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Archive Mathematics and Natural Sciences 2024

42 articles
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Article list Mathematics and Natural Sciences

  • Evolutionary Anthropology

    Similarities in Brain Development Between Marmosets and Humans

    In common marmosets, the brain regions that process social interactions develop very slowly, extending until early adulthood, like in humans. During this time, all group members are involved in raising the infants, which contributes to the species’ strong socio-cognitive skills.
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  • Biodiversity

    Plant Diversity Enhances Soil Carbon Retention

    A new study shows that increasing plant diversity in agriculture can be used to improve the carbon sequestration potential of agricultural soils. As the agricultural sector strives to reduce its carbon footprint, promoting biodiversity in agricultural practices could be the key to more sustainable and climate-friendly food production systems.
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  • Sustainable development and conservation

    Rapidly Increasing Industrial Activities in the Arctic

    More than 800,000 km2 of the Arctic were affected by human activity in 2013, according to an analysis of satellite-derived data on artificial light at night. On average, 85% of the light-polluted areas are due to industrial activities rather than urban development. This is crucial for sustainable development and nature conservation.
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  • Plant protection

    Reducing Herbivore Damage Using Biodiversity

    Pesticides aren’t always necessary: researchers at the University of Zurich have conducted a comprehensive field study showing that damage from herbivores can be reduced by using biodiversity within a plant species.
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  • UZH Space Hub

    UZH Bolsters Its Aerospace and Aviation Research at Innovation Park Zurich

    The UZH Space Hub leverages its strong interdisciplinary research and international network to help advance the fields of remote sensing, astrophysics, space life sciences and autonomous drone navigation. By relocating to Innovation Park Zurich, it is enabling researchers to build a unique space ecosystem.
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  • Astrophysics

    Life in Space

    A space mission called LIFE will survey planets beyond our solar system – with the specific aim of finding out if they could sustain life. Researchers from the University of Zurich made use of the Earth.
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  • Earth System Science

    Coffee in the Shade

    Farming coffee can be both ecological and profitable at the same time, according to the research of Earth system scientist Maria J. Santos. The key is to combine the crops with trees.
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  • Evolutionary biology

    Colorful Traits in Primates Ease Tensions Between Groups

    Primate ornamentation plays a crucial role in communication not only within social groups but also between them, according to a new study. The traits may help reduce intergroup aggression by enabling quick assessments of potential rivals.
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  • Astrophysics

    Using Small Black Holes To Detect Big Black Holes

    An international team of astrophysicists with participation of the University of Zurich proposes a novel method to detect pairs of the biggest black holes found at the centers of galaxies by analyzing gravitational waves generated by binaries of nearby small stellar black holes.
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  • Genetic diversity

    Inheriting the Ability to Adapt

    Genetic diversity enables plants to adapt. Research conducted by plant geneticist Ueli Grossniklaus on the epigenetic inheritance of traits is opening up new opportunities for breeding crops.
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  • Evolution

    Nature’s Sleeping Beauties

    According to evolutionary biologist Andreas Wagner, nature tirelessly produces new variations, many of which are not utilized. But when environmental conditions change, these dormant new talents spring into action.
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  • URPP Global Change and Biodiversity

    "Biodiversity is our life insurance"

    Ecosystems are more stable and productive when they contain more species. This has been demonstrated impressively by researchers from the URPP Global Change and Biodiversity. The successful program is committed to ensuring that the value of biodiversity is better understood and appreciated in society.
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  • Paul Karrer Medal

    “You have to be a champion of failure”

    Katalin Karikó visited the University of Zurich to accept the Paul Karrer Medal. The Hungarian-born biochemist has faced numerous setbacks in her groundbreaking mRNA research before winning the Nobel Prize in 2023.
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  • URPP LightChEC

    “Making the catalysts work for us”

    “The scientific strides we’ve made will hopefully allow us to kick-start the long-awaited technology of producing energy from artificial photosynthesis,” says director Greta Patzke in describing what’s been achieved thanks to the URPP LightChEC.
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  • World Biodiversity Forum 2024

    “Climate change and biodiversity are closely connected”

    The third World Biodiversity Forum (WBF), organized by UZH, is taking place in Davos this week. In this interview, UZH earth system scientists Maria J. Santos and Gabriela Schaepman-Strub explain how biodiversity and climate change influence each other and what needs to be done to overcome the climate and biodiversity crisis.
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  • URPP Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems

    “UZH is a leader in evolutionary biology research”

    How do organisms and pathogens evolve and adapt to the environment? This was the question that the URPP Evolution in Action sought to address. The program allowed UZH to put its considerable research competence in evolutionary biology to excellent use, says the initiator and former co-director Beat Keller.
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  • Speech Sciences

    Human Brains Can Tell Deepfake Voices from Real Ones

    Do our brains process natural voices and deepfake voices differently? Research conducted at the University of Zurich indicates that this is the case. In a new study, researchers have identified two brain regions that respond differently to natural and deepfake voices.
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  • Science and Nature Festival

    Experience research up close and personal

    On Saturday, 8 June, the Science and Nature Festival will take place on UZH’s Irchel Campus. Keeping with the spirit of the event’s motto – Discover | Research | Celebrate Diversity – visitors can get inspired by the world of science for an entire afternoon.
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  • Computer vision and machine learning

    Bio-Inspired Cameras and AI Help Drivers Detect Pedestrians and Obstacles Faster

    Artificial intelligence (AI) combined with a novel bio-inspired camera achieves 100 times faster detection of pedestrians and obstacles than current automotive cameras. The new system can significantly improve the safety of automotive systems and self-driving cars, as UZH researchers show.
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  • Evolutionary Anthropology

    Cultural Networks of Central African Hunter-Gatherers Have Ancient Origin

    Extensive social networks between hunter-gatherers groups in the Congo Basin existed long before agriculture arrived in the region. This continent-wide interexchange preserved a cultural diversity that evolved thousands of years ago, as UZH researchers show based on musical instruments, vocabulary and genetic data.
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  • Biodiversity Day

    New Beech Trees for Switzerland’s Forests

    Climate change is afflicting indigenous beech trees in Switzerland. Researchers at UZH now want to find out what Swiss beech forests might look like in the future. To do that, they are taking an experimental approach, using spectral data to investigate the biodiversity of the beech forests.
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  • Evolutionary Biology

    Limited Adaptability Makes Freshwater Bacteria Vulnerable to Climate Change

    Freshwater bacteria with small genomes frequently undergo prolonged periods of adaptive stagnation. Based on genomic analyses of samples from European lakes, UZH researchers uncovered the surprising evolutionary strategies. Understanding these evolutionary dynamics is key to safeguarding ecosystem services.
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  • Population Genetics

    The Roots of the Mapuche

    The ancestors of the Mapuche people settled in South America more than 5,000 years ago. For a long time, they lived in relative isolation and in defiance of the Incas and Spanish. A notable study aids our understanding of their genetic history, and that of South America.
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  • Precision Medicine

    Fighting Cancer with SMARTdrugs

    With “SMARTdrugs” a team of researchers from UZH with international partners aims to create a new class of therapies: “radiotheranostics”. These drugs combine diagnostic and therapeutic radionuclides in a supramolecular compound with the purpose of imaging and treating tumors.
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  • Prix Schläfli (SCNAT)

    Giving Turtles a Voice

    For a long time, turtles were regarded as largely voiceless creatures. In his dissertation, Gabriel Jorgewich-Cohen has shown that they definitely do communicate acoustically. The postdoctoral researcher at the UZH Department of Paleontology has been awarded the Prix Schläfli in Biology.
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  • Study program “Biodiversity”

    Master’s Program in Biodiversity to Launch in the 2024 Fall Semester

    The new Bachelor’s program in biodiversity – the first of its kind in German-speaking countries – launched at UZH last fall. Following its success, with more than 140 students enrolled, the Master’s program in biodiversity will be offered for the first time starting this Fall Semester.
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  • Pharmacology

    Happy Mums, Healthy Babies

    One in 10 women suffer from depression during pregnancy. The illness often goes untreated and can have negative effects on the child. Now, in a large-scale international project, UZH researchers are analyzing the biological interactions at play and seeking treatment methods that are safe for mother and child.
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  • IceAgeCam

    Experience Ice Ages and Climate Change Up Close

    The new IceAgeCam installation on Felsenegg gives an impressive demonstration of the human influence on climate change. Visitors can immerse themselves in an interactive experience of the changing glacial landscapes. It is the result of an interdisciplinary project involving researchers from UZH, the University of Lausanne and the Zurich University of the Arts.
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  • New Department

    University Steps up Data Science

    UZH is responding to the rise of data science by establishing the Department of Mathematical Modeling and Machine Learning. DM3L for short, it combines UZH’s strong basic research in mathematics with practical applications and will offer a new study program from fall 2025. Here are four examples.
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  • Paleontology

    Ancient Giant Dolphin Discovered in the Amazon

    Measuring between 3 to 3.5 meters, 16 million years old: Paleontologists from the University of Zurich have announced the discovery of a new species of freshwater dolphin in the Peruvian Amazon region. Surprisingly, its closest living relatives can be found in the river dolphins of South Asia.
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  • University museums / exhibitions

    UZH Opens New Natural History Museum with Four Dinosaurs

    The new Natural History Museum of the University of Zurich brings together zoology, paleontology, anthropology and botany under the same roof. The museum opens with four new dinosaur skeletons and various other additions that shine a light on how evolution and biodiversity have shaped life on our planet.
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  • Scientific Research Stations

    Researching in the Wild

    UZH’s Faculty of Science operates research stations in far-flung places, where researchers analyze the effects of climate change or observe mountain chimps and meerkats in their natural environment, among other things. Five of these stations are presented below.
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  • Astronomy

    Earth as a test object

    If a space telescope like LIFE were to observe planet Earth from a distance of around 30 light years, it would find signs of a temperate, habitable world. Physicists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich reached this conclusion with the help of observations of our own planet.
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  • Biomedicine

    Cracking the Code of Neurodegeneration

    Scientists at UZH have developed an innovative neural cell culture model, shedding light on the intricate mechanisms underlying neurodegeneration. Their research revealed a promising therapeutic target in the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD).
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  • Plant science

    Asexual Propagation of Crop Plants Gets Closer

    When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered without fertilization, which opens up new avenues for the asexual propagation of crop plants.
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  • Space Research

    Green Light for LISA

    The ESA’s most expensive and complex mission, the LISA space antenna, has reached a major milestone: it has passed the stage of intensive testing by experts in the Mission Adoption Review process. Project member Professor Philippe Jetzer of UZH explains why this is such a significant step for the LISA consortium.
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  • Laboratory Animals

    Less Stress, Better Research

    Urs Meyer, professor at the Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology at UZH, and his team have developed a new method of orally administering pharmaceutical substances to mice. The new method benefits both the animals and the researchers. The method will now be rolled out more widely as part of the National Research Programme 79, “Advancing 3R”.
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  • UZH Spin-Offs, Annual Round-Up

    From Lab to Market

    In the last year, eight new spin-offs were created at the University of Zurich to bring research-based ideas to market readiness. The new companies are developing innovative approaches for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, lead poisoning, blood cancer and endometriosis, the improvement of spinal surgery, better diagnostics in oral health, and simplification of satellite data analysis.
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  • Evolutionary medicine

    Early Primates Likely Lived in Pairs

    Primate social organization is more flexible than previously assumed. According to a new study led by UZH, the first primates probably lived in pairs, while only around 15 percent of individuals were solitary.
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