news

A sensitive perception of the environment is crucial for guiding our behavior. However, an overly sensitive response of the brain's neural circuits to stimuli can lead to neurodevelopmental disorders such as epilepsy. University of Basel researchers report in the journal Nature how neuronal networks in the mouse brain are fine-tuned.

A high-profile study made headlines in 2023 stating that the scientific and innovation system is producing less and less completely new knowledge. Researchers at the University of Basel are now refuting this claim, at least for patents: It is based on a measurement error. The discovery of mRNA in the 1960s was groundbreaking.

Microplastic particles can be found in the most remote ocean regions on earth. In Antarctica, pollution levels are even higher than previously assumed. This is one finding of a recent study involving researchers from the University of Basel. It's not the first study on microplastics in Antarctica that researchers from the University of Basel and the Alfred-Wegener Institute (AWI) have conducted.

A free throw in basketball will have every eye glued to one person. It's an intensely stressful situation. A research team led by the University of Basel studied whether a friendly tap on the shoulder increases the odds of making a shot. In difficult situations, physical touch like a hug or a pat on the back can reduce stress.

The approval of marijuana for medical use has had little effect on the mental health of the general population in the US. But legalization for therapeutic purposes does benefit those for whom it is intended. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Basel. In the US, access to marijuana has been facilitated in most states since the mid-1990s - whether through medical clearance or through decriminalization of recreational use.

When crops grow in arsenic-contaminated soil, this toxic element accumulates in the food chain. A study involving the University of Basel has now discovered a mechanism used by corn plants to reduce arsenic uptake: the key factor is a special substance released into the soil by the roots. Arsenic is a toxic metalloid of natural origin.

A researcher at the University of Basel, in collaboration with a colleague in Austria, has developed a new model that provides a holistic view on how our brain manages to learn quickly and forms stable, long-lasting memories. Their study sheds light on the crucial role of interactions among neighboring contact sites of nerve cells for brain plasticity - the brain's ability to adapt to new experiences.

Should I invest my money with a small chance of big returns? Or is it better to pick investments that promise a series of modest returns? A psychologist from the University of Basel conducted a scientific experiment to study when people prefer certain types of investments. When a company first goes public on the stock exchange, the corresponding securities are referred to as IPO (initial public offering) shares.

A stem cell donation saves a leukemia sufferer's life. Five years later, the patient develops a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that occurs very rarely following a transplant. Researchers from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel havestudied the case and are calling for more extensive genetic analyses in bone marrow donors.

Anyone who wants to produce medication, plastics or fertilizer using conventional methods needs heat for chemical reactions - but not so with photochemistry, where light provides the energy. The process to achieve the desired product also often takes fewer intermediate steps. Researchers from the University of Basel are now going one step further and are demonstrating how the energy efficiency of photochemical reactions can be increased tenfold.

Contrary to common belief, not all vertebrates regulate their sleep-wake rhythm in the same way. University of Basel researchers have discovered that some fish - unlike humans - do not need orexin to stay awake. This molecule was thought to be necessary for normal wake and sleep rhythms in vertebrates.

Deep neural networks have achieved remarkable results across science and technology, but it remains largely unclear what makes them work so well. A new study sheds light on the inner workings of deep learning models that learn from relational datasets, such as those found in biological and social networks.

A team at the Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB) and the University of Basel is hunting for the causes of hereditary retinal diseases.

Climate changes usually happens over long periods of time, but during the last glacial period, extreme fluctuations in temperature occurred within just a few years. Researchers at the University of Basel have now been able to prove the phenomenon also occurred during the penultimate glacial period. In recent geological history, the so-called Quaternary period, there have been repeated ice ages and warm periods.

Fighting disease-causing bacteria becomes more difficult when antibiotics stop working. People with pre-existing conditions in particular can carry resistant germs and suffer from repeated infections for years, according to a study by the University and University Hospital of Basel. Pneumonia, urinary tract infections, sepsis: diseases like these can become fatal without antibiotics.

Researchers at the Universities of Basel and Zurich have discovered the genetic material of the pathogen Treponema pallidum in the bones of people who died in Brazil 2,000 years ago. This is the oldest verified discovery of this pathogen thus far, and it proves that humans were suffering from diseases akin to syphilis - known as treponematoses - long before Columbus's discovery of America.

Researchers at the University of Basel have built a quantum memory element based on atoms in a tiny glass cell. In the future, such quantum memories could be mass-produced on a wafer. It is hard to imagine our lives without networks such as the internet or mobile phone networks. In the future, similar networks are planned for quantum technologies that will enable the tap-proof transmission of messages using quantum cryptography and make it possible to connect quantum computers to each other.

Unknown germs are a common occurrence in hospitals. Researchers at the University of Basel have spent many years collecting and analyzing them. They have identified many new species of bacteria, some of which are significant for clinical practice. Bacterial infections can be treated more efficiently if the cause of the disease is known.

For children, the world is full of surprises. Adults, on the other hand, are much more difficult to surprise. And there are complex processes behind this apparently straightforward state of affairs. Researchers at the University of Basel have been using mice to decode how reactions to the unexpected develop in the growing brain.

Artificial intelligence (AI) can reliably detect emotions based on facial expressions in psychotherapeutic situations. These are the findings of a feasibility study by researchers from the Faculty of Psychology and the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) at the University of Basel. The AI system is also able to reliably predict therapeutic success in patients with borderline personality pathology.