Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich have developed innovative objectives for light microscopy by using mirrors to produce images. Their design finds correspondence in mirror telescopes used in astronomy on the one hand and the eyes of scallops on the other. The new objectives enable high-resolution imaging of tissues and organs in a much wider variety of immersion media than with conventional microscope lenses. More …

Mouse lemurs give birth to their offspring during the five-month rainy season and build up fat reserves to survive the dry season when food is scarce. But what happens when the rainy season becomes drier and the dry season warmer? Researchers show that climate changes destabilize mouse lemur populations and increase the risk of extinction. More …

In the Research Cycle in Genomics block course, students experience research firsthand, by formulating their own research questions based on experimental data and then investigating them. In addition to getting undergraduates motivated, this freedom can lead to some amazing results. More …

Two UZH researchers are harnessing the light reflections from leaves to learn more about biodiversity and the characteristics of plants. Analyzing spectral data is revolutionizing not only the way in which we research ecosystems but also allows us to protect them more effectively. More …

There are now 186 journals in Switzerland providing Diamond Open Access, meaning scientific articles can be published and read free of charge. A new PLATO study has collected data about the open access journals and highlighted the sometimes difficult working and publishing conditions. More …

In 1986, UZH physicist and IBM Fellow K. Alex Müller and J. Georg Bednorz revolutionized solid-state physics with the discovery of the first high-temperature superconductor. In the following year, 1987, the two researchers were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics. K. Alex Müller has now died in Zurich at the age of 95. More …

The newly established Postdoc Team Award allows UZH to recognize outstanding interdisciplinary research. The inaugural award has gone to two teams, both of which are developing innovative approaches in healthcare research, such as linking pupil size to stress resilience or exploring what tweets can reveal about our mental health. More …

Three new spin-offs were founded at UZH in 2022, transferring scientific findings into industry practice. The business ventures explore new perspectives in the fight against cancer, space factories to produce human tissue, and ways to accelerate the development of novel drugs. More …

Evolution, health, and animal and human behavior were among the topics of the most popular 10 media releases from the University of Zurich in 2022. The communiqué with the greatest reach was about a damaged liver successfully treated outside of the human body and then used in a donor organ transplant. More …

A new study by various Swiss universities shows that aerosols in indoor air can vary in acidity. This acidity determines how long viruses remain infectious in the air – with profound implications for virus transmission and strategies to contain it. More …

The challenges facing the global community today are complex and manifold: climate crisis, war, poverty, inequality, digitalization, a new political world order. The new issue of the UZH Magazin analyzes some of the problems and points to possible solutions. More …

The remains of glyptodonts, a group of extinct giant armadillos, indicate that humans spread to South America earlier than previously assumed. Found in northwestern Venezuela, the fractured skulls could represent evidence of hunting by humans, says UZH paleontologist Marcelo Sánchez. Skilled human hunters are also likely to have contributed to pushing the large, heavily armored animals over the brink. More …

The University of Zurich is introducing a new degree program on biodiversity in the 2023 Fall Semester. Students can complete the study program, the only one of its kind in German-speaking countries, at Bachelor’s and Master’s level. More …

Global warming is changing the Arctic by causing permafrost thaw, glacier melt, droughts, fires and changes in vegetation. Different plant communities in the tundra play a key role in the energy exchange between land and the atmosphere but are not taken into account in climate models. More …

A big part of learning involves our memory. Neuroscientists are looking closely at what goes on in our brains when we learn, and are slowly unraveling the mysteries of this incredible ability of ours. More …

Acoustic communication is not only widespread in land vertebrates like birds and mammals, but also in reptiles, amphibians and fishes. According to researchers at the University of Zurich, the evolutionary origin of vocal communication dates back more than 400 million years. More …

It’s possible to produce things in orbit that wouldn’t be possible on Earth, says Oliver Ullrich. We sat down with the biochemist and space physician to learn more about weightless cells, the UZH Space Hub, and humans as an interplanetary species. More …

The young Ukrainian scientist Iaroslava Bezshyiko is set on discovering new elementary particles. This excitement about the mysteries of mass and matter runs in the family: thanks to a Scholars at Risk grant, her mother is now researching at UZH, too. More …

They can live for more than 100 years and weigh up to 250 kilograms – Aldabra giant tortoises. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now decoded the genome of Aldabrachelys gigantea, one of only two remaining giant tortoise species worldwide. The findings will help to ensure the long-term survival of the threatened species. More …

The 6th Swiss Parabolic Flight Campaign, run by the UZH Space Hub and the Swiss Sky Lab Foundation, takes place at the Air Base Dübendorf from 3 to 14 October. It is the first time a campaign is featuring a Cessna Citation II research aircraft, operated by the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR). The airplane will carry four research projects into weightlessness. More …