have acted with good sense and continuity. We have tackled the challenges in a calm and methodical manner in order to find solutions. And I really want you to know that you are absolutely essential in handling this complicated situation. You have my gratitude for that. I did not expect anything other than that we would be successful in this transition, but nevertheless your contributions have been impressive.

HAVE WE DONE anything else, apart from managing the consequences of corona, you may ask?

Certain matters have naturally been put on the back burner, rescheduled, cancelled or been implemented in a radically different manner. Other operations have continued somewhat normally with slight modifications. From my perspective, I would like to highlight the new vision, which was adopted by the board in April. It will be an important document, determining our overall strategy for the next ten years. A number of strategic areas will supplement the position outlined in the vision, and more information will be released after the summer.

Before we tackle the challenges of the autumn, we will hopefully be able to enjoy some time off.

Never before has a vacation been more well-deserved. Take care!

Vice-Chancellor EVA WIBERG

Editor-in-chief :Allan Eriksson, phone: 031–786 10 21, e-mail: allan.eriksson@gu.se Editor-in-chief: Eva Lundgren, phone:031–786 10 81, e-mail: eva.lundgren@gu.se Photographer: Johan Wingborg, phone: 070–595 38 01, e-post: johan.wingborg@gu.se Layout: Anders Eurén, phone: 031–786 43 81, e-mail: anders.euren@gu.se Address: GU Journal, University of Gothenburg Box 100, 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden E-mail: gu-journalen@gu.se Internet: gu-journalen.gu.se ISSN: 1402-9626 Translation: Språkservice

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News

Content

NEWS 04–18 04. He found his stolen doctoral thesis on Amazon.

06. Peter Larsson wants GU to be both international and local.

08. Proud of her years at the University.

10. New friends may enrich the University.

12. Corona hope with Anna Lundin’s old finding.

13. A better way to stop sexual harassment.

14. Profile: Åsa Torinson Naluai wants to understand covid-19.

FOCUS 18–25 20. Six researchers on how

the pandemic have

affected them.

22. Our longing for an

ordinary life.

24. Swedish virus research

may change the world.

REPORT 26–31 26. A beautiful ship – but

with an unsolved problem.

28. “Listen to the ocean”,

urges Anders Omstedt.

PEOPLE 30–31 30. The medieval reception

of Aristotle.

THE MOMENT 32.

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Christina Thom Thörnqvist

sen Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

Masthead

The pandemic still in focus HE PANDEMIC STILL

dominates the news from most parts of the world. So, even though we devoted the last issue entirely to covid-19, we once again publish articles on this subject.

Among other things, we have asked six researchers to explain how the shutdown affects their work, and we have made an interview with Anna Lundin, who already in 2013 presented a substance with good effect on the coronavirus.

This issue also contains other topics, though. For instance, in early May the University Board got a new chairperson, Peter Larsson. Recently, our Vice-Chancellor appointed a fundraiser, or a friendraiser as she prefers to put it, the first one ever at our University. Also, Skagerak, the University’s research vessel, has at last reached Gothenburg, which does not mean joy and peace, though. The fact that the propulsion system still does not work, is of

course a major drawback.

Among the University’s many international projects, one has recently been completed. It is a project on Aristotle and his views on how we humans perceive and understand our world. Some of his ideas have been proven wrong; for instance, we do not believe any longer that it is the heart that interprets what we see or feel. Other thoughts though, still seem valid. Why it is important to study this 2300 years old philosopher? Among other things, to remind ourselves that it has taken humanity thousands of years to develop today’s knowledge, much of which we now take for granted. How long will it take until we understand ourselves in the smallest detail, how our DNA and RNA really work? We do not know but let us hope that the research on covid-19 will give some important answers to these, and other essential questions.

ALLAN ERIKSSON & EVA LUNDGREN

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News

Stolen doctoral thesis Who is Mokolo Emmanuel Ekenedilichukwu? That is what the archaeologist Staffan Lundén asked when, some time ago, he found out that Amazon was selling the book, The Stolen African Art in British Museum for 149 pounds.

Because the book is available to download free of charge from GUPEA. And it was not written by Ekenedilichukwu – it is Staffan Lundén’s doctoral thesis.

– IT BEGAN WHEN a colleague in the

Illustration: MARIA KÄLLSTRÖM

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Netherlands contacted me. She had seen a book on Amazon’s website that she felt was quite reminiscent of my thesis. Obviously, it made me curious. It turned out that the book was not only reminiscent of my thesis, it WAS my thesis. Except for the author’s name and a slightly altered title – my book is called Displaying Loot.

The Benin objects and the British Museum – it was an exact copy. The same text, the same pictures, even the same dedications to people who had contributed to my research.

Staffan Lundén contacted the university’s senior legal counsel, Sara Dahlberg, to help him fill out the documents that Amazon required in order to withdraw the book. Somewhat less expected was the fact that he received an email from Mr Ekenedilichukwu, the person who had plagiarised his work.

– He explained that he had not made any money from the book, but that he had copied it as two of his own books had been stolen. He also told me that he chose my book because his mother hails from a royal family in Benin and that he can therefore confirm that the contents are correct. I later checked up on Mr Ekenedilichukwu and he is listed as the author of an additional five books.

Whether he has actually written them, or stolen them too, I do not know, obviously.

Of course, copying an entire book is something that is rather peculiar. But

nish university had been informed of the thefts two years previously but explained that the university’s policy concerning cheating only applied to students, not lecturers! Only when the Spanish media started paying attention to the case did the university decide to take action.

However, the researcher was not dismissed, instead he was suspended from lecturing and tutorials for one year.

Staffan Lundén

Staffan Lundén is not alone in having his writing plagiarised. Maria Clara Medina, a researcher at the School of Global Studies, was contacted a while ago by a colleague who had read an article in a German journal that set her thinking.

– She thought that the article was quite reminiscent of an article I had written.

I looked into it and right enough, entire passages from one of my articles had been copied.

MARIA CLARA MEDINA contacted the

journal’s editors to ask them to remove the article.

– They responded quickly and apologised. But the story does not end there. Because it turned out that the disingenuous researcher, working at the University of Seville, was suspected of eleven additional plagiarisms. The Spa-

Maria Clara Medina

THE NEW RULES, in place since January this year, make clear that plagiarism is one of the things that constitute fraudulent research, says the University of Gothenburg’s senior legal counsel, Sara Dahlberg.

– What is particular about Staffan Lundén’s case is that an individual abroad, with no connections to a university

find so good that they want to copy it.

– And that is one way of seeing it of course, says Staffan Lundén. In the future, it may be more common for researchers to not only list their citations when applying for funding, but also the number of plagiarisms…

Have you been plagiarised?

Contact the university’s legal department.

More information can be found in the Science Council’s booklet Good Research Practice: https://www.vr.se/analys/rapporter/vara-rapporter/2017-08-29-god-forskningssed.html It is available in both Swedish and English.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

It turned out that the book was not only reminiscent of my thesis, it WAS my thesis.

STAFFAN LUNDÉN

or equivalent, seems to have copied his thesis in its entirety, and passed himself off as the author. If that individual had been connected to a university, we could have contacted the university and requested an investigation, in accordance with international guidelines for good research practice. Now, instead, it is a matter of copyright infringement. The most reasonable course of action is to contact the company selling the book to get them to withdraw it. Of course, we could also sue the plagiarising “author”.

Maria Clara Medina argues that research colleagues need to help one another and act as a kind of “plagiarism police” when suspected writings or other material turn up.

– I WRITE IN three different languages, and that makes it even more difficult to monitor whether someone has taken a section of text, translated it and then inserted it into an article of their own.

For that reason, it is important to have attentive and helpful colleagues.

But Maria Clara Medina interprets the event as potentially somewhat positive as well.

– One colleague pointed out, tongue in cheek, that perhaps you should be proud of having written something that others

Above, Staffan Lundén’s doctoral thesis, below, the plagiarism.

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News

A new chair for Peter Larsson – I have my hands in more cookie jars than I have fingers, says Peter Larsson, who from May 1 is the new Chair of the University of Gothenburg Board.

And his engagements are truly numerous. For example, Peter Larsson is senior advisor to the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers, Chair of Education and Research at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, and has recently investigated welfare technology in geriatric care.

– I AM 64 YEARS of age, and

enjoy the experience that age can provide, Peter Larsson explains. The many different organisations I have been active in have given me the ability to think laterally, an ability to consider problems in unexpected ways, something that I consider a strength. However, my former colleagues could sometimes object when I arrived in the morning with a new suggestion before they had had the time to grasp the ideas I had presented the week before.

Peter Larsson is the new Chair of the Board but is not new to the University of Gothenburg.

– I have been on the board for four years. But even though I studied at Chalmers, I was in contact early on with the University of Gothenburg as well.

For example, during the 1970s I was involved for some time with the Centre for Interdisci-

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plinary Studies of the Human Condition. Emin Tengström, Sweden’s first professor of human ecology, once observed that anyone who wants to adopt an interdisciplinary approach must be secure in their own profession, and that is an insight I have been very conscious of since then.

IT WAS HIS environmental

awareness that made Peter Larsson study chemical engineering.

– At the time, in the 1970s, many people argued that chemists contributed to quite a lot of the environmental problems. But I felt that this was the very reason why chemists must also provide solutions.

The expertise in systems and processes that an engineering education provides is something I have benefited from since then, for instance during my six years at the Ministry of the Environment.

In 2006, Peter Larsson was appointed socio-political director at the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers, when two engineering associations merged.

– Through my work at the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers I have gotten to know all the universities and colleges around the country.

Conditions vary, as Stockholm has five major universities while Gothenburg has only two. On the other hand, there is an ongoing collaboration that is promising in the Västra Götaland region that would be much more difficult in Stockholm.

The University of Gothen-

burg has recently adopted a new vision. Peter Larsson believes that is a good thing.

– We have to be scientifically and internationally relevant, but also present in the region.

That involves cooperation with businesses in the region.

Sweden is a small country, our companies must be open and have an international outlook, which means that cooperation with regional stakeholders often also entails cooperation with other countries. Working together of course benefits both the university and industry.

We have to be scientifically and internationally relevant, but also present in the region.

PETER LARSSON

The University of Gothenburg is one of the most diverse in the country.

– We offer everything, except technology studies.

Interestingly enough, there is strong solidarity between different faculties. I, for example, am very impressed by how the management at other faculties have stood up for the humanities, which have been experiencing some financial difficulties. All multi-scientific initiatives taken by the University of Gothenburg concerning major societal challenges are also incredibly interesting.

But of course, there are other challenges as well, such as housing the large Sahlgrenska Academy among the university’s smaller faculties. But it is working well. Doing the corre-

sponding thing in Stockholm, moving the Karolinska Institute into Stockholm University, would just not work.

The University of Gothenburg is very present in public discourse, argues Peter Larsson.

– Now, I haven’t done a scientific study, but my opinion is that our medical students, political scientists, IT experts and many others have made their presence felt. Of course, there is a lot of work behind that development.

Part of the challenges faced

by Sweden, where the universities have an important role to play, include climate change and education, but also elderly care.

– I recently conducted an investigation into elderly care on behalf of the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and it is an area that is in dire need of new investment, something that has been particularly apparent during the ongoing pandemic.

The University of Gothenburg is truly a pioneer in research into the elderly, and perhaps this important field will finally receive the attention it deserves.

IN GENERAL, Peter Larsson

hopes that the current pandemic will highlight the need for resilience, meaning that society will develop in a more sustainable manner.

– A socially, economically and environmentally sustainable development, which was something that Gro Harlem Brundtland put forward as early as 1987 in the so-called

Peter Larsson Currently: New Chairperson of the Board of the University of Gothenburg.

Lives in: Stockholm.

Family: Partner, four adult children.

Background: Civil engineering degree from Chalmers in 1987, graduation was planned in 1980, but one unfinished exam kept lingering. Planning manager at the Ministry of the Environment from 1986-1991, County Council Commissioner in Stockholm from 1997-2000, was appointed socio-political director at the Swedish Association of Graduate Engineers in 2006. He has recently conducted three investigations on behalf of the government: Regional Development on Gotland, Welfare Technology in Elderly Care, as well as Challenge-Driven Innovation in the Food Supply Chain.

Chair of Education and Research at the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences (IVA) and a member of the Knowledge Foundation Board, among many other commissions.

Interests: Continuously renovating his house and barn at Runmarö in the Stockholm archipelago, walking his dog, cooking.

Read Peter Larsson’s article on elderly care: www.di.se/debatt/aldreomsorgen-behover-en-stark-branschkultur/.

Brundtland Commission. And in 2006, the British economist Nicholas Stern proposed that the investments that are being made now to prevent major climate change should be seen as insurance premiums, which is something we are willing to pay for other things.

Something has happened now, that has never happened before in human history, namely that the leaders of the world have managed to keep 3.5 billion people at home to prevent the spread of a contagion. This shows that change is possible, even on a global level.

Peter Larsson argues that his job as Chair of the Board is to listen and support the long-term development of the entire university.

– I have great confidence in everyone throughout the organisation and also trust everyone on the board. We have representatives from the region, industry, culture and the climate, as well as lecturers and students of course.

It will be very interesting spending more time with the University of Gothenburg.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

All public interest members of the new Board at the University of Gothenburg: Peter Larsson, Chair Christina Björklund, Managing Director of the Göteborg Opera Ann Follin, Director General of the National Museums of World Culture Anders Hallberg, Professor of Medical Chemistry and former Vice-Chancellor of Uppsala University

Sven Landelius, former Chair of the ESS research facility and former Managing Director of the Øresundsbro Consortium Ann-Sofi Lodin, Chief Executive of the Västra Götaland Region Sara Wallin, CEO of Almi Väst.

Johan Kuylenstierna, Deputy Chair of the Swedish Climate Policy Council

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News

Proud of her years at the University The building projects and the UGOT centres, these are just some of the many valuable investments that are mentioned

by Cecilia Schelin Seidegård as she steps down as the Chair of the University of Gothenburg after seven years.

– The vision was adopted at my final board meeting and I am very pleased to have been a part of that.

WHEN Cecilia Schelin Seidegård

was appointed Chair of the University of Gothenburg in 2013, she had been on numerous other boards, including chairing the Royal Institute of Technology. She has also been a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences for many years.

But the University of Gothenburg was a new acquaintance.

– I was immediately impressed by both the diversity and the size.

Certain parts, such as the Sahlgrenska Academy, I already knew about, of course, and others I have come to appreciate during my time as Chair. The artistic branches, in particular, are unique to academia.

SEVERAL MAJOR building pro-

jects were initiated during Cecilia Schelin Seidegårds time as Chair, such as the new building for the Faculty of Science, Natrium, and the new building for the School of Business, Economics and Law. – Humanisten, home of the Faculty of Humanities, also turned out very well and I would naturally have liked to be part of the inauguration, when that takes place.

All new buildings are valuable

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investments for the future.

The RED 19 research evaluation was also conducted during Cecilia Schelin Seidegård’s tenure, as was the UGOT Challenges initiative, six interdisciplinary centres that take on the great societal challenges of our time.

– PREVIOUSLY, THE University of Gothenburg achieved fairly poor returns on major research funding, such as the Investments in Excellence by the Science Council in 2006 and 2008. This has now been reversed, and the interdisciplinary centres have been particularly successful.

One area where Cecilia Schelin Seidegård still thinks the University of Gothenburg could improve is in promoting their image in their hometown.

– For example, if you ask a taxi driver to take you to the university, you are almost always asked whether you mean Chalmers or “Handels” (the School of Business, Economics and Law). The people of Gothenburg must start seeing their own town as a university town, the academic institutions are such an important part of the entire region’s development.

The people of Gothenburg must start seeing their own town as a university town.

CECILIA SCHELIN SEIDEGÅRD

On of the most difficult challenges that Cecilia Schelin Seidegård had to endure as Chair was the vice-chancellor appointment in 2016.

– Appointing a vice-chancellor is always something special but this time, it was particularly difficult, with resignations and problems throughout. Eventually, it turned out well, and I am very happy about having had the opportunity to work with two judicious and strong women vice-chancellors.

At Cecilia Schelin Seidegård’s final board meeting on April 15, the board adopted the University of Gothenburg vision for the period from 2021-2030: A University for the World.

– I THINK IT IS absolutely brilliant.

Working for a better world is precisely what a university is about.

I am very proud of having spent seven years as Chair of such an interesting university as the University of Gothenburg, and I am very glad that I had time to decide on our vision before I left.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

After seven years, Cecilia Schelin SeidegĂĽrd steps down as the Chair of the University of Gothenburg.

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News

Enriching the University with friendraising The university has employed a senior advisor that will encourage businesses, organisations and individuals to donate money to the university.

An unknown person to many at the University of Gothenburg, but her CV includes the Lund University’s campaign A Better World.

– Ulrika Nilsson is one the most experienced in Sweden within this field, says Vice-Chancellor Eva Wiberg.

INTERNATIONALISATION and

fundraising, these are two items that have been on Eva Wiberg’s wishlist since she was appointed three years ago.

– It is not as if fundraising will make or break us, but it means that we will be able to achieve a little bit more and be able to invest in certain areas, she says and points to the fact that basic funding for research and education will hardly increase by any significant amount. Half of all revenue currently comes from external grants. The reason is that the world is changing and fundraising is a phenomenon that we will have to get used to.

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the surrounding community that in turn can generate funds. This is an eagerly awaited initiative.

Eva Wiberg

She notes that the University of Gothenburg is far behind the major universities in terms of fundraising.

– It is really not that strange.

This university was established thanks to donations in the 19th century. We would not be where we are today – we would not be sitting in this building at Vasaparken – without benevolent townspeople who wanted to contribute to learning and education in their town.

Eva Wiberg thinks that it is more a matter of friendraising than fundraising.

– I have nothing against the term, but it is not the money per se that is important, but the result of good relationships with

– It is really not that strange. This university was established thanks to ­donations in the 19th ­century.

EVA WIBERG

Some argue that fundraising threatens the university’s independence, can you understand that?

– Absolutely. Our primary task is to educate, carry out research and collaborate. As the vice-chancellor, I have the final say and for me, it is about supporting our lecturers and researchers, ensuring that they are able to work under the best possible conditions. The people who believe that we should not be involved in this are perhaps the people who, at the end of the day, will benefit. Ultimately, it may involve extra support for cancer research or that the Faculty of Science is able to purchase an expensive piece of equipment.

Ulrika Nilsson got the job in competition with nine other applicants and is one of the most

can facilitate and coordinate our work with the alumni and with fundraising, which they already do at the School of Business, Law and Economics as well as at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

How come it has taken 2.5 years to put this in place?

– It takes time to secure support, but obviously, it is not great that it has taken this long. That is why it feels particularly good to be able to finalise it now. Before I was appointed vice-chancellor I visited our website to check out the fundraising situation at the University of Gothenburg. It said that if you wanted to make a donation to the university, you could call the switchboard.

Illustration: MARIA KÄLLSTRÖM

skilled fundraisers in Sweden.

On February 21, she commenced her employment as senior advisor, in her office at the Grants and Innovation Office.

How did you work together at Lund University?

– Ulrika did great work in Lund while I was pro vice-chancellor, in her role as secretary of the Lund University Charity scholarship fund. I was especially happy about receiving money to fund the digitalisation of the unique Ravensbruck archive in Lund, containing testimonies from concentration camp survivors.

How much money do you estimate she raised for Lund University?

– That is difficult to estimate, but she played a major role in the campaign for a better world, where we managed to raise three billion krona. Some of it, I am sure, was realized after

she left, but obviously it takes time to develop such an operation. The advantage is that she was part of the entire journey since the beginning of the 2000s and also has experience of the artistic world, through the Royal Swedish Opera, and having worked with the Royal Family’s Childhood campaign.

But not having any extensive experience of the University of Gothenburg, or the town of Gothenburg, do you think that may be a disadvantage for her?

– No, you can always learn.

It does not have to take years.

I have experienced the so-called Gothenburg spirit as being inclusive and open. On the contrary, I believe it can be an advantage bringing someone external in who has more than the usual contacts. Ulrika has extensive experience building relationships, both nationally and internationally. We also need someone in-house who

In what way is fundraising linked to our alumni operations?

– We need to combine the two. It is about minor gifts as well as major gifts. I think that we could go in for crowdfunding.

Even a monthly contribution of a couple of hundred krona from one alumnus could make a difference. I also think that we could be much better at organising alumni reunions, such as “Home-Coming Weeks”. We have an idea about doing something for our alumni next year, when Gothenburg celebrates 400 years and the university 130 years.

Text: Allan Eriksson Photo: Johan Wingborg

Facts Fundraising is a relatively new phenomenon in Sweden, but Chalmers was a pioneer and started their fundraising operations back in 1996. The Karolinska Institute started theirs in 2005. Since then, both Uppsala University and Lund University have joined in. Consequently, interest in fundraising, donations or sponsorships has increased, and is now well-established at all universities and colleges.

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News

New corona hope with old finding

ANNA LUNDIN’S doctoral thesis describes three promising substances for treating RSV, as well as a promising substance for treating the coronavirus.

– RSV and coronavirus are two of the most common causes of respiratory infection, says Anna Lundin. The virus creates small cavities in the cytoplasm that are kind of virus factories that use the cell’s own defence mechanisms. In my thesis, I was able to show for the first time that the virus protein nsp6 plays an important role in creating this factory.

By screening tens of thousands of molecules, the research team managed to find one substance, K22, which in cell culture inhibits the formation of these cavities and thus disrupts the virus factory. The cell cultures were produced in a structure that is similar to the one in the trachea.

– LIVING CELLS FROM the respi-

ratory tract were infected with coronavirus, whereupon a group of cells was treated with K22, while another group were given a placebo. K22 turned out to be very effective against the type of coronavirus that we looked at, which causes cold symptoms, but it also looked promising against the MERS virus.

Virology involves several challenges. Among other things, the

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Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

– Göteborgs universitet är det enda lärosäte som jag hade kunnat lämna Lund för.

UGOT Challenges, arbetet för flyktingar och en hållbar utveckling samt allt övrigt samhällsengagemang hör till de saker jag verkligen uppskattar.

Det förklarar Eva Wiberg som efter visst tumult nu föreslås som ny rektor.

virus mutates quickly, leading to genetic changes, says Anna Lundin.

– ANTIVIRAL TREATMENTS also put

pressure on the virus to change further. For this reason, it is challenging to find substances that will work in the long term, preventing the virus’s resistance from activating too quickly. The interaction between the virus and the host organism is incredibly complex, which has become apparent in the Covid-19 pandemic. We still do not have answers to why some people become fatally ill from the virus, while others barely notice its presence. Certain risk groups have been identified, but it is important to investigate why people who are not in these groups can also become severely ill.

There are currently no drugs for treating coronavirus. One reason for this is that, for a long time, virology has had difficulty attracting research funding. For example, Anna Lundin was not given an opportunity to continue her research. Instead, she is currently working for a company that assesses pharmaceutical safety.

– Hindsight is always 20/20, but if research funding had been available earlier, we would have had

Already in 2013, Anna Lundin showed that the substance K22 has a good effect on coronavirus.

K22 turned out to be very effective against the type of corona­ virus that we looked at.

ANNA LUNDIN

a much clearer picture of how the coronavirus works and we would be better prepared to handle the current situation. However, over the past six months, there has been intense research within the field, not least here in Gothenburg. The collaboration between the Institute of Biomedicine and the Sahlgrenska University Hospital is proving very beneficial and the possibilities of going from research to implementation are extremely good.

The researchers currently studying Covid-19 include Anna Lundin’s former supervisor, Associate Professor Edward Trybala, her second supervisor, Professor Tomas Bergström, as well as Associate Professor Kristina Nyström.

THEIR TASKS INCLUDE reviewing a library of 1,500 substances that have already been tested to see if any of them are effective against the virus that causes Covid-19.

– Among the substances we are studying, there is one psychotropic substance that has substantial structural similarities to K22, says Tomas Bergström. In our cell tests that molecule is working very well against Covid-19. So, after a seven-year hiatus, Anna’s research findings are again very much in the limelight.

Eva Lundgren

Facts Anna Lundin’s doctoral thesis from 2013, Candidate antivirals for treatment of respiratory syncytial virus and coronavirus infections, describes three promising substances against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well as a promising substance against the coronavirus.

New handling of harassment – It should be easy to do the right thing, explains Gunilla Hellén, HR specialist in equal treatment at the Human Resources unit. She has led the effort to identify five areas on which the University of Gothenburg will focus in order to prevent sexual harassment.

But the foundation is a well-functioning organisation with employees and students who feel safe and secure.

IN SEPTEMBER last year, HR conducted the pilot study, The Road Ahead, a Strategy for Preventing Sexual Harassment, which has subsequently been discussed in the Strategy Council and in other contexts.

Headed by Gunilla Hellén, HR then drafted a proposal on how to continue the work to prevent sexual harassment. The proposal was adopted by the Vice-Chancellor on June 4.

– Among other things, we propose that equal treatment is integrated into health and safety, as it is already an established way of working with an annual cycle of surveys, analyses, implementations and follow-ups. Having parallel systems will just complicate matters, Gunilla Hellén explains.

THE PROPOSAL emphasizes that a good working environment, where the equal dignity of all permeates the entire organisation, constitutes the foundation for achieving equal treatment. Furthermore, five areas are highlighted in terms of preventing sexual harassment.

It involves the statutory obligation to support the efforts to analyse risks in connection with sexual harassment. But it also involves creating a clear management system, says Gunilla Hellén.

– New managers, in particular, must be informed of their responsibilities, and how we handle these matters. To support the managers, we are proposing that we produce an information package with checklists and other kinds of material that can be used for employee meetings and workshops.

ANOTHER ITEM concerns how

equal treatment can be developed within the central and local health and safety committees. For example, it might entail extending the meeting hours to ensure that we have time to bring up equal treatment, and also improving transparency for employees and students.

– We also highlight the role of the equal treatment representative, who is a resource for management in terms of drafting and implementing equal treatment throughout the organisation. It is important that their duties are not confused with those of the health and safety representatives, who represent the employees and, on occasion, act as a counterparty to the employer.

The fifth item concerns anonymous reporting, explains Gunilla Hellén.

– This is something that is always brought up when we talk about sexual harassment. On the one hand, it is difficult to defend yourself against an anonymous complaint, which in itself can be

perceived as a violation. On the other hand, we must of course take these type of complaints seriously, and not brush them under the carpet. Our proposal is to use a Norwegian model in which the person accused is given an opportunity to defend themselves while the person who filed the complaint is also listened to.

- With clear preventive equal treatment practices, our University can be even better, says Gunilla Hellén.

The goal is an organisation that employees and students can be proud of.

GUNILLA HELLÉN

THIS AUTUMN, a formal process will be completed with a policy on the actions the University of Gothenburg will take when someone claims to have been subjected to discrimination, whether it is on the grounds of gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, belief, disability or age. The goal is an organisation that employees and students can be proud of, Gunilla Hellén states.

– I believe that many people are already proud of their university.

Many things work well, but with clear preventive equal treatment practices, the University of Gothenburg can be even better.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Private

Facts The report, The Road Ahead, a Strategy for Preventing Sexual Harassment, forms the basis for the Vice-Chancellor’s decision on June 4 to adopt the report, Proposal on the continued efforts to prevent sexual harassment at the University of Gothenburg.

This autumn, we will publish a process for handling discrimination.

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Profile

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Why do people with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk becoming severely ill with Covid-19, while others who are infected have no symptoms at all?

A new project, headed by Åsa Torinsson Naluai, is looking into this. – By studying Covid-19, we may also increase our knowledge about these two major endemic diseases.

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GENOMICS, TRANSCRIPTOMICS and metabolomics are

different methods through which researchers in one single chemical analysis are able to simultaneously study thousands of molecules in one sample. This is precisely the type of analyses that Åsa Torinsson Naluai wants to develop. She is the associate professor at the Institute of Biomedicine and a researcher at Biobank Väst, a partnership between the University of Gothenburg and the Västra Götaland region.

But she was not always interested in genetics and biological processes. She could also have worked in business or marketing.

– It was my parents who submitted different applications to universities when I was young. They were probably worried that I wouldn’t get into a profession. Because after upper-secondary school, I went to Zermatt in Switzerland to work in a hotel bar. Part of the job was to take pictures of tourists, sunbathing with the Matterhorn in the background. That is where I met my husband, who developed the photos. He is from Hawaii, and when the children were young, we would often visit there. Eventually, they grew a little tired of travelling and wondered if we couldn’t go somewhere more exciting, like Germany or something.

When Åsa Torinsson Naluai eventually started studying, she chose science and in particular, biology.

– I was on a reserve list, but the student counsellor gave me a place anyway, just to stop my mother from nagging him. I never thought I would like lab work, but it turned out to be really interesting. And when I met Jan Wahlström, who set up the clinical genetics unit, I was suddenly hooked; I knew that this was the job for me.

AS A DOCTORAL STUDENT in the beginning of the

2000s, she was part of a co-doctoral project with a clinician and a mathematician.

– That was an amazing way of learning research, which gave me insights into other modes of thought than that of a biologist. That inspired me to continue to collaborate across different disciplines. For example, in a psoriasis study we included a historian who could explain why certain mutations exist in western Sweden and Denmark, but not in eastern Sweden; it is linked to the fact that vast forests were a barrier to interaction between the eastern and western parts of the country.

The reason why Åsa Torinsson Naluai is now involved in virus research is because the risk of becoming severally ill with Covid-19 is correlated with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

– It is about major endemic diseases that have been researched for more than 50 years. And progress has still been slow in terms of understanding the underlying mechanisms. Perhaps studying Covid-19 can provide new approaches?

The project involves asking people who come to the Östra Sjukhuset hospital for examination whether they have had any flu-like symptoms in 2020.

– What we are hoping to find are people who have had the virus without realising it. Over the summer,

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Profile we are planning to collect blood and saliva samples from around 1,000 people. The samples will subsequently be tested for Covid-19 antibodies but they will also be stored at Biobank Väst.

Sweden is a leading country in terms of biobanks.

The oldest bank is the PKU register with samples from all the children born in the country since 1975. Other countries got started later with this but are now investing considerable resources in it. One such example is UK Biobank Ltd which was established in 2007 and contains samples from half a million Britons.

A biobank is like a time machine ... ÅSA TORINSSON NALUAI

– A biobank is like a time machine where you can examine biological molecules from a group of people, or track one individual over time. It is important to sample healthy people for comparison; a sample from a sick patient tells us very little about what is normal for that individual. At the same time, the samples must be interpreted with caution. Our biological systems will be affected by how the sample is handled, the time of day, season, food intake and sleep, more or less everything that comes into contact with the body.

IT IS THAT very complexity that interests Åsa Torinsson

Naluai.

– Researchers of old, such as Carl Linnaeus and Charles Darwin, travelled the world and gathered facts, only to later propose an explanation for their observations. Today’s research is very much driven by hypotheses, you have to make an assumption and then investigate whether it is correct. If you apply for funding for a major mapping project you are immediately told that you have to narrow the scope. Yet we know that the body is one whole system: for example, cardiovascular disease is interlinked with obesity and diabetes, but also with inflammatory diseases and caries.

Why Most Published Research Findings Are False is the header of an article from 2005 that garnered plenty of attention, written by the Greek-American researcher John Ioannidis.

– What he shows is that hypothesis-driven research often misleads us. That is why biobanks are so interesting. Just like Linnaeus and Darwin, we are now able to map the world, only not the external one but the internal world, consisting of cells and molecules. DNA is the blueprint that holds all the information about an organism, while RNA is the part of the blueprint that is currently being built, both the proteins that are being expressed right now, and the ones that are being saved for later use. What I want to do is to investigate and be part of mapping our interior reality, all of the 20,000 human genes, in the DNA as well as the way they are expressed in the RNA and proteins. Our hope

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is to discover previously overlooked correlations.

– We know, for example, that psoriasis causes an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but we do not know why. Extensive mapping may provide the key that enables us to formulate well-founded hypotheses that can subsequently be tested.

INFLAMMATORY DISEASE that seem to be interlinked include psoriasis, celiac disease, arthropathy and diabetes.

There seems to be a relationship between these diseases and nutritional signalling. One amino acid that may be playing an important role is proline, says Åsa Torinsson Naluai.

– Proline can be found in the tough and resilient connective tissue, collagen, that binds together the body’s cells. When a pathogen is trying to enter the body, they attack the collagen.

The body seems to interpret high levels of protein in the blood as being under attack and it must therefore defend itself. And it does so with the help of tissue transglutaminase, the role of which is to repair the holes in the connective tissue caused by the pathogen.

And food also appears to affect the levels of proline in the blood. Gluten protein, which can be found in large quantities in wheat flour, cheese and certain vegan food products, consists largely of proline.

– Starvation causes the connective tissue to degrade and the body uses proline as a source of energy. Under such conditions, proline in food causes no problems. But if you are not starving, the proline may trigger an inflammation. Today’s wheat contains one thousand times the level of gluten compared to wild wheat; this is due to centuries of breeding cereal that will produce fluffy bread. If we ingest large amounts of proline, the body may interpret it as an invasive disease.

THAT A HIGH consumption of wheat may be dangerous is not something that all researchers agree on.

– There are plenty of peculiar ideas about what we should eat that you obviously need to be critical about, Åsa Torinsson Naluai points out. I am not saying that we should stop eating wheat flour entirely, but even though I baked bread with gluten for the children when they were young, nowadays we use gluten free flour. Rye, on the other hand, does not contain nearly as much gluten as wheat. It is interesting that in Denmark, for example, where they eat a lot of rye bread, they have half the number of type 1 diabetics as in Sweden. Whereas in France, they have half as many as in Denmark. Even if we do not know the cause behind these differences,

Åsa Torinsson Naluai will investigate why some people become seriously ill from Covid-19 while others infected do not notice anything at all.

we do know that it must primarily be related to environment or lifestyle, rather than genetics. People in other parts of the world who adopt a western lifestyle also adopt our endemic diseases. Interestingly enough, in South-East Asia, there is not as clear a correlation between type-2 diabetes and obesity as we see in Europe and the US. This has led to the hypothesis that obesity is a consequEnce of the disease, rather than the other way around.

Understanding the interaction between genetics and lifestyle will require the type of major mapping at the molecular level that Åsa Torinsson Naluai wants to do.

But genetics can be interesting for other reasons as well.

– My daughter is really interested in her origins and wanted a DNA test for her 18th birthday. It showed that her ancestors came from England, Portugal, Polynesia, from practically all the corners of the globe, except Australia. It would be very interesting to keep exploring.

Åsa Torinsson Naluai Currently: Heads one of eight projects at the University of Gothenburg, funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, for research into Covid-19. The project, Assessment of SARSCoV-2 specific antibodies in adults, and building a repository of samples from seroconverted asymptomatic adults is a collaboration between Biobank Core Facility and Biobank Väst.

Current position: Associate Professor of experimental clinical genetics at the Institute of Biomedicine.

Family: Husband and three children: 20, 18 and 16 years of age.

Lives in: Ekebäck.

Interests: Family, skiing, walking her dog.

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News / Pandemic Focus

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How is your research affected by the pandemic?

Text: Lars Nicklason Photo: Johan Wingborg

The corona crisis has shaken up and changed the conditions for research and collaboration.

But in what way? The GU Journal asked a number of researchers how their day-to-day situation has changed.

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Focus / Pandemic

20

Henrik Zetterberg, Professor at the Department of Neuroscience and Physiology:

Barbara Czarniawska, Senior Researcher at the Gothenburg Research Institute:

Deliang Chen, Professor at the Department of Earth Sciences:

– To me it was always very interesting, because I have experienced two diametrically opposed realities. Here, at our labs at Sahlgrenska and in Mölndal, where we are working on biomarker measurements for neurological conditions, we are looking at questions concerning how Covid-19 affects the brain.

And we have seen clear indications that the viral infection may cause brain injury in certain patients. Naturally, this is very interesting, and it might not have been possible to study it if we had not been up to speed with the laboratory operations here in Gothenburg.

– However, at the University College London, where I also have a lab and a research team, everything is at a standstill. The lab was closed in March and the twelve team members, like everyone else, have been at home, in lock-down. Obviously, that is not healthy. One of our post-docs from Bulgaria was feeling really despondent. Fortunately, she found a flight home to Sofia, was quarantined there and became very good friends with the quarantine officers who visited her every day for two weeks, whereupon she was able to be a little closer to her family and friends.

– Of course, I am not able to go to London, and we have tried to keep everybody as active as possible. The team members have been able to attend online training and we have had Zoom meetings and after-work get-togethers on Fridays. Hopefully, we will be able to gradually open the lab in a few weeks, but I am concerned, of course.

– Many of the world’s universities, like UCL, have closed down, which I think is a somewhat tepid response to the viral threat. I am proud that we are able to continue working at the University of Gothenburg, with restrictions in place of course, and thus contribute to the fight against corona and other important challenges in our society.

– The pandemic has led to a new research project. Myself and two colleagues have asked people who work on the coronavirus to send us their stories. When the pandemic is over, we will be analysing and writing.

– In other ways, the pandemic has not had any major impact on my work. I am 80 percent retired and lately, I mostly carry out my research by reading and analysing books, films and the media, and you can do all that at home. Regarding meetings and collaborations, I have to say that I appreciate Zoom.

The other day for example, I was listening to a seminar from Tel Aviv with a researcher from Yale. He was able to hold a presentation in a way that was just not possible before. As for myself, I held a PowerPoint presentation online instead of speaking at a conference in Warsaw as was scheduled. But I did not like it. You do not really go to conferences to learn something new, but to meet colleagues. And I enjoy being on stage, speaking.

– In general, it has been fairly positive for me.

We do travel a lot within the world of research, perhaps a little too much, I find. We travel long distances, which takes time, and it takes time to recuperate afterwards as well. Now, we are meeting online instead. There are still some inequalities around the world in terms of broadband access but on the whole, online meetings are more accessible to everyone. You reach more people: both the ones you usually meet and those who would not otherwise attend our international meetings. I am also seeing a lot of data sharing, and the documentation is more structured and is put together more quickly now.

– But there are of course also negative aspects to meeting online. It frequently takes longer to plan and you miss the informal chats in the corridor or in the canteen over a cup of coffee. Many online meetings increase the risk of spending too much time in front of your computer, and meetings clash with one another.

– My own research very much involves running models and analysing data. It is sufficient to have access to the Internet to be able to continue working as normal. One advantage about working from home is that I can manage my time differently. Research time is more continuous and that enables me to save time. I find that the effects of the crisis on my research have generally been positive for me. We have a tremendous capacity to adapt and during the pandemic, we have learnt that there are other effective ways of working.

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Åsa Arping, Professor of Comparative Literature, at the Department of Literature, History of Ideas and Religion.

Gunnar Köhlin, Head of Environment for Development at the School of Business, Economics and Law:

Anja Karlsson Franck, Lecturer at the School of Global Studies:

– For me, I think the difference is minimal compared to many other researchers. I have a research budget for this year and I had planned to sit at home writing anyway. And some conferences have been cancelled. Many have been postponed for a year, which means that there will be plenty of them next year, if you want to go to all of them. Of course, there have also been plenty of digital meetings. For example, I am on one of the Science Council’s planning groups and we were going to meet for two days at the beginning of June. Now, there are several Zoom meetings instead, which requires quite a bit of extra work as the group cannot come together and discuss all the applications in the way we normally do. We have to work differently and split up into smaller groups. It is definitely more awkward.

– Another aspect of it is that I have an upper-secondary school student at home who requires some coaching and socialising. For me, it has more of a mental impact. I live in the countryside and social distancing is easy, but on the other hand, it is easy to be understimulated in the long term.

– I also see this as a precursor to the transition that we will be forced to make in the future, considering the climate crisis and the need for reduced air travel.

– Naturally, the crisis has been very palpable for those of us who live and work in an international environment. We coordinate operations for 15 environmental economy centres around the world in their research concerning the environment and the alleviation of poverty in the Global South. So, during the early stages of the crisis, it was all about ensuring the health of our colleagues. All potentially hazardous operations were halted.

And then we had to check with our financiers, primarily Sida, that it was OK with them that some research projects were delayed. With a complete suspension of air travel, workshops, field work, annual meetings and conferences have been cancelled around the world.

– But that does not mean that international collaboration has been suspended. – In a way, it is even more intense. We have previously invested quite heavily in video conferencing technology, which we are benefiting from now. It is full speed ahead and we collaborate on planning and conduct studies together. It is really only the data gathering that is delayed.

– The pandemic and its consequences will impact research and its focus. – There are already plenty of ideas. It is of particular interest to us, as the environment is being so dramatically impacted by the restrictions.

What will happen now that people are suddenly experiencing clean air in the Asian mega cities? These are things that we will make sure to follow up on.

– I am involved in a project looking at how migrants from Burma seek protection in Malaysia and Thailand. That had to be postponed. But the international collaboration continues online. I am not really affected any more than people whose colleagues are here in Gothenburg. When you are quarantined, you are just as close to someone in Amsterdam, where my colleagues are, as to someone on Linnégatan in Gothenburg. Everything that is based on human relations and contact has been very complicated.

– I also believe that my field of research, which mainly concerns migration and borders, will see a new focus. The corona crisis does affect border policies and people’s mobility.

What will happen when the borders are reopened? Will the rules that have been rolled out be rescinded, or not? Another aspect, which directly impacts one of my research projects, is how to manage the spread of the coronavirus in the refugee camps on the Greek islands or in Libya, where people are being locked up.

– During this time I have also thought a lot about what happens to human interaction when you only meet online. It is a strange feeling speaking in front of 38 empty squares with name tags. The opportunities for students to affect what is happening are very limited in a Zoom situation. When I am speaking in a classroom, the students influence me through signals they give out in the form of body language. The same thing is true for research interviews. A lot depends on the specific situation, people’s facial expressions, smiles and so on. You can always ascertain the facts but when it comes to creating greater understanding, so much is lost.

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Focus / Pandemic

Celebrating the ordinary – When I talk to friends in Sweden, Denmark, Spain and Italy, I am struck by how important it has become for so many people to go to the hairdresser. It is not about vanity, but about a need for what is socially familiar, to be able to be among people – and look decent.

This is what Petra Andersson, researcher in practical philosophy, argues.

CAN CRISES, isolation and increased awareness of our mortality make us better people? Petra Andersson is doubtful.

– There is an old concept that suffering is ennobling, but I believe it is the other way around, that good experiences lead to good people. And the idea that isolation is good for the soul has also been around for a while.

History is full of philosophers, religious people and

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sages who self-isolated for contemplation – just as people today go on retreats to cultivate their inner world.

Instead, generally speaking, the current pandemic has revealed our tremendous need for fellowship. Man is simply a social animal.

THE FACULTY OF HUMANITIES by Näckrosparken, where

Petra Andersson works, is usually full of industrious students and colleagues hurrying along corridors. Now, the building is empty and abandoned.

– Even though I didn’t run into my own students and colleagues in the corridor, they still gave me the impression that other people are going about things in much the same way as I am, and that we are all in this together – it is a joint effort. The realisation that all of us, not just at the Faculty of Humanities but in society as a whole, are important to one another has become

I personally believe that she would prefer a few years less to live than not being able to meet her loved ones.

PETRA ANDERSSON

maintain social distancing, Petra Andersson claims.

– We do not know how long this pandemic will last.

But I believe that all the recommendations to keep your distance, to be afraid of infecting others or getting infected yourself, will affect us in a way that cannot be good in the long term.

Above all, we must protect the old and the vulnerable.

Philosopher Petra Andersson thinks that people are longing for an ordinary life.

particularly palpable over the past few months.

We miss the ordinary, Petra Andersson argues.

– That is why are advised to take a walk every morning, for example, as if we were going to work, and to stick to our usual lunch hours. But that coffee break, which is such a natural thing at the office, does not feel the same at home at the kitchen table. And the feeling of having done your bit when you leave work at five o’clock, will not materialize if you have been sitting on your sofa working all day. All that little bit of feedback from your colleagues, confirming that what you are doing is right, is not forthcoming. Instead we have Zoom meetings, but that is not the same thing as really meeting other people, having eye contact, interjecting with a comment during a conversation or at least contributing with a hum.

But the real problem is the constant reminder to

– I HAVE A 93-YEAR-OLD aunt who does not have dementia or any other illness, but is very fragile. Like many old people, she needs to touch the people she is talking to. If the pandemic lasts for perhaps another year, that may correspond approximately to the time she has left to live. Obviously, she is suffering from her social isolation, and I personally believe that she would prefer a few years less to live than not being able to meet her loved ones. Having so many people simultaneously face this type of dilemma, wanting to see their elderly relatives but absolutely not wanting to infect them with a fatal disease, is something that those of us who live in Sweden today have never experienced.

The pandemic has made death more tangible but has also robbed us of the aspect of death that is part of normal life, such as sitting with a loved one who is dying, Petra Andersson points out.

– The pandemic has also created a lot of uncertainty.

How long will this last? We have known for some time that the University of Gothenburg will maintain remote teaching until at least October 31, and it is good to know that, of course. But we do not know much more than that.

PETRA ANDERSSON does not believe that the pande-

mic will change our way of life or lead to more climate-friendly choices, at least not in the long term.

– But I hope that the pandemic will lead to one positive thing: that we care more for our care providers. That a country like Sweden does not have enough PPE, for example, is completely absurd. I believe there is strong popular support for both higher wages and better working conditions. I think we all realise that healthcare professionals are worth much more than just a round of applause.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

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Focus / Pandemic

Swedish virus research may change the world – I think the Covid-19 pandemic will be much like the measles pandemic used to be, a virus that recurs from time to time, and that will have serious consequences for some, but may also confer life-long immunity.

So says Tomas Bergström, Professor of Clinical Microbiology.

RIGHT NOW, intensive research is under way into Covid-19, both in Sweden and the rest of the world. For example, the Swedish Research Council is investing SEK 100 million on research into the virus. It’s a welcome investment, says Tomas Bergström.

– Virus research has been extremely neglected in the past. We do not know how many viruses there are on the planet, nor do we know much about how viruses work. Hopefully, the various initiatives will change that.

Mankind has so far only been able to eradicate two viruses: smallpox and rinderpest, which is related to measles and affects cows. Despite the fact that for some considerable time there have been vaccines against, for example, measles and polio, for various reasons they have not yet been eradicated, and outbreaks occur from time to time in different places.

OF THE SEVEN human coronaviruses, four

cause mild colds, while SARS, MERS and Covid-19 are more severe. There is no vaccine or drug for any of these diseases, says Tomas Bergström.

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– There are also no vaccines or drugs to combat other viruses that circulate and cause less severe symptoms, such as rhinovirus, parainfluenza virus and RSV. But greater investment in research and drug development is likely to produce good results. Just think of how successful the pharmaceutical industry has been in treating chronic viral infections, such as HIV and hepatitis C.

– Swedish virus research could change the world, says Tomas Bergström.

OVER THE PAST 13 years, the WHO has

declared a global emergency on six occasions. In all these instances it was because of a virus.

– The rapid spread of Ebola came as a surprise, as did the Zika virus, which causes foetal malformations. Although we do not know which epidemics we will encounter in the future, it actually is possible to be prepared.

Viruses can often be attacked in similar ways, explains Tomas Bergström.

– If, for example, we had had medication to treat the mild coronaviruses, which only cause cold symptoms, they probably would have worked well against Covid-19 as well. There is a lot of

knowledge about coronaviruses among veterinary virologists, as these viruses often affect livestock, so we should work more closely with them. Furthermore, if we also develop vaccines and drugs against other known viruses, we would be prepared if similar dangerous strains emerge in the future.

ANOTHER OPTION IS antiviral drugs that can be used both for prophylactic purposes and to treat infected patients.

– It was because of so-called neuraminidase inhibitors, a type of drug that

Facts The WHO has declared an international health emergency six times since 2007: due to swine flu in 2009, polio in 2014, Zika virus in 2016, Ebola in 2014 and 2019, and Covid-19 in 2020.

Although we do not know which epidemics we will encounter in the future, it actually is possible to be prepared.

TOMAS BERGSTRĂ–M

was initially developed 30 years ago, that the swine flu was less serious than first feared.

Tomas BergstrÜm believes that Covid-19 will eventually become much like other viruses circulating worldwide. – Evolution works so that viruses get milder with time; a virus that kills its host will soon die out itself. Anyone who falls ill with Covid-19 is likely to develop long-term immunity, perhaps life-long immunity, as with measles. But as there is so much we do not know, substantial national investment in virus research

is needed. In Sweden, there has been extensive long-standing collaboration between the healthcare system and virus researchers and therefore we have unique conditions for this type of research.

A concerted effort in the field of virology, financed by both public and private funds, has never been attempted before, but if it were initiated it could potentially change the world.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

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Report

Skagerak at last in port After years of problems and delays, the research vessel, Skagerak, has finally arrived in Gothenburg. The ultramodern ship has a super sounder that can map the ocean bed, a folding mast for atmospheric research, four laboratories and, not least, an extensive quarterdeck.

But the propulsion system is not working. Hopefully, this will soon be rectified so that Skagerak can be operational in May next year.

of 500 metres on the open sea – but less than that in the Koster Fiord, for example. In general, the oceans are poorly explored, we actually know more about the surface of the moon or Mars.

Research and education on most aspects of marine chemistry, marine biology, marine geology, oceanography and atmospheric research will be possible on the ship, says Katarina Abrahamsson, Professor of Analytical and Marine Chemistry, who is responsible for the ship’s scientific equipment.

– STATE OF THE ART, says oceanograp-

her Sebastiaan Swart when he presents Skagerak during the Faculty of Science’s press conference on June 10.

– You can simply not find a better ship for oceanic research. Skagerak is incredibly well equipped but also prepared for additional equipment should it be required. I, for one, am hoping to be able to use our exciting underwater drones, the so-called ocean gliders, that have the capacity to be at sea for as long as 6-12 months. And it would also be interesting to bring the faculty’s new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) on board. But what I am most interested in doing initially, is to investigate the Swedish coastline, which has not been studied for decades.

THE SHIP IS 49 metres long, 11 metres wide and can house six crew members and 16 researchers or students. Project manager, Mats Hjortberg shows us the cabins, the kitchen and the engine room.

The ship has two navigator seats, six winches and both a dry and a wet lab, he explains – Skagerak is fitted with four engines that generate power for the main engine.

Not all engines need to run at the same time, you can run one or two of them when required, which saves energy and reduces wear and tear.

One important piece of equipment on the ship is the multibeam echo sounder mounted under the hull, says marine biologist Thomas Dahlgren.

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Project manager Mats Hjortberg shows us the ship.

Skagerak is fitted with four engines that generate power for the main engine.

MATS HJORTBERG

– THE MAST, for example, is foldable and contains pipes that lead directly down to a laboratory below deck that is specially equipped for atmospheric research. But although research is important, Skagerak is also a teaching vessel. And we have invested a lot in communication equipment so that lecturers at the university will be able to have direct contact with research groups here, for example.

It has not yet been decided which shipyard will complete the ship, but the procurement process is underway.

– However, it has been decided that the Polish company MPL will replace and install a new propulsion system, says Mats Hjortberg. It is extremely complex work and will take several months. But when that and a few more details have been completed, the University of Gothenburg will have a very fine vessel, you couldn’t get much better.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

– The sounder can be used to measure the deepest parts of the continental shelf, but also to map coastal areas. Personally, I am curious about the Norwegian Trench, which is located beyond the Koster Fiord and is around 750 metres deep.

But I would also like to have a closer look at the world’s largest migration. That is the one which happens when fish and plankton migrate from the surface in the morning, where they have been feeding throughout the night, down to a depth

Facts Facts about Skagerak: 49 metres long, 11 metres wide, weighs 1,000 tonnes, maximum speed just over 12 knots, has space for 6 crew members and 16 researchers/ students.

Construction period: Commissioned 2013, should have been delivered in 2015, the new delivery date is May 2021.

Cost: Approximately SEK 200 million.

Skagerak is expected to be operational in May 2021.

The system, where the four diesel engines give power to the main engine, has not been made to work.

– Welcome to my office, says oceanographer Sebastiaan Swart.

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Report

Listening to the wisdom of the ocean Do the oceans have anything to tell us?

Yes, argues Anders Omstedt.

He has written a book where scientific facts sit side by side with intuition, poetry and photographs of coastal areas – and where the inspiration comes directly from conversations with the ocean itself.

– IN 2050, the population of the world is

estimated to reach 10 billion. Seventy percent are expected to live in cities, where the coastal regions will be even more exploited than they are today. Overfishing and emissions are expected to rise, and in addition we will see acidification and a number of other effects as a consequence of climate change. A new attitude to the oceans should be of the highest priority, and yet the mismanagement of the oceans continue.

Scientists and politicians have talked for decades about the importance of creating a sustainable society. But something

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is missing from the discourse, Anders Omstedt argues.

– Facts are important, but they are not enough to change our behaviour. The analytical thinking and problem-solving ability that is practised within the natural sciences are incredibly important, but the scientific approach must be combined with other sources of knowledge. It is about practising intuition, empathy and self-reflection, in the way that is done in the humanities and art, and then connecting this with the natural sciences. One method of practising this is through dream work, where intuition and analytical thinking open up new lines of thought.

IN HIS BOOK, Anders Omstedt describes how the oceans send pictures to him through dreams, which forces him to listen and try to find new interpretations.

Images in his mind of birds with plastic in their stomachs can be interpreted as a metaphor for the inadequate mental health of our species. But how do you understand a dream about kelp?

– Kelp can grow into dense forests with many biological features and tremendous biodiversity. I interpret the dream as a reminder that human societies can also grow in the same way, with room for many different people in healthy surroundings. It all depends on how we humans cooperate.

Anders Omstedt believes that poems can also increase our understanding of nature. Such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner from

Photo: JOHAN WINGBORG

EVERYBODY LOVES THE SEA. That is where life itself emerged four billion years ago and it is also where we human beings originated and the source of much of what we eat.

– I have always been fascinated by the ocean, tried to understand how it works, what regulates currents and all the varieties of life. The oceans also produce oxygen and absorb carbon, and many of us long to go to the sea when we have time off, Anders Omstedt, Emeritus Professor of Oceanography, observes.

The mismanagement of the oceans increased sharply after the Second World War with increased pollution, over-fertilization, more efficient fishing methods, oil extraction and a chemical industry that spewed out hazardous substances.

That is also when the accumulation of the large quantities of plastic began, which is currently threatening marine life.

Anders Omstedt

1798, which is about a mariner’s agony upon killing an albatross, something that can be likened to what we might feel today about all the plastic that is spreading throughout the oceans.

– We think destructively and have problematic values. One topical example is how people hoarded toilet paper and pasta at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, instead of realising that we need to share our resources. Within the forestry industry, there is a rule that states you have to plant a few new trees for every tree you cut down; that is of course important, but you must not forget to do it in a way that creates harmony in the forest, enabling nature to grow in harmony and people to enjoy being there.

SCIENCE, THE HUMANITIES and art should all cooperate much like a symphony orchestra, says Anders Omstedt.

– Naturally, the different musicians must be skilled in their own instruments,

– People within natural sciences, the humanities and art have a lot to learn from one another, says Anders Omstedt.

but in order to understand the piece they are playing they must also learn about the roles of the other musicians.

In the same way, it is not enough to have interdisciplinary projects where, say, mathematicians, chemists and economists collaborate. Each representative of a discipline must also learn to understand the importance of the other representatives to the joint project.

IT IS THINKING in combination with emotion that gives us knowledge, and provides the conditions for changing our abuse of the oceans, Anders Omstedt points out.

– One important challenge for academic education is to interconnect the natural sciences and the humanities. In her poem, My River Runs to Thee, Emily Dickinson expresses how we all carry the sea within us. Our need for the sea is also

a longing to be part of a greater whole.

Art offers a way of satisfying that longing, just like literature, music and, not least, our own dreams.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photos: Hillevi Nagel

Fakta Anders Omstedt’s book, A Philosophical View of the Ocean and Humanity, is published by Springer Nature. A number of the photographs were taken by Hillevi Nagel.

The book describes the oceans from several scientific perspectives. It emphasises the need to change human behaviour and our relationship with the oceans. It provides unique concepts of how the natural sciences and the humanities can be interconnected in order to achieve behavioural change.

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News People

The medieval Aristotle How do our senses receive information from the outside world?

What do memories and dreams consist of?

And how can we know anything at all?

These were questions for which medieval scholars studied Aristotle in order to obtain answers.

Now, the research programme, Representation and Reality, has been concluded, where linguists and philosophers have collaborated in order to understand, translate and make available medieval interpretations of the great philosopher.

ARISTOTLE LIVED from 384– 322 BCE and was interested in more or less everything that is possible to ponder, such as logic, physics, zoology, langu-

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age, ethics and poetics.

His original writings are not preserved but there are plenty of hand-written copies, which over the centuries after his death were copied, recopied and collected in libraries.

– However, the fall of the Western Roman Empire at the end of the fifth century meant that all this knowledge more or less disappeared. Schools were closed, libraries were scattered and from a situation where all educated Romans spoke Greek, the knowledge of that language was almost wiped from Western European memory, says Christina Thomsen Thörnqvist, Professor of Latin, and Project Manager of the research programme.

However, in the ninth century the interest in Aristotle’s natural philosophy was rekindled, but initially in a different place, in Baghdad.

– All known writings by

If, for exam­ple, we hear a parrot and then see a horse, we conclude that we have misheard, not that there is some­ thing wrong with our ­eyesight.

CHRISTINA THOMSEN THÖRNQVIST

Aristotle were soon translated into Arabic. Translations into Latin, however, were not made until several hundred years later, some of them via Arabic. It was only in 1275 that most of Aristotle’s work was available in Latin. Today, when hostilities between East and West are so prominent, it is both a fascinating and moving realisation that so

In the programme Representation and Reality linguists and philosophers have collaborated in order to understand medieval interpretations of Aristotle.

much of western thought has come from the Muslim world, through exchanges over many hundreds of years that both parties benefited from. For example, it was the Arabs who realised that our sensory perceptions were interpreted in the brain, not the heart, as Aristotle thought. And it was the Persian Avicenna who solved the difficult philosophical problem of whether it is possible to say something about things that do not exist in reality, but still have a designation. The standard example of such an object in the Arabic tradition was the Simurgh, an ancient bird that according to Eastern mythology was the intellectual equal of man.

ONCE ARISTOTLE HAD been

translated into Latin, his writings were studied at the cathedral schools and universities that were being

established in the Middle Ages. At the universities, Artistotle’s natural philosophy was exhaustively discussed and commented on. The research programme has focused on comments concerning Aristotle’s On the Soul and his collection Parva Naturalia, explains Christina Thomsen Törnqvist.

– These works concern perception and cognition, that is, how we perceive and understand the world around us. For example, Aristotle pointed out that all living creatures have abilities that enable them to survive, at least until a reasonable number of them have managed to procreate. That is a concept that lives on in Darwinism. He also explained that there are three types of souls: Plants have a vegetative soul, which enables them to subsist, grow and procreate. Animals also have a sensitive soul that enables them to perceive information about their surroundings. Unique to humans is the rational soul, which we possess in addition to the other two types of souls.

As plants lack a sensitive soul with which to perceive their surroundings, they can neither be awake or asleep, argued Aristotle.

– THIS WAS SOMETHING that

was the subject of animated debate in the Middle Ages, says Christina Thomsen Thörnqvist. Even medieval people could easily see that there was much to suggest that Aristotle was wrong: Certain flowers are able to close in the evening and open again the next day, and the leaves of trees wilt in the autumn in order to regain life when spring arrives. How plants derive information from their surroundings, and the boundary between animals and plants is a subject of interest for researchers to this day.

We obtain knowledge

through our five senses, each of which has a special ability, Aristotle argued. For example, vision is able to perceive colour, and hearing perceives sound.

– Taste was more problematic because we also perceive food in our mouth through our sense of touch.

Furthermore, Aristotle noted that certain organs act as supervisory organs over others: If, for example, we hear a parrot and then see a horse, we conclude that we have misheard, not that there is something wrong with our eyesight.

ARISTOTLE ALSO argued

that vision works through external impressions reaching the eyes. That may appear self-evident today, but many other philosophers in ancient Greece, such as Plato, thought the opposite, that we see objects when rays emitted from our eyes hit those objects.

Sensory perceptions constitute the very foundation of human knowledge; memory and dreams cannot, for example, include anything that has not, at least at some point, existed in the material world, according to Aristotle.

– But we are able to put things together in imaginative ways, such as dreaming of a mountain of gold; both mountains and gold exist in reality, but we combine the two things ourselves, using our imagination, phantasia.

But why do we believe our dreams while we are asleep, even though they can involve something that is patently untrue, and how can we sleepwalk, when all our senses have shut down? These were some of the questions to which medieval scholars looked for answers from Aristotle.

–Aristotle was the foremost authority and sometimes he would be reinterpreted to fit the worldview at the time,

Christina Thomsen Thörnqvist tells us. Precognitive dreams constitute one such example; as these were generally accepted as true in the Middle Ages, they interpreted Aristotle as if he had also believed them somehow, which he very clearly did not.

THE RESEARCH programme Representation and Reality commenced in 2013, with funding from “Riksbankens Jubileumsfond” (RJ). Eightteen specialists in Greek, Latin and Arabic Aristotelianism, as well as modern philosophers, have been part of the programme.

– The fact that RJ invests in what nowadays is frequently called “slow research”, which in this case was allowed to take as much as seven years, is amazing, Christina Thomsen Thörnqvist points out.

The researchers faced several challenges throughout the course of the project, such as deciphering medieval manuscripts with a host of difficult-to-decipher abbreviations, and determining what the original manuscript might have looked like, when all you have access to are copies full of clerical errors, changes and additions. The endeavour has required considerable collaboration between specialists in philosophy and history of philosophy, and philologists with knowledge of Greek, Latin and Arabic, as well as textual criticism.

THE RESEARCH programme has led to five major conferences and 23 workshops, attended by more than 130 researchers from 24 countries. The project has generated more than 100 publications. For example, the research team has jointly written three books that have been submitted to publishers. The programme has put the University of Gothenburg firmly on the map as a leading international environment within history of

philosophy and classical languages – something that has also benefited our education programmes.

– The programme has resulted in a new master’s programme, Ancient and Medieval Philosophy and Classical Philology, and a completely new doctoral programme, as well as enriching the Liberal Arts bachelor’s programme, where researchers in philosophy and classical languages collaborate with neurophysiologists and cognition researchers. And the studies of the Middle Ages’ interpretation of Aristotle will continue.

New research projects have started at the department that are spin-off projects from the research program. One is a collaboration with the University of Copenhagen on translation of Greek and Latin texts, funded by the Riksbanken’s Jubilee Fund, and another on the Middle Ages’ theories in the Latin and Arabic tradition of different types of delusions.

Text: Eva Lundgren Photo: Johan Wingborg

Facts The research programme, Representation and Reality:­Historical and Contemporary Perspectives on the Aristotelian Tradition, commenced in 2013 and has recently been completed.

The aim has been to use critical editions to make available previously unpublished medieval works on perception and cognition, based on Aristotle’s writings, as well as to investigate how the Greek, Latin and Arabic interpretations have influenced one another.

The programme was funded by RJ, 18 researchers participated and the project manager was Christina Thomsen Thörnqvist, Professor of Latin.

A popular science book about the project can be found at the Riksbank website: https://www.rj.se/ Publikationer/RJs-skriftserie/.

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T Momhe e nt

Ögonblicket

Where? Who? When?

Tjärnö Marine Laboratory, northern • Bohuslän.

• Eduardo Infantes, researcher at the

In short Eduardo Infantes works in an eelgrass planting project. Eelgrass is an important growth environment for fish fry, but also helps to keep carbon and nitrogen in place in sediments under the grass. Photo: Johan Wingborg

Department of Marine Sciences.

• June 16, 2020.

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GUJOURNAL SUMMER 2020