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As we age, our cells lose the ability to effectively eliminate the waste products they produce. This degeneration has serious consequences as it can cause inflammation and dysfunction throughout the body. A team of scientists at the University of Freiburg has now discovered that a specific drug treatment can alleviate this condition by stimulating a mechanism called mitophagy .

Paleontologists lack the fossils they need to trace the evolutionary history of the Amazon region, a region characterized by unparalleled biodiversity. By exploiting data from a site known for over a century, Juan Carrillo, a researcher at the University of Fribourg, and his colleagues from other institutions, have made exceptional discoveries that shed new light on this little-known past .

A recent study sheds light on why a proven treatment for lung cancer sometimes fails to work after a certain period of time. These new insights into changes in the immune system could make it possible to treat more patients with existing, highly effective drug therapies . Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death.

According to Cope's rule, today's animal species are on average larger than older species of the same genus. A large-scale study led by a researcher at the University of Fribourg has just demonstrated that this is not the case in turtles . Paleontologists have noticed that, in the course of their evolution, certain species tend to get bigger and bigger.

Preventing the transmission of microbial infections is a global issue. This is especially true in environments where bacteria are easily transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces. A research team led by the University of Freiburg has developed an antimicrobial coating that reduces the bacterial population by a factor of up to 10,000 within minutes .

Even in total darkness, everyone is able to bring a bottle of water to their lips. A feat made possible by a kind of sixth sense that supplements sight: proprioception. Proprioception allows us to perceive the position of our limbs in space. Neuroscientists from the University of Freiburg have highlighted the key role played by certain neurons in the somatosensory cortex.

Some animals do not need a brain to be able to learn. This is what Professor Simon Sprecher of the University of Freiburg has revealed in a study that has just been published. With his team, the biologist taught a sea anemone to adapt its behavior according to past experiences . We spontaneously associate the faculties of learning and memorization with the existence of a brain.

Islands are biodiversity hotspots and are home to animal species with unique characteristics, including dwarf specimens, which have evolved to very small sizes compared to their mainland relatives, and giants. An international study now reports that these species are at higher risk of extinction. The findings are supported by software developed by Daniele Silvestro of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) at the University of Fribourg.

Scientists from the Adolphe Merkle Institute and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, USA) have developed a flexible robot, inspired by earthworms, that can squeeze into small spaces and move in all directions regardless of the surface . Soft robots with worm-like mechanical properties and shape can, in principle, move over rough terrain and into tight spaces inaccessible to other robots.

Treating post-traumatic stress disorder with EMDR has been proven to be effective, but the mechanisms behind this therapeutic technique remain poorly understood. Three researchers from the University of Freiburg suspect that working memory plays a crucial role . A person who has been assaulted is at high risk of experiencing psychological trauma.

Watching suspenseful TV series with cliffhangers before going to sleep has only minor effects on sleep. That's what scientists at the University of Freiburg have shown. The study reveals what happens in our brains when we sleep after a binge-watching session . Does binge-watching suspenseful TV series before going to sleep have a real impact on our sleep? This is the question that Professors Björn Rasch and Andreas Fahr from the University of Fribourg asked themselves in a project entitled 'Excessive Media Use in Times of Netflix', funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

When children's sleep patterns are altered by external factors, this can have consequences. This is the conclusion of a study from the University of Freiburg, which analyzed the sleep of children during the pandemic and their behavior six months later . The confinement of spring 2020 clearly affected the sleep of babies and young children.

A large-scale analysis of Madagascar's unique biodiversity has just been conducted with the participation of over 50 international organizations. Madagascar is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, with 82% of its plant species and 90% of its vertebrates found nowhere else on Earth. The results of the study, which rely on AI-based tools developed by Daniele Silvestro of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics and his team at the University of Fribourg, were published in two papers in the journal Science.

Laughter is a form of vocal communication that can interfere with speech: who hasn't had a fit of laughter that prevented them from speaking? Thanks to functional imaging, a research team from the University of Fribourg was able to locate the areas of the brain in which these two systems interact. The results highlight the importance of brain stem circuits for the control of laughter .

Since Darwin, we have known that evolutionary adaptation is reflected in the appearance and function of species' bodies under environmental changes. One of the questions commonly asked by evolutionary biologists is how body shape relates to a specific ecological feature, such as diet. In a recent study published in the journal Evolution , Guilherme Hermanson and his team at the University of Freiburg looked at the environmental factors that affect the shape of turtle skulls.

Using more than 25'000 satellite images, Andrew Tedstone and Horst Machguth, two researchers from the University of Freiburg, have observed that the runoff of water from the melting of the Greenland ice sheet has increased significantly in recent years. This phenomenon, caused by global warming, contributes to a 1 mm rise in sea level each year .

The molecule responsible for the cork taste in wine can now be clearly detected: With the newly developed sensor, the most common wine defect can already be detected in traces. Other potential applications include the detection of pesticides and explosives. This is shown in a recently published study by researchers at the University of Freiburg with the support of the University of Bordeaux.

On July 1, 1996, the law on equality became part of the Swiss Constitution. 18 years later, the balance sheet shows that many improvements are still to be made, especially in the world of work.

The brains of bilingual people do not differ in their structure, but are capable of developing differentiated strategies according to the demands placed on them by particular contexts.

Something went wrong when gluing something? No problem. Researchers have developed a polymer structure which is capable of reversibly gluing materials together using nothing but light.