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Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) The Mars Camera CaSSIS on the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured its first images of the Red Planet this week.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Colonies of the Eastern honey bee, the original host of parasitic Varroa destructor mites, survive infestations that are fatal to Western honey bees.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) In colorectal cancer, the presence of invasive tumor cells at the advancing edge of the tumor can provide valuable information on prognosis.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Ingredients crucial for the origin of life on Earth, including the simple amino acid glycine and phosphorus, key components of DNA and cell membranes, have been discovered at Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. The possibility that water and organic molecules were brought to the early Earth through impacts of objects like asteroids and comets have long been the subject of important debate.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) When consumers deliberately attack a brand with the objective of causing harm to it, this is known as «consumer brand sabotage». Marketing researchers at the University of Bern have examined this phenomenon in more detail, identified backgrounds and motives of brand sabotage and present initial countermeasures.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Astrophysicists at the University of Bern have modelled the evolution of the putative planet in the outer solar system.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Variation in social organization and behavior of of highly social animals like cichlids is primarily explained by predation risk and related ecological factors.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Paracetamol did not show any clinically relevant efficacy in the most comprehensive analysis of pain relievers among patients with knee and hip osteoarthritis to date. In contrast, the medicine diclofenac is more effective than many newer pain relievers on the market.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) A camera designed and built at the Center of Space and Habitability (CSH) of the University of Bern was launched with the ExoMars space on 14 March and started its journey to Mars.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) We do not always say what we think: we like to hide certain prejudices, sometimes even from ourselves. But unconscious prejudices become visible with tests, because we need a longer time if we must associate unpleasant things with positive terms.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Japanese Encephalitis (JE) virus causes serious inflammation of the brain in people and fertility problems in pigs. Mosquitoes were previously the only known transmission route. However, the virus can also be spread from pig to pig by direct, and this could enable it to circulate in pigs during the mosquito-free winter season.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) Researchers from Bern, England and Australia have observed the "Princess of Lake Tanganyika" cichlid in territorial conflicts and made an astonishing discovery; the conflicts distract the animals from their surrounding environments to such an extent that they notice lurking dangers only very late - yet the fish have a strategy which saves their lives: instead of trying to escape from predators, they defend themselves.

The biggest surprise so far in the chemical analysis of Comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko's atmosphere is the high proportion of oxygen molecules. While such molecules are common in the earth's atmosphere, their presence on comets had originally been ruled out. Early on in the mission of the ROSINA mass spectrometer, in September of last year, researchers from the Center for Space and Habitability (CSH) at the University of Bern made an unexpected discovery when analyzing the comet's gases: Between the expected peak values of sulfur and methanol, clear traces of oxygen (O2) molecules were detected.

Large volcanic eruptions inject considerable amounts of sulphur in the stratosphere which, once converted into aerosols, block sun rays and tend to cool the surface of the Earth down for several years. An international team of researchers has just developed a method to accurately measure and simulate the induced drop in temperature.

Research performed at the University of Bern indicates that animals beyond Homo sapiens consider the value of previously received help when deciding whether to help a social partner. Reciprocal exchange of services and commodities among conspecifics is common, and has been observed for instance in primates, vampire bats and rats.

When ice is warmed, the water molecules forming its structure vibrate more and more vigorously until finally the forces between them are no longer strong enough to hold them together - the ice melts and turns into liquid water. Quantum physics predicts that similar phenomena can be observed if the quantum mechanical fluctuations of the particles in a material can be altered.

Children breastfed for four months or more have better lung function values at school age than children who were not breastfed. On the face of it, things are simple: breastfeeding has many benefits for newborns, for mothers and for society. But a few years ago, data from the United States was published suggesting that for children of asthmatic mothers, being breastfed increased their risk of developing asthma later in life.

Researchers measured that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light, nature's cosmic speed limit. This is a result of t he OPERA experiment which observes neutrino beams from CERN 730 km away at a Laboratory near Rome. The OPERA result is based on the observation of over 15000 neutrino events measured at Gran Sasso, and appears to indicate that the neutrinos travel at a velocity 20 parts per million above the speed of light, nature's cosmic speed limit.

Annual-resolved European summer climate has, for the first time ever, been reconstructed over the past 2,500 years. Tree rings reveal possible links between past climate variability and changes in human history. Climate change coincided with periods of socioeconomic, cultural and political turmoil associated with the Barbarian Migrations, the Black Death and Thirty Years' War.

Switzerland deals flexibly and pragmatically with plurilingualism. It does this successfully. Nevertheless, immigration and increasing international integration are posing new challenges to schools, economy and administration.