Reading is one of the basic skills we acquire as children. But for some, it is more difficult than others. Neuroscientist Silvia Brem explains why and describes the promising therapies she is working on. More …

There are many good reasons why students should get vaccinated against Covid-19, even if they are young and healthy. UZH virologist Alexandra Trkola takes a clear and balanced look at the arguments for and against vaccination. More …

Human communication is much more complex than all other forms of animal communication. And yet, monkeys and meerkats are also able to use language. Research into animal languages can help us understand how human language evolved. More …

Older people in Switzerland would like to have far more educational opportunities than are currently available, a new national study carried out by senior citizens universities, adult education institutions and the UZH Center for Gerontology has found. In an interview with UZH News, gerontologist Mike Martin explains why education is so important for older people. More …

Machines that read our thoughts and translate them into spoken language – what sounds like science fiction could be a real possibility in the future, says linguist Balthasar Bickel. Scientists in the NCCR Evolving Language are researching mind-reading, both to gain a better understanding of it and to warn of the dangers. More …

One of the patterns emerging from the thousands of exoplanets that astronomers have discovered to date, is that the larger planets often orbit more massive stars. The reason behind it was unknown. A new study led by scientists at the University of Zurich, and members associated with the National Center of Competence in Researc (NCCR) PlanetS offers an answer to this cosmic mystery. More …

Developmental psychologist Moritz Daum took the reins of the Jacobs Center for Productive Youth Development at the beginning of August. With the center now fully developed and having reached its target size, the incoming executive director wants to continue to step up cooperation in the fields of sociology, economics and psychology with the aim of generating new insights for the benefit of children and young people. More …

Chairs, benches, sofas or stools – seats are more than just somewhere to rest our legs: They are also used to display power. UZH art historian Sabine Sommerer researches the phenomenon – from thrones of old to the recent “sofagate” and Putin on horseback. More …

Stefan Riedener has pledged to donate 10 percent of his income to charity – for as long as he lives. We spoke with the ethicist about leading a good, ethical life and finding joy in restraint. More …

Coronavirus-relevant data can help those in charge of pandemic management at UZH gain a better overview of the situation during the Fall Semester. In order to achieve this, students and staff are being asked to make their data available in anonymized form. The information will be evaluated as part of a scientific pilot project. More …

The summer quiz has attracted a lot of interest. The correct solution word is: SUMMERQUIZ. Congratulations to the winners. More …

New findings are emerging from UZH research all the time; the range of projects is breathtaking. In our summer quiz, we take you on a voyage of discovery around a few of the topics covered by UZH Communications in the last six months. Have fun trying to guess the answers. More …

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 …

In the animal kingdom, it’s the ladies who get to pick their partners. So if males want to mate, they have to woo females and outshine their rivals. UZH biologist Stefan Lüpold examines what gives male animals the edge when it comes to sexual selection. 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 …

Ahmed Fatima Kzzo once documented ancient inscriptions in Aleppo that dated back to the Ottoman Empire. Shortly thereafter, large parts of his hometown were reduced to rubble. The Syrian archaeologist is currently researching at UZH under a scholarship. More …

Increased stress, lack of exercise and frequent snacking: The effects of the pandemic are visible on our waistlines. For endocrinologist Philipp Gerber, the weight gain is not just a short-term side effect, but is storing up problems for the future and needs to be taken seriously. More …

Around half of the Swiss population is interested in actively taking part in academic research. Social and environment topics are among the most popular.. 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 …

Onicio Leal is a startup founder and public health researcher in one. He wants to help improve the health of children growing up in Malawi. More …

Tommaso Patriarchi's ambition is to decipher the brain's chemical language – using neurosensors that he has developed himself. More …

Researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich led by Daniel Razansky have developed a new microscopy technique that lights up the brain with high resolution imagery. This allows neuroscientists to study brain functions and ailments more closely and non-invasively. 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 …

Researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich deciphered the cellular mechanisms through which tendons can adapt to mechanical stresses. People who carry a certain variant of a gene that is key to this mechanism show improved jumping performance. More …

Back pain: a disease common to many. However, with his newly developed stem cell therapy, biochemist Stefan Dudli is hoping to make it a thing of the past. More …

The University of Zurich is committed to becoming carbon-neutral by 2030. The recently published Sustainability Report shows where UZH currently stands when it comes to achieving this goal. More …

Ana Guerreiro Stücklin treats children and young people at the University Children’s Hospital Zurich. She wants to fight brain tumors with novel therapies. More …

Infectious disease specialist Huldrych Günthard treats coronavirus patients at the UniversityHospital Zurich (USZ), while biostatistician Leonhard Held evaluates the plethora of publications on the pandemic. We talk about coronavirus, vaccination and research quality during the crisis. 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 …

The LOOP Zurich, the new medical research center in Zurich, promotes patient-focused therapies. To achieve its goals, the center brings together specialist knowledge in the fields of biomedicine, bioinformatics and clinical research from the University of Zurich, ETH Zurich as well as Zurich’s four university hospitals. Two of The LOOP Zurich’s first research consortia have now started developing innovative treatments methods in oncology and neurorehabilitation. 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 …

Is Marian Neidert taking a saw to the branch he’s sitting on? As a neurosurgeon, he operates on brain tumors; as a researcher he’s trying to teach the immune system to fight them itself. But it might be some time before immunotherapies make surgery superfluous. More …

Biologist Marcel van der Heijden aims to increase agricultural yields – not just with artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and GM technology, but also fungi and other microorganisms. He's not afraid to resort to less conventional research methods, either. More …

They’re young, dedicated and full of promising ideas. The latest UZH Magazin presents six UZH researchers who are embarking on a career in academia. We spoke with them about their research, their goals and the secrets of their success. 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 …

PolygonSoftware develops smart software solutions and relies on gifted programmers. The startup’s staff is made up entirely of students or alumni of the UZH Department of Informatics. The fledgling business has recently been granted the right to use the UZH Startup label. More …

The new Science Exploratorium shines a light on research at UZH’s Faculty of Science. Current exhibitions provide visitors with insights into the collection of the UZH Botanical Museum, the field of particle physics, research on high-temperature superconductivity and a citizen science project on hydrology. 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 …

The University of Zurich and the University of Queensland have entered into a strategic partnership, formalizing their long-standing cooperation in research and teaching – and paving the way for new joint projects. More …

Phobos and Deimos are the remains of a larger Martian moon that was disrupted between 1 and 2.7 billion years ago, say researchers from the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich and the Physics Institute at the University of Zurich. In collaboration with the U.S. Naval Observatory, they reached this conclusion using computer simulations and seismic recordings from the InSight Mars mission. More …

Scientists of the Universities of Zurich and Cambridge, associated with the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research PlanetS, suggest a new explanation for the abundance in intermediate-mass exoplanets – a long-standing puzzle of astronomy. More … 1 Comment

Bacteria can survive antibiotic treatment even without antibiotic resistance by slowing down their metabolism and going into a type of deep sleep. A research team reveals the changes bacteria undergo to reach this "persister" state. Annelies Zinkernagel, an infectiologist at UZH, is main author of the publication in the scientific journal PNAS. More …

Chemists Michel Rickhaus and Fabian von Rohr specialize in looking for new materials that could play an important role in the electronics of the future. 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 …

Elisabeth Stark is UZH’s new Vice President Research. A linguist and expert in Romance languages, Stark wants to refine UZH’s research profile and promote cross-disciplinary collaboration. More …

Seven new spin-offs emerged from UZH last year. The fledgling businesses have rolled out innovative software for drones, a novel treatment for stress incontinence as well as a method that makes prenatal interventions safer, among other things. More …

Scientists at the University of Zurich associated with the National Center of Competence in Research PlanetS reveal considerable uncertainties in the theoretical understanding of giant gas planets. This emphasizes the importance of further developing theoretical aspects of exoplanetary characterization. More …

As part of a clinical study involving patients from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, researchers are conducting a thorough and highly precise investigation into the molecular and functional properties of tumors. Their goal is to help physicians to better determine which treatment will best match every patient’s cancer and thus be most effective. 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 …

Since the first test-tube baby was born in 1978, reproductive medicine has made great strides. Although many couples with fertility problems have benefitted, the ability to have a child is still not guaranteed. More …