'Real' Swedish TV-series won prize
The Swedish TV-series ”Äkta människor” (”Real Humans”), won the prestigious Prix Italia for best TV drama in the series and serials category. The series also won the Special Prize from the Students’ jury, in the 65th edition of the awards. The first season of ”Äkta människor” has already been sold to over 50 countries, according to SVT, and the second season is due to start on Swedish television in December. The science fiction series plays out in a parallel present where the artificial human has come into its own. Robots no longer have anything robot-like about them. New technology and advancements in the field of science have made it possible to manufacture a product - a kind of mechanized servant - that is so similar to a real human that it can often be considered a perfectly good substitute. The Human Robot (HUBOT) has also given rise to new problems and dilemmas. Who's responsible for the actions of a Hubot, do they have rights and what does being human really mean.

New Swedish study: Tick bites cause meat allergy
Swedish researchers have found the cause to why patients develop allergic symptoms from eating meat – tick bites. Nettle rash, stomach problems, and difficulties breathing - those are some of the symptoms that may affect the person who is allergic to meat. But until now nobody knew what caused the meat allergy. With the help of four years of clinical tests, Marianne van Hage, Professor of Clinical Immunology at the Karolinska Institute and senior physician at the Karolinska University Hospital, and her colleagues have found that tick bites may be the root of the problem, according to daily DN. ”We discovered three cases in 2009. Now we have nearly 50 patients where we have found a meat allergy connected to tick bites,” says Maria Starkhammar, senior physician, and allergy specialist at Södersjukhuset, to DN. The patients get nettle rash from eating red meat and pork- and lamb meat, but many also get redness and swelling of the face, as well as stomach problems such as nausea, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. The connection with tick bites could be clarified by researchers by identifying antibodies in the patient against the carbohydrate alpha-gal, which can be found in the gut of the tick. This carbohydrate can also be found in meat.

Award for the fight against chemical weapons
Four people share this year's Right Livelihood Award, a prestigious international award to those "working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today". ”All four represent the award’s basic idea,” says Ole von Uexkull, director of the Right Livelihood foundation. One of the recipients is American Paul Walker: ”He has shown that there’s a political process and technical solution to entirely eliminate chemical weapons. If we follow his idea, the world could be free of chemical weapons in ten years,” says von Uexkull. The other recipients are Denis Mukwege (from the Democratic Republic of Congo), because of his work in treating rape victims, Palestinian Raji Sourani for his efforts as a human rights lawyer in the Gaza Strip, and Hans Rudolf Herren from Switzerland, for his work in safeguarding a sustainable global food supply. The four recipients receive 500,000 SEK ($78,000) each, and the award ceremony will be held in the Swedish Parliament on December 2. The Right Livelihood foundation was founded in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and the awards that are presented annually, are often referred to as ”Alternative Nobel Prizes”. For more information: www.rightlivelihood.org