Originating in Africa, homo sapiens spread across the globe, and with it the human language. A project is now underway to trace the genealogy of the world's languages with the help of highly advanced methods borrowed from big data, genetics and geostatistics. More …

Raphaèle Preisinger’s research demonstrates how Christians around the globe fought for recognition in the early modern period. Representations of saints were of central importance. More …

Our brains tend to perceive events as causal. Researchers at the NCCR Evolving Language are now exploring whether this is the same for great apes at Basel Zoo. This ability may hold the key to finding the origins of grammar. More …

Language is our most powerful tool. It evolved along with our species over the millennia. The UZH-led NCCR Evolving Language explores how exactly this came about. The new UZH Magazine shines a light on how animals communicate, how human language developed, and how it spread across the globe. More …

Computational linguist Sarah Ebling wants to help deaf people and those with cognitive impairments access the digital world more easily – with an app that can translate speech into sign language in real time. More …

An academic career involves a great deal of uncertainty. For junior researchers, success is as much about passion and enthusiasm as it is about perseverance, resilience and luck. More …

Mira Menzfeld has been meeting with members of the ultraconservative Salafi movement for eight years. The vast majority she has spoken to are peace-loving Muslims and present no danger whatsoever. However, many of their ideas do run counter to her own views, says the anthropologist. More …

According to the famous marshmallow test, people who can postpone their needs are happier and more successful in the long run. Now psychologist Katharina Bernecker is turning this hypothesis on its head. Her findings suggest that enjoying pleasure in the moment promotes overall well-being. More …

This year’s FAN Awards have gone to Fabian Voigt, Minxia Luo and Angela Müller. In their outstanding PhD theses, the junior researchers explore a new specialist microscope, language use in old age and the extraterritorial application of human rights. More …

The humanities are sorely needed in our rapidly changing world. We sat down with Tatiana Crivelli, Inga Mai Groote and Andreas Thier to find out what distinguishes their fields and makes the humanities so irreplaceable. More …

As a journalist he searched in vain for experts who were examining the economic crisis from a historical perspective. Today Tobias Straumann is himself an award-winning specialist in economic history. More …

Friends and social networks have made humans innovative and successful, says Andrea Migliano. The anthropologist studies traditional indigenous societies that live like our ancestors did over 10,000 years ago. More …

Conspiracy theories are a response to people’s fears and offer a way to make sense of the world in times of crisis, say media researcher Brigitte Frizzoni and communications scientist Mike Schäfer. We sat down with them to talk about dangerous claims, good storytelling and world views that are immune to reason. More …

High-speed highways don’t just facilitate transport and mobility. They can cut through communities, disadvantage people and arouse false hopes. A team of social anthropologists have been studying China’s massive Silk Road project. 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 …

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 …

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 …

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 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 …