Is it safe to eat genetically modified food? Does genetically modified food taste differently from ordinary food? Does wild and genetically modified salmon differ in appearance? These were a few questions discussed at a dialogue event on 7 December, organised by VA and Uppsala University. The public met with three GMO (genetically modified organisms) researchers who…

How do I prevent my kids and myself from developing asthma? Is it something genetic? How can researchers and patients work together in order to find better treatments? These were a few questions discussed at a dialogue event on 19th October, organised by VA, the Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish Asthma and Allergy Association. The public…

Could people be made smarter by injecting stem cells into their brains? Should humans be cloned? These were a few of the questions discussed when school students met with researchers at a dialogue event in Stockholm arranged by VA and Karolinska Institutet (KI, an medical university) on 12th October. Ola Hermanson and Johan Holmberg, two…

VA-Report 2011:2 The Swedish government has clearly stated that it is the duty of a university to collaborate with the surrounding society, to inform people about its research results and to work to ensure that its research is also of use to society. “I högskolornas uppgift ska ingå att samverka med det omgivande samhället och informera om sin…

VA-Report 2011:1 a summary     This is a summary of the results of a web survey on Swedish public confidence in researchers performed in December 2010.   You’ll find the full report in Swedish here.

VA Report 2010:6 Mixed attitudes to research Confidence in researchers is on the decline. An increasing number of Swedes believe that astrology is a science. At the same time, confidence in the ability of research to slow climate change and increase economic growth in Sweden is strengthening. These are a few of the results from VA’s annual…

VA Report 2010:4 For the knowledge society to become a reality, its citizens must be interested and engaged in the production of knowledge – that is, in science and research. How people view knowledge, research and researchers is therefore of vital importance not only for the research community but also for society as a whole. The Swedish non-profit…

Businesses need new knowledge in order to innovate, develop and become successful. But how should these new ideas be obtained and by whom? These were the key questions discussed at an interactive seminar, organised by the Swedish association VA (Public & Science) on July 5 as part of 2010 EuroScience Open Forum in Turin, Italy….