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Photo: Jussi Hellsten / Helsinki Partners

The majority of young Helsinki residents transition directly from comprehensive school to secondary education. More young people are now primarily applying to upper secondary education, while certain vocational programs remain popular. However, there are socioeconomic and regional disparities in the educational paths of young people in Helsinki. These findings are based on the new statistical publication "Youth Education in Helsinki - Path from Comprehensive School Forward" by the City Executive Office.

Customer heading to the acute reception at Kivela health center. LEHTIKUVA

The crisis in primary health care in Finland is leading to an increase in the use of private health insurance, particularly in the last year. A recent report shows that the use of private health insurance in the country has reached pre-pandemic levels, with a growth rate of over 90% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, especially in relation to flu-related health expenses.

Alpha-synuclein accumulation in a nerve cell. (Image: Timo Myöhänen's research group.)

Parkinson's disease is a debilitating disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. While the disease has been studied for over 200 years, its cause remains unknown. However, researchers at the University of Helsinki have made a significant breakthrough by identifying certain strains of Desulfovibrio bacteria as the probable cause of Parkinson's disease in most cases.

A female and male coworker at a meeting.

The EU Council has adopted new rules to combat pay discrimination and help close the gender pay gap in the EU.

Under the pay transparency directive, EU companies will be required to share information about how much they pay women and men for work of equal value and take action if their gender pay gap exceeds 5 per cent.

The Finnish family-owned company Fredman Group Oy has developed new airplane meal trays and boxes in cooperation with Finnair. These Nordic wood fiber-based cardboard trays are already partly in use and will be fully introduced in economy class this spring. Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Finnair will also introduce a new menu. Thanks to the new packaging, Finnair will cut back on single-use plastics by 39 tonnes (*).

We are anticipating a busy end of the year for parcel and letter deliveries. E-commerce continues to grow, and international shopping days Singles’ Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the busiest time for parcel deliveries. Posti also delivers Christmas greetings abroad, and they need to be sent out soon.

”Christmas is the time for caring, and we at Posti want to deliver people’s greetings to each other.

European Union Youth Orchestra. Photo: Peter Adamik

Innovative side by side activities with young Finnish musicians, open rehearsals, community performances across Helsinki and a cultural debate: this is the Helsinki Community Day, dedicated to reach diverse groups of people in the city of Helsinki, which hosts the musicians during their first orchestral residency in Finland. There are three main series of events which will happen throughout the day, all supporting the EUYO's focus on new and young audiences:

Vaccine development. LEHTIKUVA / AFP

For a normal person, the loops, kinks and folds in the single strand of RNA that makes up the coronavirus genome might look like a bowl of spaghetti. However, to researchers like Amanda Hargrove, who is a chemistry professor at Duke University, the complex shaped RNA had untapped therapeutic potential in the fight against COVID-19. Hargrove and her colleagues had identified chemical compounds that could latch onto these 3D structures and block the virus's ability to replicate.