science wire

How does fine dust aggregate into building blocks that ultimately form entire planets like our Earth? A research team led by the University of Bern, with the participation of ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has provided the first experimental evidence - obtained during parabolic flights in zero gravity - that a key physical process, known as shear-flow instability, actually occurs under conditions similar to those in planet formation regions.

New research from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern sheds light on why most people believe that women and men differ in their personalities and skills. The team evaluated data from various countries at two points in time: 1995 and 2023. This study reveals that the strength of the stereotypical beliefs reflects the extent to which women and men occupy different social roles in homes and workplaces in their society.

At its Ministerial Council meeting, the European Space Agency (ESA) has approved the RAMSES mission.

The University of Bern is participating in the international NASA Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe mission (IMAP), which is due to be launched no earlier than 23 September 2025.

It is commonly assumed that countries with high gender equality give men and women a lot of freedom in their behaviors. However, in precisely these countries - such as Switzerland and Sweden - there are comparatively strong social beliefs for men to maintain the higher status of their gender group. This is shown by a recently published study by the Institute of Psychology at the University of Bern.

In a survey, the public had a say in the names of the two fish species discovered by researchers from the University of Bern.

The fourth Antarctic campaign of the -Beyond EPICA - Oldest Iceproject, funded by the European Commission, has achieved a historic milestone for climate science.

An international research team led by the University of Bern and the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology in Jena has excavated one of the most significant and ancient burial mounds in Siberia. These discoveries provide valuable insights into the cultural origins of the Scythians, a horse-riding culture of the Eurasian Steppe, and have now been recognized by Archaeology Magazine as one of the "Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2024." The Scythians of the Eurasian Steppe were known for their mobile lifestyle, archery skills, and intricate animal-style art.

NASA's Europa Clipper was launched on October 14, 2024, on its mission to conduct a detailed study of Jupiter's moon Europa.

The University of Bern is revising its climate strategy.

A work drafted by Alexander von Humboldt but no longer published is being edited at the University of Bern. It contains a pioneering study on global ocean currents, which is more relevant than ever in view of the dwindling Gulf Stream. What would it be like if Beethoven's tenth symphony could be completed?

At the end of June 2024, the Faculty of Humanities presented a structure report on the new integration of the field of Middle Eastern Linguistics and Cultural Studies.

The study by a researcher from the University of Bern provides extraordinary insights into the networks of Islamist accomplices in the USA. These are characterized by common socio-cultural features, geographical proximity and ideological affiliation. In particular, the results could well contribute to the fight against terror networks at a local level.

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has started the design and construction of the ArmazoNes high Dispersion Echelle Spectrograph (ANDES) with an international consortium involving the University

A large-scale interdisciplinary research project on sleep at the University of Bern came to an end this year.

A research report by the Interdisciplinary Center for Gender Studies (IZFG) at the University of Bern reveals unequal treatment of women and men in healthcare in Switzerland.

An international team of researchers including the University of Bern shows in a new study that male glassfrogs that care for their offspring have smaller testes than males of species that do not provide any brood care. This indicates an evolutionary trade-off between sperm production and parenting.

Vapes are an effective aid to quitting smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, they do not help to reduce nicotine dependence. This is shown by the results of the world's largest study on this topic, which was conducted by a Swiss-wide interdisciplinary research group led by the University of Bern. Vapes, also called e-cigarettes or electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) are electrically powered devices that emit nicotine in the form of vapor.

The canton of Bern wants to establish itself as a leading international medical location by 2030.

An international group of researchers with participation from the University of Bern is using new concepts to search for efficient and durable electrocatalysts for the energy transition.

In just 16,000 years, more than cichlid 500 species, distributed throughout the entire food web, have evolved in Lake Victoria. This explosion of biodiversity was made possible by repeated cycles of fusion and diversification in evolutionary lineages, as researchers from Eawag and the University of Bern have described in the "Science" and "Nature" journals.

Researchers from the University of Bern, Inselspital, University Hospital Bern, and the University of Connecticut have made a significant breakthrough in the fight against cancer. They identified a previously unknown weak point of prostate cancer cells. This could also lead to entirely new therapeutic approaches for other types of cancer.

On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Mobiliar Lab for Natural Risks at the University of Bern is holding a competition on hail, looking for photos of large hailstones.

The European Space Agency ESA-s Juice space mission is scheduled to start its journey to Jupiter on April 13, 2023.

After a thousand days in orbit, the CHEOPS space telescope shows almost no signs of wear. Under these conditions, it could continue to reveal details of some of the most fascinating exoplanets for quite some time. CHEOPS is a joint mission by the European Space Agency (ESA) and Switzerland, under the aegis of the University of Bern in collaboration with the University of Geneva.

Open Philanthropy, a foundation based in California, USA, will support animal welfare scientist Michael J Toscano of the University of Bern and industrial collaborators.