Welcome to Anna’s Diary

December is always such an intense month for me. The month when I have extra care for friends and family. A big event for me in 2025 was that I changed jobs. After many years in the same company, it was a big step. My former colleagues still want to be my friends, and I am pleased about that.

When I worked in Gothenburg many years ago, I made a new friend from Sri Lanka. We left our jobs at about the same time there. She traveled to the UK, and I visited her many times. We visited the White Cliffs of Dover, among other places. Our friendship remains, and I got to meet her family on my birthday in Stockholm between Christmas and New Year. Cold and a lot of snow. The opposite of Sri Lanka.

Her sister’s children gave me such nice presents, as you can see below. They certainly understand that I like dogs! A perfect end to my year 2025, which has been in the sign of art. I wish I also had a talent for drawing. However, I compensate for this loss by using my camera instead.

I was surprised by such a nice birthday cake. While we munched on it, we discussed the pros and cons of using medicine to lower our blood fats. This day was an exception. Next year is a new year with new opportunities, we reasoned. Changing your diet for three months. It can do wonders for avoiding cholesterol-lowering medicine like statins.

Today it’s snowing heavily. Perfect day to be at home and read and write. My years in Gothenburg gave me great friends. A little bit of Gothenburg is also in Stockholm at Christmas time. I have found a shop where I can buy the coveted secret gingerbread cookies that you order already in the summer in Gothenburg. I remember that the recipe is even locked in a safe deposit box.

I hope that the unrest in the world subsides in 2026. I am looking forward to traveling to Nepal and visiting another friend that I also made in Gothenburg over the years at the Department of Pharmacology.

Wishing you a start of 2026 ✨

I am fascinated by time as part of my consciousness. That a year feels like a second. I am browsing through my photos from the past year. Trump’s trade tariffs have affected global trade and thus also our everyday lives. A major change is needed in Europe and we must rise up and strengthen ourselves towards the East and the West. I sincerely hope that Europe is not relegated to the waiting room when Trump negotiates with Russia and Volodymyr Zelenskyy. There must be a military-political balance for a stable peace. Intelligence services in various countries report that there is a risk of Russia attacking a NATO country within a few years. Which country?

My second destination this year after the USA was France. “We will never stop defending peace” I read in the French news. Now people have almost forgotten that the Nazis actually occupied Paris in the 1940s. Is it Vladimir Putin’s goal to write himself into history in the world’s books? I listen to the news, follow various analyses and try to understand what is happening.

It is now Christmas month December, and we are tired of wars that are far away but yet so palpably close. Christmas is here and I hope it will be a nice traditional weekend of recovery and Christmas peace. My thoughts are on 2026. I am working and getting technical help with this site. A little change is going on, and I am also looking forward to a trip to Kathmandu in the fall of 2026. In addition, I also wish that 2026 ends with more answers than questions.

The first snow came today and I really needed it. I am still in the fall, September somewhere, and I cannot understand that there are less than two weeks left until the first Advent. That means I need to get some Christmas decorations to brighten up December. I was looking for a nice Christmas song yesterday to get into the right mood, and I found this one by chance. So cozy!

Corruption here and there. Sweden has provided aid to SIDA. It has now been shown that it has directly supported Hamas. What a circus! Direct help on the spot and no intermediaries is the best way to support. I remember being appalled that Hamas had attacked an Israeli music festival (the Re’im music festival massacre) which claimed many lives in 2023. Music and sport unite people across borders. I remember it hurt my heart. It was just as if Vladmir Putin had a hand in the attack.

Exercise is a good way to get rid of frustration. I have tried to exercise moderately for a few weeks. Allowed myself to watch TV and not have a bad conscience about that I should be jogging. Professor Fredrik Nyström in Linköping has made me think about the word “moderation”. That tough training causes injuries. After reflecting, I would like to learn the opinion of Professor Markus Heilig, who is an authority in addiction research in Linköping. Nyström does not take into account the potentially serious development of addiction to, for example, wine consumption. There is a lot going on in Linköping. Moreover on the military-political level. After Volodymyr Zelensky was in Norway, he stopped by in Linköping and met Ulf Christersson. An agreement on the JAS plane was the result of their meeting.

After these weeks I will return to my usual training. It is my life. I gain joy, strength and do not crave chocolate as much. My eating habits are becoming healthier. My reward systems are in balance. I have participated in the Stockholm Marathon twice and remember them with pleasure. Running is addictive and can cause injuries.

Winter time is here and dark evenings. Normal time. I will continue to read and share some music from time to time. Here Clocks with Coldplay. Last time´s writing was six months of thinking, I have had a little break. Take care of yourself.

When I wrote my previous book “Generations”, I had read a lot of literature and up-to-date in biology in many areas, not just neuroscience. My knowledge in science was combined with my humanistic interest. When I finished my thesis in 2004, I needed a few years to gain perspective. I have experienced the same when I finished “Generations” in 2018.

Today, there are a few diseases where you find specific mutations associated with the disease. Alzheimer’s disease (An overview of the genes and biomarkers in Alzheimer’s disease) and also breast cancer (Understanding genetic variations associated with familial breast cancer) are examples where underlying mutations have been identified that are linked to the development of the disease. This is a complex area where interaction with environmental factors also plays a role. The theme of my next book is therefore epigenetics.

Here, I thought, artificial intelligence (AI) must play a major role in understanding the interaction of genes with environmental factors. After mail correspondence with Dr Lidströmer, a prominent medical doctor and researcher in AI, I realized that we have already come a long way (see eg https://link.springer.com/referencework/10.1007/978-3-030-64573-1#overview Thanks for new inspiration. With this insight, I understood that my future book will entirely be a novel.

It also made sense when I visited the Henri Matisse exhibition in Nice, France. Everything fell into place. I was reminded of Aristotle (4th century BCE), whose ideas later were expanded upon by the English philosopher John Locke in the 1700s. Locke believed that one is born as a blank slate, a tabula rasa. Human common sense is empty when one is born but is filled through experience and knowledge, among other things.

In the 17th century, people had little or no knowledge about genes. Perhaps they understood that diseases could be inherited within families. At least in the 19th century, it was  understood that hemophilia could be inherited because it was spread within the royal houses of Europe (see eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haemophilia_in_European_royalty). Today, we know that there is a hereditary component in Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer. Average life expectancy has increased dramatically, which has certainly affected epidemiology.

To return to AI, it will certainly help  processing the large amount of information about genes and mutations that we have today. Interestingly, questions also arise about what is human because a computer can be trained to solve a task through machine learning. A computer is in a sense a blank slate but can be can be trained over time.

Well, I still write everything myself. There will probably be some reading in philosophy for me after delving into my own memory. It is difficult not to write something that someone else has already written. Painters Matisse, Chagall and Picasso have given me new impressions and led me on a new path.

I feel grateful that I can still write and want to write.

My friend, who had also registered for the Tjejmilen 2025, had unfortunately gotten an injury when she was about to increase her training. Injuries happen, and that is absolutely not fun. In that case, it is better to refrain from participating. Usually, it takes time to heal.

The day before the race, I resumed a habit from previously. I visited a spa and received a facial treatment. It is important to take care of yourself and at the same time find I found some peace before the race. In addition, the past week I had trained extra and I felt that my legs needed rest.

As usual, I prepared my training clothes the night before so that I was all set for the start day. The weather was good. No rain. Once at the start, I realized that I had forgotten the wonderful feeling when you wait for your turn to jogging and then have sights set on the finish line. The tingling and eager feeling was there, and I had the opportunity to take some selfies.

A few weeks before, I had found a good way to train intervals that is very hard but so effective. I already know core and strength training. Today I have a little soreness, but above all, I have tools to continue in the same spirit in September. I feel like I have taken a little step, but it is still a long way from the fitness I had in 2020.

Yesterday, there were also music along the course. Music and cheers gave more energy. Music ensembles along the way lightened the mood. Something like this below: It ain´t over 🎶 🎶

Exercise and movement are fun. I have participated in a few races over the years, and it is primarily the joy of experience that drives me. People gather under festive conditions with the same interest. The goal is to move forward with great focus and determination. My reward system is stimulated, and I get a feeling of well-being. The brain reward system is stimulated by exercise. Interestingly, drugs such as nicotine and alcohol can also stimulate the brain reward system where dopamine is a common denominator.

At the time I was studying the reward systems, I read about results from a research group in Stockholm at the Karolinska Institute (Brené et al). Exercise is not only rewarding but also has an antidepressant effect: Running is rewarding and antidepressive. Moreover, exercise and movement have measurable effects on cardiovascular health. Parameters such as blood pressure, blood sugar, blood fat profile, and reduced inflammation levels are improved. What really supports this is a dose-response correlation. The more we move, the greater the health effects. Please see: https://www.aftonbladet.se/a/W0zJ8d. From a pharmacological perspective, a dose-response can appear differently, with a linear or, for example, a biphasic relationship. I need to find the exact reference to find out the shape of this correlation.

Today is the check-in for the 2025 Ladies’ 10 km run. It is good to be registered for a race because it makes me go jogging a little extra. This will be my fifth Ladies’ running. I am happy to have started jogging again, and I expect to continue even in autumn and winter since exercise is perishable. There are many pointers when it comes to diet and training, but the most important thing for me is that it provides well-being and happiness!