Jan Fehr and his team have set up the first reference vaccination center for the canton of Zurich. Vaccinations started on Monday. In our interview, the head of UZH’s Public and Global Health Department talks about some of the personnel and logistical challenges involved in establishing the new center. More …

Christmas is just around the corner, which of course means that fir trees and Christmassy floral displays are once again finding their way into our homes. We spoke with Peter Enz, director of UZH’s Botanical Garden, and asked him about the ideal Christmas tree and what poinsettias have to do with Advent. The UZH News team wishes you happy holidays! More …

Stroke of fate or heart’s desire – thanks to advances in reproductive medicine, people who in the past may have remained childless can now have children. The new UZH Magazin takes a look at the possibilities opened up by medical progress and the accompanying technical, ethical and legal boundaries. And in our brand new German-language podcast to accompany the magazine, we talk to three researchers whose research focuses on these topics. More …

The University of Zurich applauds the class of 2020. More …

In the next 10 years, the joint digitalization initiative by Zurich’s higher education institutions aims to explore the effects and opportunities of digitalization and develop innovative technologies. The initiative is now gradually taking shape, and the first round of calls for research and innovation projects has been launched. More …

The UZH Senate nominated Professor Elisabeth Stark for the position of Vice President Research at its meeting on 10 December 2020. The Board of the University will finalize her appointment on 21 January 2021. More …

At UZH, women earn practically the same as men who hold comparable roles. This is one of the findings of this year’s equal pay analysis, which was based on 11,200 data sets. More …

UZH aims to be a carbon-neutral institution in 10 years. The 2030 Implementation Strategy for the Sustainability Policy defines how this is to be achieved. We sat down with Lorenz Hilty, the UZH sustainability delegate, to talk about virtual conferences, sustainable research and making a peace deal with nature. More …

The coronavirus pandemic has made us aware of the potential and limitations of working and studying digitally. UZH President Michael Schaepman and UZH Chief Information Officer Thomas Sutter talk about cyber risks, accelerated administration and online education. More …

The University of Zurich is doing its utmost to ensure that students can complete the semester as normal despite the coronavirus. In our interview, President Michael Schaepman and Deputy President Gabriele Siegert talk about their day-to-day business and what challenges the pandemic has brought. More …

In this interview, UZH President Michael Schaepman and Deputy President Gabriele Siegert state unequivocally that the university is doing everything in its power to enable students to complete the Fall Semester as normal. The university is well set up for digital teaching in technological terms; on the personnel side, however, it’s reaching its limits. More …

Psilocybin, the active ingredient found in certain mushrooms, expands the boundaries of the self and reduces anxiety. Psychiatrist Franz X. Vollenweider wants to harness this effect to treat patients suffering from depression. More …

When we reminisce, we are working on our own sense of self. The older we get, the more we remember things in a positive light and rewrite our life story for the better. More …

According to Isabelle Mansuy’s research, the epigenome – which can switch our genes on and off – can be modified, positively or negatively, by our lifestyle choices. At least some of these modifications are passed down through the generations. More …

In the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, epidemiologist Milo Puhan, virologist Alexandra Trkola and immunologist Onur Boyman were able to quickly start research on the novel coronavirus thanks to UZH’s Pandemic Fund. Now, in the second wave, they tell us what they have achieved so far in our video series. More …

Starting on 7 December, members of the UZH community will be able to access the collections of 475 university-related libraries. Users will need to create new accounts to use the service. UZH News has rounded up everything you need to know. More …

The new chemistry department building on the Irchel Campus will house the very latest in NMR spectroscopy technology. The equipment, which costs CHF 13.5 million, is being acquired together with ETH Zurich and the University of Basel. More … 1 Comment

A study led by UZH historian Matthieu Leimgruber shows how Zurich industrialist Emil Bührle became the richest man in Switzerland and how he built up his art collection. Leimgruber concludes that Bührle’s Oerlikon-based arms company allowed him to buy art on a grand scale. And he was no outsider, but rather a well-integrated member of the Zurich elite. More …

The UZH Space Hub is supporting the new coronavirus drive-in test center managed by Balgrist University Hospital. The Space Hub director Oliver Ullrich and his team have set up a test laboratory at the military airfield in Dübendorf and are coordinating teams of UZH students to provide assistance. Starting this week, the center is also offering rapid antigen tests. More …

At its annual event, the University Medicine Zurich initiative presented its new flagship project ImmunoPhage: a groundbreaking endeavor that aims to develop bacteriophages for treating urinary tract infections. More …

UZH art historian Bettina Gockel is an expert in the history of photography and investigates techniques of color photography. Her research has yielded some surprising insights. More …

Diversity is the barometer of our freedom, says UZH legal scholar Andrea Büchler. She was granted an honorary doctorate in September by the University of Vienna for her outstanding and courageous academic contributions. More …

Voters in the US have cast their ballots, but it’s still too close to call who will ultimately win the White House. We’ve asked two UZH political scientists, Marco Steenbergen and Jonathan Slapin, about their take on the elections. More …

The University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The hospital, often referred to as the “Burghölzli”, has a rich and varied past. Paul Hoff, deputy director of the Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, looks back on historical developments in psychiatric care, with a focus on the doctor-patient relationship. More …

The development of our consciousness and sense of self is closely linked to how we perceive our body. More …

The composer Paul Hindemith worked as an unconventional professor at UZH in the 1950s. His archives, which document his many-faceted oeuvre, have now been donated to the Department of Musicology. More …

The high-tech building for chemists is almost finished, and the design plan for expanding Irchel Campus is about to be approved. François Chapuis, Vice President Real Estate and Facility Management of UZH, talks about what’s going on on campus – before and behind the scenes. More …

Evolutionary biologist Kentaro Shimizu gathers flowers from a Swiss alpine meadow and cultivates Japanese wheat in a garden on UZH’s Irchel Campus. He wants to find out how plants are adapting to climate change. More …

Psychologist Monique Pfaltz researches the socio-emotional consequences of abuse and neglect in childhood. She recently launched an international initiative to carry out transcultural and transnational research projects. More …

To mark the start of International Open Access Week, UZH is launching the topic through an internal campaign and the rollout of the new Open Science Office website. The co-heads of the office, Manuela Höfler and Katherine Hermans, explain why open access in science is so important. More …

Disinformation is increasingly permeating our everyday news. But why does it spread more easily in some places than in others? Edda Humprecht knows what makes countries resistant to fake news. More …

Over the past months, Alexandra Trkola, head of the Institute of Medical Virology at UZH, has been showing her mettle as a researcher and communicator. More …

Academic authorship was the theme of this year’s Graduate Campus event. An expert panel discussed the subject from a variety of perspectives. More …

Duck face and six pack: Young people’s selfies say less about them than they do about the norms they are subject to. More …

Salome Hohl, art historian, curator and recently-appointed director of Zurich’s Cabaret Voltaire, looks back on her UZH student days. More …

UZH researcher Martin Jinek is particularly pleased about this year's Nobel Prize for Chemistry. The biochemist made a major contribution to the development of the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissors, for which Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna have now been honored with the prestigious award. More …

Role models and biological factors shape who we are. But our selves change throughout our lives. Over time, it is not only our appearance, our relationships and our circumstances that change, our identity changes too – and yet we feel we are still the same. More …

Who am I? This is a question we ask ourselves throughout our lives. To answer it, we look to role models, create our own narratives and take selfies that show how we want to be seen. The new UZH Magazin explores aspects of our identity. More …

Cardiologist Catherine Gebhard’s research focuses on why certain diseases affect women and men differently. For the gender medicine pioneer, the corona pandemic is both a textbook example and a call for action at the same time. More …

The Senior Citizens University of Zurich has had a busy anniversary year. Despite coronavirus, it is continuing to offer high-quality education for older people. From this semester, members can take part in live online lectures and connect with each other using a newly developed portal. More …

This Fall Semester will be particularly challenging for all UZH members – for students just as much as for instructors and everyone else working for the university. In this interview Gabriele Siegert, Deputy President and Vice President Education and Student Affairs, answers questions related to the start of the semester. More …

Never before has science been in the public limelight more than it is now because of Covid-19. Can it benefit from this? Communications researcher Mark Eisenegger and epidemiologist Milo Puhan discuss the gain in prestige, but also what’s at stake. More …

For the latest Journal, we asked UZH alumni and alumnae about how they get to put their academic knowledge into practice in their day-to-day work. In addition, epidemiologist Milo Puhan and communications researcher Mark Eisenegger discuss how the coronavirus pandemic is reshaping the relationship between science, politics and the public. More …

Ruedi Aebersold, a professor of molecular systems biology at UZH and ETH Zurich, is to receive the Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist. Aebersold is being honored for the part he has played in founding and advancing the field of proteomics, a branch of biology that is seen as the foundation of the personalized medicine of tomorrow. More …

Mothers' milk has always been subject to superstitious beliefs and questions. How long should mothers breastfeed? What if it doesn't work? UZH human biologist Thierry Hennet's aim is to find rational arguments, and to identify how breastmilk protects babies from infections. More …

Professor Stefanie Walter reduced her workload to better balance her professional and private life. She talks about her positive experience with the project on part-time leadership duties, which UZH launched as part of the Gender Equality Action Plan 2017–20. More …

The University of Zurich’s latest round of public Ringvorlesungen explores what it means to be human, education in the age of technology, health in a digital society, and gender in the Middle Ages. The lecture series kicks off on 15 September. More …

A University of Zurich start-up has developed an innovative learning and assessment platform for teachers. Thanks to the platform’s cutting-edge technology, teaching staff can individualize and mark exams through an automated process. More …

In August Christian Simm, the founder of the Swiss swissnex network in the United States, took over as the head of the International Relations Office. In this interview with UZH News he explains why he believes UZH could be doing a lot to gain greater international influence and recognition. More …

Cancer researcher and physician Steffen Böttcher from the Medical Oncology and Hematology Clinic, and neuroscientist Silvia Brem from the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich, have been presented with the Georg Friedrich Götz Award. The prize is awarded annually for outstanding contributions in the field of medical research. More …

Around 40,000 people are diagnosed with cancer in Switzerland every year. In this interview with UZH News, Markus Manz, the new chair of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Zurich (CCCZ), explains why he’s convinced that close collaboration between clinicians and researchers will give a renewed boost to efforts to develop innovative approaches in cancer medicine. More …

Cooperative childcare is essential for us humans. It allowed us to evolve larger brains, to better learn from one another, and to be more social. But why did human evolution take this course? More …

The goal of the Graduate Campus is to create the best possible framework for junior researchers. Ulrike Müller-Böker, who directed the Graduate Campus from August 2016 to July 2020, and departmental head Claudine Leysinger take stock and look ahead. More …

The herbaria of the University of Zurich and ETH house many historical plant discoveries, some of which are up to 300 years old. Now the paper-mounted plant samples are being digitized and made available for global use – in large part thanks to the work of committed volunteers. More …

UZH’s new integrity ordinance enters into force on 1 September 2020. It defines scientific misconduct and how to deal with it, with a particular emphasis on preventing misconduct by means of training and education. More …

Starting in 2021, UZH will be launching five new University Research Priority Programs (URPP), bringing the collaborative interdisciplinary initiative into its third generation. We sat down with Vice President Medicine Beatrice Beck Schimmer to learn more about the success of the program. More …

The long-term study z-proso has examined the effects the coronavirus pandemic has had on the lives of young adults in Zurich. On the whole, the pandemic has been a challenging time for the around 700 participants, whose daily lives were at times thrown into disarray. Nevertheless, many of the young adults were able to adopt positive ways of dealing with the difficulties. More …

Virologist Cornel Fraefel hopes a novel vaccine technique will help control Sars-CoV-2. The Swiss National Science Foundation has awarded him a grant to fund the remarkable project. More …

The University of Zurich and Kyoto University are entering into a strategic partnership. Japan’s second-oldest university and UZH are stepping up their cooperation in research and teaching and increasing efforts to support junior academics. More …

The UZH spin-off ExoLabs has developed a model that can predict snowmelt and help hydropower operators generate energy more efficiently. The innovative business idea has now won the funding and support of the European Union. More …

Our glaciers are melting. Glaciologist Michael Zemp believes that a reduction in air travel among the scientific community is inevitable. More …

Rudolf Mumenthaler will be the first director of the new University Library Zurich (UBZH) when it opens its doors on 1 January 2022. He will take an active role setting up the new library from 1 January 2021. More …

No other university in Switzerland is quite as diverse as UZH, which is home to almost the entire spectrum of academic disciplines. In order to accommodate this diversity even better in the future, the seven faculties at UZH will be given a greater say in their own affairs starting in August 2020. More …

Encouraging interdisciplinary collaboration, streamlining regulations, and giving people the freedom to research: These are some of the goals Michael Schaepman hopes to achieve as new UZH President. More …

Spending your summer vacation in Switzerland is an obvious choice this year. We asked a historian, a geographer, an ecologist as well as a religious studies and a cultural studies expert to name intriguing getaways in Switzerland. With this, the UZH News team is off into the summer break. We hope you enjoy your summer! More …

When Michael Hengartner stepped down, Gabriele Siegert took over the presidency of UZH on an interim basis on 1 February 2020. In two weeks, Michael Schaepman will take office as the new president on 1 August. The six months in between were quite a rollercoaster ride. Seven members of UZH look back. More …

The UZH International Summer Schools for Bachelor’s and Master’s students from around the world are currently taking place for the third time. The difference this year is that they are taking place entirely online. Students from a total of 54 different universities will learn about Switzerland, blockchain and more. More …

An innovative new minor is imparting business knowledge to Master’s students in the life sciences. The program aims to give students earlier access to the tools they need to translate academic research into marketable products and business concepts. More …

Uschi Backes-Gellner advises the German government on employment matters and researches vocational education and training here in Switzerland. Her own father was a bricklayer. More …

Microgravity in space could help us manufacture human tissue. Researchers at the UZH Space Hub sent stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS) to explore this idea. The samples have now returned to earth. More …

The plague claimed countless victims in the Middle Ages and early modern period. According to economist Joachim Voth, it also made Europe rich. More …

The Senate of the University of Zurich has nominated Michael Schaepman as the new president. Michael Schaepman is professor of remote sensing and current Vice President Research. The election of the president by the Board of the University will take place on 9 July 2020. More …

Asger Jorn (1914-1973) achieved fame with his wild expressionist paintings filled with strange, wondrous creatures. But the Danish artist also made books into artworks and produced subversive theories of language. Nordic expert Klaus Müller-Wille has been taking a closer look. More …

In crises like the current one, values such as solidarity are in high demand. But acting with solidarity does not come naturally to us, especially when we have to keep it up over a long period, say sociologist Heiko Rauhut and psychologist Johannes Ullrich. More …

Specialists in science, technology, engineering and mathematics are in high demand. A good thing then that these so-called STEM subjects are a popular choice among young people. And yet, this positive development presents the Faculty of Science of UZH with a number of challenges, as MNF Dean Roland Sigel explains in an interview. More …

The University of Zurich and Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin are entering into a strategic partnership. This will enable Zurich and Berlin to step up cooperation in medical research and teaching. The first joint priority area is digitalization in medicine. More …

Generosity entails costs. Its benefit to us, though, is indeterminate. Why are we nonetheless generous toward others? Neuroeconomist Philippe Tobler has peered into the brains of generous people and discovered an answer to that question. More …

Katja Rost, professor of sociology and president of the Gender Equality Commission, gives her view on the ongoing debate about racism and the role of universities. . More …

When we make decisions, we don’t always have all options available to choose from at the same time. Instead they often come one after another, as for example when we search for an apartment or a flight ticket. So we have to decide on something without knowing if a better option might have come along later. A study at the University of Zurich has shown that our standards drop more and more in the course of decision-making. More …

State-of-the-art sequencing technology can analyze billions of DNA fragments in a matter of hours. A group of researchers at the Functional Genomics Center Zurich has demonstrated how this high-speed method can be leveraged to increase coronavirus testing capacities: Hundreds of thousands of samples could be processed each day. More …

When analyzing data from the XENON1T detector for dark matter, a signal excess was observed. The UZH researchers do not yet know for sure where this unexpected signal comes from. They say the origins could be relatively banal, but they could also indicate the existence of new particles or hitherto unknown properties of neutrinos. More …

Now that coronavirus cases are dwindling, the economic fallout of the pandemic is becoming more apparent. One thing is clear: Countries that were well equipped before the crisis – like Switzerland with its social welfare system – will be able to cope better and get back on their feet more quickly. More …

The fourth parabolic flight organized by the UZH Space Hub takes off today from Dübendorf airfield. A reorganization taking into account Corona safety measures has made this possible. On board is an experiment that could help to attenuate massive inflammatory reactions of the immune system that happen in severe cases of Covid-19. More …

Optimism, faith and spirituality can help us get through crises. Psychologist Ulrike Ehlert and theologian Thomas Schlag talk about strength and vulnerability, the slowing down of life, and the opportunities that can come out of crises. More …

The coronavirus isn't going anywhere anytime soon. As long as there is no vaccine, policymakers need reliable information about the level of infection within the population. Milo Puhan, an epidemiologist at UZH, is leading a national study that investigates this very issue. More …

Living close to human settlements disturbs the social networks of giraffes. They have weaker bonds with other giraffes and fewer interactions with other members of the species, an international study led by the University of Zurich on the social structure of over 500 female giraffes in Tanzania has shown. More …

Today, UZH returns to adapted on-site operations. What exactly does this mean for employees? Many questions were answered at last week’s virtual town hall meeting. More …

Producing fewer sperm cells can be advantageous in self-fertilizing plants. An international study led by the University of Zurich has identified a gene in the model plant Arabidopsis that reduces the number of pollen. In addition to supporting the evolutionary theory, these findings could help to optimize plant breeding and domestication in agriculture. More …

Covid-19 has spread fear and panic all over the world. The question of why this viral disease takes so many different forms is still largely unresolved. What is clear, however, is that international cooperation to manage pandemics will have to be stepped up. More …

How do UZH professors give lectures to an empty room? How have churches gotten through the crisis? The special circumstances created by the coronavirus pandemic have raised new questions for research. We present two current projects. More …

The challenges posed by the coronavirus have exposed our personal strengths and weaknesses as well as those of our society. The new UZH Magazin examines what helps us overcome crises and what we can learn from them. More …

It is not always possible to completely remove malignant brain tumors by surgery so that further treatment is necessary. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the UniversityHospital Zurich have now been able to describe, with unparalleled precision, the composition of the immune cells of various types of brain tumors. This will provide an important foundation for future immunotherapy approaches. More …

Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new X-ray contrast agent. The contrast agent is easier to use and distributes into all blood vessels more reliably, increasing the precision of vascular imaging. This reduces the number of animals required in research experiments. More …

Computer scientist Sven Seuken uses artificial intelligence to design complex electronic markets that aim to benefit vendors and customers in equal measure. More …

Scientists from the University of Zurich and the University of Bristol have investigated the jaw mechanics of Titanichthys, a giant armored fish that roamed the seas and oceans of the late Devonian period 380 million years ago. New findings suggest that it fed by swimming through water slowly with its mouth open wide to capture high concentrations of plankton – similar to modern-day basking sharks. More …

Artificial intelligence is already commonplace in healthcare, lightening doctors’ workloads and helping them make medical decisions. The legal issues have yet to be resolved, however. More …

Virtual reality can immerse you in foreign worlds and let you experience your body in a completely new way. Neuropsychologist Jasmine Ho wants to harness the power of these physical illusions for medical treatments. More …

From checking loan applications to selecting job applicants, decisions are increasingly being made with the aid of artificial intelligence. While AI doesn’t make them any fairer, it can make us wiser, says ethicist Markus Christen. More …

Algorithms sort the internet for us. The problem is, no one knows exactly how they decide. Information scientist Anikó Hannák is trying to change this. What she’s finding out in the process offers food for thought. More …

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work. Information scientist Abraham Bernstein predicts that it won’t make us redundant. But there will be new forms of collaboration between humans and machines that will open up new and interesting avenues. More … 1 Comment

Hematopoietic stem cells from a healthy donor can help patients suffering from acute leukemia. However, the side effects of therapies are often severe. A group of researchers led by the University of Zurich have now shown how human healthy and cancerous hematopoietic stem cells can be more selectively eliminated using immunotherapy instead of chemotherapy in mice. The aim is to test the new immunotherapy in humans as soon as possible. More …

There are still many unanswered questions around the coronavirus: How many people in Switzerland are immune? How long does immunity last? And how can high-risk patients be quickly identified and given the best treatment? Three UZH researchers told us in these video interviews about their search for the answers. More …

The University of Zurich was supposed to host this year’s meeting of Universitas 21 members on the topic of sustainable universities. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event has now gone digital. More …

A lipid metabolism enzyme controls brain stem cell activity and lifelong brain development. If the enzyme does not work correctly, it causes learning and memory deficits in humans and mice, as researchers at the University of Zurich have discovered. Regulating stem cell activity via lipid metabolism could lead to new treatments for brain diseases. More …

The Roman Marcus Tullius Cicero once inspired the founding fathers of the United States. But are his ideas still relevant today, at a time when many Americans fear for their republic? More … 1 Comment

In general, workers in Switzerland and Germany are coping well with the Covid-19 crisis and the associated social disruption. They are feeling happier and finding it easier to unwind and balance work and private life. They are also more engaged at work than last year, a survey among 600 participants carried out by researchers of the University of Zurich shows. More …

The ShopSensor app determines which shop to go to at specific times to lower the risk of infection with COVID-19. The tool was developed by a PhD candidate at UZH’s Department of Geography in his spare time. More …

What effect does extinction of species have on the evolution of surviving species? Evolutionary biologists have investigated this question by conducting a field experiment with a leaf galling fly and its predatory enemies. They found that losing its natural enemies could make it more difficult for the prey to adapt to future environments. More …

Do high prices of some cancer medicines have a higher benefit than those drugs with lower prices? An international UZH study has concluded that, in general, there is no correlation between costs of a cancer drugs and their clinical benefit. The researchers are therefore calling for the clinical benefit of drugs to be better reflected in pricing More …

Medicine as entertainment, mental anguish expressed in the body: Literature scholar Sophie Witt researches the fascinating history of the links between theater and psychosomatic medicine. More …

The diversity of food plants for insects in the canton of Zurich has dramatically decreased over the past 100 years or so. This means that bees, flies and butterflies are increasingly deprived of their food base, a team of researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL has demonstrated. The results are transferable to the whole of Central Europe, with minor regional restrictions. More …

The University of Zurich is celebrating its 187th anniversary digitally for the first time, awarding honorary doctorates to screenwriter Simone Schmid and film-maker Stefan Haupt, legal expert Heinz Mohnhaupt as well as labor economics specialist Claudia Goldin. Further honorary doctorates have gone to medical scientists Werner Bauer and Marcel Tanner, historian Elisabeth Joris and behavioral scientists Jane Goodall. Physician Giorgio Noseda and Peter F. Weibel, former president of the UZH Foundation’s board of trustees, have been appointed honorary senators. More …

How does effective fundraising for science work? What’s the best way for researchers and donors to work together? These were the topics discussed by NOMIS Foundation Managing Director Markus Reinhard, UZH Vice President Research Michael Schaepman, and UZH Foundation CEO Martin Gubser. More …

Thanks to neurotechnology, it could soon be possible to read people’s thoughts, says linguist Balthasar Bickel. While fascinating from a me­dical perspective, it’s also incredibly dangerous. More …

The University of Zurich’s annual report for 2019 has just been published – featuring research and teaching highlights as well as the latest facts and figures. More …

The UZH Foundation has launched a fundraising campaign for urgent research projects tackling the Covid-19 pandemic. The focus is on research into antibodies to determine immunity and improvements in treatment. More …

Imaging technology helps to detect cardiovascular diseases much earlier; however, precise examinations are still very time-consuming. Researchers from ETH and the University of Zurich have now presented a method that could greatly accelerate dynamic magnetic resonance imaging of blood flow. More …

Providing scientific foundations for important political and economic decisions: That is a core aim of the pandemic fund of the University of Zurich for Covid-19 research. With the help of donations, the most urgent coronavirus research projects will be supported and accelerated. More …

16-year old Patrick Simonis was looking death in the eye – but genetically modified blood cells enabled him to beat his cancer. More …

Researchers from the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge have succeeded for the first time in creating a single computer-simulated model that combines processes in the development of planets that were previously simulated separately. In their novel simulations on the Piz Daint supercomputer, they identified a new kind of friction mechanism that could solve a ubiquitous problem in astrophysics. More …

The UZH libraries and the Zentralbibliothek Zürich are currently closed. But behind closed doors, the librarians are working tirelessly to ensure students and teaching staff can get hold of the books, scanned copies and other media that they require. More …

Although Swiss internet users use online services where algorithms select search results, recommendations and information daily, they know little about their role and function. This leads to uncertainty, a feeling of powerlessness and a desire for more control, as a representative survey of Swiss internet users conducted by the University of Zurich shows. More …

With their ability to maintain life-long friendships and form coalitions within wide social networks, the dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia, display a complex social life. This is a sign of intelligence, says anthropologist Michael Krützen. More …

The bacteria that cause tuberculosis need iron to survive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now solved the first detailed structure of the transport protein responsible for the iron supply. When the iron transport into the bacteria is inhibited, the pathogen can no longer grow. This opens novel ways to develop targeted tuberculosis drugs. More …

Updates to the University Act and University Statutes will go into effect tomorrow, reorganizing the bodies represented in the Extended Executive Board of the University and recognizing administrative and technical staff as a new representative body with voting rights. Both changes have been in the works for some time now. The organizational and management responsibilities of the faculties will also be strengthened as part of the Governance 2020+ program. More …

For three weeks now the university has been operating mainly via digital channels. The switch has happened quickly thanks to great joint efforts by all involved. Gabriele Siegert addresses UZH employees in a video from her office at home. More …

On 30 March a new COVID-19 test center was opened on the premises of the UZH Center for Travel Medicine. In this interview with UZH News, Professor Jan Fehr, the director of the center, explains why a new test facility is important and who it is primarily geared to. More …

Three researchers at the University of Zurich have been awarded ERC Advanced Grants. A political scientist, a molecular biologist and an immunologist will receive 2.5 million euros each from the European Research Council. Their research topics include digitalization in democracy, the development and progression of MS, and scale-crossing effects in biology. More …

Staff at the University of Zurich’s Institute of Medical Virology have been working flat out and are now able to carry out around 800 to 1,000 coronavirus tests a day. Alexandra Trkola, who heads the institute, explains what determines the quality of a good diagnosis. More …

The University of Zurich has repurposed its Travel Clinic as a COVID-19 test center. Designed to complement the tests currently offered by family doctors in Canton Zurich, it is geared to other people who work in healthcare services. The center also offers an X-ray service to ensure that pneumonia does not go undetected. More …

People and intelligent machines learn in similar ways, says philosopher Hans-Johann Glock. Unlike humans, however, computers do not pursue their own goals – not yet, at least. More …

Artificial intelligence is getting better and better. We can benefit from this development, say UZH scientists in the latest UZH Magazin. By joining forces with AI, we can grow cleverer. More …

The representative body associations are also affected by the upcoming restructuring of the University’s representative bodies. While the VSUZH (University of Zurich Student Association) will remain active in representing student interests, all other associations will be restructured. Here is an overview of the changes. More …

Researchers at the University of Zurich show that different stem cell populations are innervated in distinct ways. Innervation may therefore be crucial for proper tissue regeneration. They also demonstrate that cancer stem cells likewise establish contacts with nerves. Targeting tumor innervation could thus lead to new cancer therapies. More …

UZH has seen unparalleled changes this past week. What's next? In this interview interim president Gabriele Siegert answers some of the many questions UZH staff and students are asking in the current extraordinary situation. More …

Using a novel type of cameras, researchers from the University of Zurich have demonstrated a flying robot that can detect and avoid fast-moving objects. A step towards drones that can fly faster in harsh environments, accomplishing more in less time. More …

Birgit Watzke does research into specialist care provision for people with mental health needs. More …

An international team of researchers from the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich, Heidelberg and Glasgow has identified a novel function for the cell death regulating protein MCL1: It is essential in protecting the intestine against cancer development – independent of bacterial-driven inflammation. These findings have implications for the use of MCL1 inhibitors, currently being tested for cancer treatment. More …

An international research team led by the University of Zurich and the Boyce Thompson Institute illuminate the origin of land plants by analyzing the first hornwort genomes. In this ancient group of land plants, they discovered genes that could help crops grow more efficiently with less synthetic fertilizer. More …

The University of Zurich has suspended all its classroom teaching from Monday, 16 March 2020 until further notice. This measure to contain the spread of coronavirus has been taken by the Executive Board of the University after consulting with the Canton of Zurich’s Department of Education. UZH aims to enable students to complete the semester as normal, including assessments and requirements for credits. More …

The University of Zurich recently became a member of the European University Foundation. Executive Manager João Bacelar explains how the network can support UZH when it comes to student mobility. More …

Their innovative and original research projects won over the jury: This year’s Mercator Awards go to Simon Etter and Barbara Strobl at the Department of Geography, the ethnologist Maria-Theres Schuler, and lawyer Oliver William. More …

Milk provides sustenance and protection and is the basis of life for all mammals just after they are born. The current special exhibition of the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich offers fascinating biological insights into this amazing “liquid gold”. More …

The University of Zurich has sent adult human stem cells to the International Space Station (ISS). Researchers from UZH Space Hub will explore the production of human tissue in weightlessness. More …

The Board of the University has concluded the appointment process to fill the position of UZH President. The board is proposing Michael Schaepman as nominee to the Senate. More … 1 Comment

Millions of tons of plastic are floating in the oceans of the world. Satellites in space could help to clean up these mountains of waste. More …

UZH has been stepping up its efforts to develop sustainably since 2014. One key goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the running of the university. This is an area where UZH members can contribute through their day-to-day actions. More …

At high species richness, directed loss, but not random loss, of tree species strongly decreases forest productivity. This is shown by data from a big forest project in China in which the University of Zurich is involved. Previous studies based on random species loss could therefore bias the predictions of how more realistic extinction scenarios are likely to affect ecosystem functioning. More …

President ad interim Gabriele Siegert explains what UZH is doing about the coronavirus. With a few exceptions, all regular courses will continue to go ahead as planned. Staff and students are being kept up to date about the latest developments. More …

Humans began developing a complex culture as early as the Stone Age. This development was brought about by social interactions between various groups of hunters and gatherers, a UZH study has now confirmed. The researchers mapped the social networks of present-day hunter-gatherers in the Philippines and simulated the discovery of a medicinal plant product. More …

Eighty-four trainees are currently undergoing vocational training at UZH, and twelve different professions are available. An expansion of the offer is planned for this summer. More …

Regina Dieterle is the author of an 800-page biography on Theodor Fontane. The author and school teacher looks back on her time as a student at the UZH and tells how she became a Fontane expert. More …

To mark the 50th anniversary of the UZH Journal, Jürg Dinner, head of UZH Communications, and Mike S. Schäfer, professor of science communication, discuss the media, academia and changes in the way higher education institutions communicate. More …

An ecological overhaul of business and society is the task of a lifetime. But it’s achievable, says sustainability researcher Kai Niebert. The money is there, what is needed is courage and the political will. More …

While the threat posed by climate change is well recognized, the loss of species diversity is less so. The neglected issue takes center stage, however, at the World Biodiversity Forum, organized by UZH, in Davos next week. More …

UZH researchers’ answers to the burning questions of the day made international headlines in 2019. The plans for the new “Forum UZH” also met with great media interest. More …

Paleobiologists from the University of Zurich have discovered exceptional specimens in Venezuela and Colombia of an extinct giant freshwater turtle called Stupendemys. The carapace of this turtle, which is the largest ever known, measured between 2.4 to almost 3 meters. Moreover, the shell of male Stupendemys had horns – a rare feature in turtles. More …

Quantifiable metrics like the journal impact factor should not be the only way of assessing scientific outputs, said Stephen Curry of Imperial College London at an event held at UZH. More …

What is the aim of philosophy? Is direct democracy populist? Does everyone have equal opportunities when it comes to education? Is violence itself a language? These questions and others will be addressed in the University of Zurich’s Ringvorlesungen in the coming semester. More …

Our voices are as individual as our appearance. Phonetician Volker Dellwo knows how to decode their special characteristics. He is also developing cloned voices. More …

The power of digitalization could help us save energy and optimize product life cycles. That would be good for the environment. But the possibility is yet to be harnessed. More …

Thanks to the CrisprCas9 gene editing method, it is now possible to quickly and precisely breed resilient plants – an important contributor to sustainable agriculture. In Switzerland, however, the cultivation of genetically modified crops is not currently permitted. More …

The two outermost giant planets of the solar system have similar masses, but are also have striking differences. Researchers of the NCCR PlanetS at the University of Zurich have found an explanation for this long-standing mystery: Two different giant impacts could have had completely separate effects. More …

Last Friday, Michael Hengartner bid UZH employees adieu at a farewell apéro. We flick through the photo album and look back at a few memorable moments from his six-year tenure at the helm of the university. More …

UZH already has a strong reputation for driving innovation. Entrepreneurship and innovation are now to be given even more of a boost to make students and junior researchers more aware of career paths outside the traditional routes, explains Michael Schaepman, Vice President Research. More …

A mere fraction of the wealth of the super-rich would be enough to make our economy more sustainable – assuming it’s invested the right way. More …

Members of disadvantaged social groups who engage in contact with members of privileged groups are less likely to support social change toward equality, a multinational study by social psychologists at the University of Zurich shows. To reduce this effect, it is important to actively address and acknowledge inequalities in intergroup contacts. More …

Rolf Dörig is a household name in the business world as chairman of the board of directors of international companies such as Swiss Life or, until recently, the Adecco Group. Watch the video to find out what helped him build such a remarkable career and what he’d advise today’s students who want to reach the top. More …

What happens to boat refugees who never reach the other shore? This question preoccupies religious studies scholar Daniela Stauffacher. She researches the official treatment of and rituals performed for migration victims in southern Italy. More …

The Parliament of the Canton of Zurich yesterday unanimously resolved to provide 108 million francs of funding for the DIZH, the ground-breaking joint initiative by Zurich’s higher education institutions. More …

When it comes to disease-causing viruses, medicine is still waiting for a breakthrough. The reason lies in the special way these quasi-living organisms function. Viruses don’t simply attack us; they live in constant symbiosis with us. More … 1 Comment

The new Center of Competence for Sustainable Finance (CCSF) was inaugurated at UZH last week. At the opening, Joseph Stiglitz, winner of the Nobel prize for economics and chair of the center’s academic advisory board, spoke about the risks and opportunities of climate change. His message was clear: Decisive action must be taken – now. More …

An imaging approach developed at UZH enables the study of breast cancer tissue in greater detail. It uses 35 biomarkers to identify the different cell types in breast tumors and its surrounding area compared to the current standard of testing single markers. This increases the precision of tumor analysis and classification - and improves personalized diagnostics for breast cancer patients. More …

Technology transfer office Unitectra recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. In the interview below, Managing Director Adrian Sigrist explains what has changed and why the organization has thrived. More …

Complex learning processes like speaking or singing follow similar patterns. Using the example of zebra finches, researchers at UZH and ETH Zurich have investigated how young birds imitate the courtship songs of their fathers and practice them thousands of times. The study has revealed what aspects of the song are remembered overnight, and that sleep allows the bird to optimally build upon the progress made on the previous day. More …

Accomplished alumni look back on their studies at UZH. This article features professional flautist and music educator Renate Lemmer. More …

Researchers from the University Hospital Zurich, ETH Zurich, Wyss Zurich and the University of Zurich have developed a machine that repairs injured human livers and keeps them alive outside the body for one week. This breakthrough may increase the number of available organs for transplantation saving many lives of patients with severe liver diseases or cancer. More …

Artificial heart valves save many lives. But the problem is that a prosthesis is never as robust as the real thing. This is why UZH Professor Maximilian Emmert wants to get the human body to rebuild the damaged valves itself. More …

It is well-established that biodiverse ecosystems generally function better than monocultures. Ecologists at the University of Zurich have now shown that the same is true on a larger scale: Having a mix of different land-covers including grassland, forest, urban areas and water bodies improves the functioning and stability of a landscape – irrespective of the plant species diversity, region and climate. More …

Political scientist Fabrizio Gilardi and his colleagues established the Digital Democracy Lab. More …

Some parts of Zurich are colorful and full of life, while others appear drab and empty. Psychologist Alice Hollenstein knows what brings joy to city dwellers – and what doesn’t. More …

Open science is gaining momentum. According to Mark Robinson and Marc Thommen, the open science delegates newly appointed by UZH to support the transformation to greater cooperation, the movement will bring about major changes in the academic system. More …