COLLABORATION. How does hair grow? Does the plague still exist? Why do people lose teeth? These were some of the many questions that eager third-graders put to the expert panel of doctors, dentists and nurses during the International Science Festival.
About 50 children came to the Arvid Carlsson lecture theater at Medicinareberget to speak with four specialists on the panel. This was Sahlgrenska Academy’s and Sahlgrenska University Hospital’s first event on the program during the International Science Festival.
The questions came at a steady stream as raised hands waved frenetically. Several questions revolved around cancer: why do you get it, how many children have cancer, how dangerous is it and why do people lose their hair?
Moderator Carl Johan Behre, cardiologist at Stockholm University (SU) and associate professor of medicine at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, made drawings and explained. The cells, which are the body’s building blocks, “much like LEGO pieces,” divide and form new cells. The body then takes care of the cells that are bad and eats them up.
“Bonk! Sometimes, though, one of the bad cells is big and strong and starts to divide haphazardly, suppressing the other cells and destroying them.”
And he goes on to say that although most people think that cancer is a horrible word, almost all children who contract cancer get well today.
Elisabeth Flygare, a nurse anesthetist at SU, “who makes sure that people sleep well during operations,” got to answer questions about why people menstruate and what diabetes is, while Cajsa Fabricius, a lecturer in the Department of Cariology, Institute of Odontology, was overjoyed by the question about why people get cavities in their teeth.
“My favorite subject,” she exclaimed, and described how bacteria eat the sugar you eat and then excrete an acid that destroys teeth.
The kids looked really disgusted.
“The only way to starve the bacteria is to not eat sweets all the time. If you’re going to eat candy, eat it all at once and then brush your teeth,” she continued.
Karin Fasth, a medical intern who brought along her 10-week-old baby, Ebba, discussed what abdominal migraine is and explained how hair grows from a hair follicle, “just like a blade of grass.”
In all, almost 200 children came to the three rounds of the “Ask the Doctor” event, which now has become a tradition during the Science Festival. Especially for Carl Johan Behre, who has been both a panel participant and moderator for many years.
“It’s fun. If there’s anything that I, as a teacher and a parent of four children, want to encourage, it’s curiosity. It comes naturally to children, and if you can preserve their curiosity, that’s the most important motivator for learning, research and development.”
He thinks the kids at the day’s first session were unusually focused and inquisitive.
“Questions that come up time and time again are those about cancer. Children often have someone close to them who has cancer and are thinking a lot about the issue. Children are very existential in their nature,” he says.
Elisabeth Flygare, who took part for the first time and had to jump in on extremely short notice, also appreciated the meeting with the children.
“If I can help children gain a positive view of the health care system and lead some of them to pursue a career in health care in the future, I am glad to do it,” she says.
TEXT AND PHOTO: KATARINA HALLINGBERG/SAHLGRENSKA UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
