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Archive Research 2023

109 articles
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  • UZH Population Research Center

    Research With and For Society

    Seraina Rüegger is scientific director of the newly founded UZH Population Research Center, a collaborative academic platform for population-based research. In this interview, the political scientist talks about what issues and trends the researchers are exploring.
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  • Neuropsychology

    Physical and Social Activities Promote Healthy Brain Aging

    Physical and social activities in old age have a protective effect on the entorhinal cortex. This important area of the brain, which plays a central role in memory, is impaired in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, even in the early stages.
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  • Law

    “AI is no wonder tool”

    Artificial intelligence can make our lives easier in many ways. But the technology also harbors many dangers. Legal scholar Florent Thouvenin is working with academic partners from across the globe to develop ideas about how AI could be optimally regulated.
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  • The LOOP Zurich – Annual Event

    Data for the Medicine of the Future

    Medical research requires enormous amounts of data to achieve the breakthroughs that make a difference. The more the better – high computing capacities and large amounts of data can aid the development of new diagnoses and treatment methods. The LOOP Zurich is a pioneer in this area, as the center’s annual event showcased.
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  • Zurich-Basel Plant Science Center at 25

    How Plant Sciences Influence our Lives

    The Center of Competence for Plant Sciences run by the universities of Zurich, Basel and ETH Zurich is 25 years old. For its anniversary, 12 research groups are presenting some of their most important discoveries in an online exhibition. Using five examples, we show how plant research affects our lives.
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  • New UZH Magazine

    Research on a Global Scale: Learning from Each Other

    UZH researchers work with partners around the world on medical, legal, social, economic and political issues and questions. The newest issue of the UZH Magazin, out now in German, shines a light on these global collaborations. As usual, a selection of articles from the magazine will be published here in English over the coming weeks.
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  • Microtechnology

    Riding Sound Waves in the Brain

    Researchers from ETH Zurich and University Zurich have shown for the first time that microvehicles can be steered through blood vessels in the brains of mice using ultrasound. They hope that this will eventually lead to treatments capable of delivering drugs with pinpoint precision.
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  • Interview — 100 years of ZS

    “There’s always a bit of madness involved”

    The Zürcher Studierendenzeitung, the UZH student newspaper, celebrates its 100-year anniversary in 2023. A book has been published to mark the occasion. We sat down with two of the book’s editors, Johannes Luther and Michael Kuratli, to find out what goes into making the ZS and to look back at the paper’s storied history.
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  • Plant Biology

    Inoculation Against Diseased Fields

    A Swiss research team has now shown that inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi can help maintain or even improve yields without the use of additional fertilizers or pesticides. In a large-scale field trial, harvests increased by up to 40 percent.
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  • UZH Postdoc Team Award

    A Smartwatch App to Tackle Long Covid

    A treatment for people suffering from Long Covid is yet to materialize. The only approach that has proven to be effective is for patients to manage their symptoms. Researchers at UZH have developed an innovative smartwatch application and app that help patients do this. The researchers have now been awarded this year’s UZH Postdoc Team Award.
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  • Pitfalls of Computer-Based Psychotherapy

    Smartphone apps and internet programs promise quick and easy help for mental health difficulties. Birgit Watzke and her team at the Department of Psychology are investigating these digital tools and identifying their uses and limits.
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  • Zurich Seed Bank

    Zurich Seed Bank

    Researchers at UZH are freezing the seeds of threatened local plants to help increase the biodiversity of ecosystems in the future.
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  • Media Transformation

    Internet Use as Everyday Religion on the Rise, Cyborgization Still in its Early Stages

    Artificial intelligence has already arrived, cyborg technologies for self-optimization have not yet. Especially among younger people, internet use is becoming an everyday digital religion. These are results of a representative survey of Swiss internet users conducted by UZH.
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  • Sustainability

    UZH As Real-World Laboratory

    UZH tapped into the collective wisdom of its community to find out how to make everyday university operations more sustainable. It is now supporting several projects to improve sustainability. The various projects are aimed at reducing flight-related greenhouse gas emissions, increasing plastic recycling in labs, curbing electricity consumption in radiology, and managing the vegetation on Irchel Campus.
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  • Operating Room X (OR-X)

    The Operating Room of the Future

    The innovative OR-X at the Balgrist University Hospital is an exact copy of an operating room. Here, surgeons can train their skills and team up with researchers to develop computer-assisted surgical methods. This speeds up the translation of state-of-the-art surgical innovations into clinical practice and benefits patients.
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  • Sociology

    How Often Intra-European Migrants Send Money Back Home

    How often do European migrants in Switzerland transfer money to their home countries, and how much money do they send? People from Portugal tend to send smaller amounts more often, while people from the UK are more likely to send larger amounts but do so less frequently.
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  • Microbiology

    Predatory Bacteria

    Antibiotic resistance is increasingly becoming a challenge for treating bacterial infections. Microbiologist Simona Huwiler is researching whether predatory bacteria — that is, bacteria that eat other bacteria — can be used as a new kind of antibiotic and whether this approach also leads to the development of resistance.
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  • Surgical Robots

    Robots with a Deft Touch

    In future, multisensory surgical robots with sensors featuring visual, auditory and haptic functionality are expected to take on various individual steps during operations – quite autonomously – and support the surgeons providing treatment. Researchers from the University of Zurich are working on this, alongside clinicians, as part of the FAROS project.
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  • Globalization

    "We have a lot to lose"

    The Corona pandemic and the Ukraine war are the two most recent events that put globalization to the test. In this interview, political scientist Stefanie Walter and economist David Dorn discuss the challenges for global cooperation and its future.
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  • Media research

    Swiss Public Critical of AI in Journalism

    People in Switzerland generally have a critical attitude toward the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the production of news coverage. There is currently little appetite to consume and pay for AI-produced news.
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  • ERC Synergy Grant

    Three-Million-Euro Grant for Psychiatry

    Philipp Homan of UZH and the University Hospital of Psychiatry Zurich has been awarded a coveted ERC Synergy Grant shared with three European partners. For the joint project on language disturbances in psychotic disorders, UZH will receive 3 million of the project’s 10 million euro total funding.
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  • Healthy aging

    Adding Years to Life and Life to Years

    Medical advances mean people are living longer. However, they often face multiple conditions or illnesses in later life. Geriatric medicine is seeking both to increase healthy years of life and to get a better handle on multimorbidity.
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  • Ophtalmologie

    Gentherapie: Wirksamer Transport grosser Gene

    One problem in gene therapy is that not all genes transfer equally well into the target cells. UZH researchers have now developed a flexible method to transfer large genes efficiently and without significant side effects.
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  • Developmental psychology

    In Pursuit of Happiness

    Get rich, do good, stay in shape: personal goals give us direction and purpose. They also change over our lifespan. For lasting happiness, the path is at least as important as the destination.
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  • History

    In Full Flow

    Today’s consumer society wouldn’t have developed without our ability to transport goods efficiently. UZH historian Monika Dommann has explored the history of logistics and the movement of materials.
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  • Ethnographic Museum

    Overlooked by Europe

    For decades, the Ethnographic Museum at UZH saw its mission in depicting the world around us. Now, the museum has started taking a critical look at the provenance of its collections in an attempt to reframe the history of its colonial-era exhibits.
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  • UZH at the OLMA

    Healthy Hogs and More Resistant Wheat

    UZH is present at this year’s OLMA with two projects exhibited in the trade fair’s “research garden.” One project demonstrates how supplemental feeding with algae makes pigs healthier. The other project explains the arms race underway on farm fields between new grain varieties and mildew.
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  • Taxes in Africa

    More Money for the State

    Governments need tax revenue to create wealth and prosperity for their countries, but in low-income countries, raising taxes often hits the poorest people the hardest. Economist Dina Pomeranz is searching for solutions in Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to prevent that from happening.
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  • UZH 3R Award

    Award-Winning 3R Research Reduces Animal Experiments

    UZH is developing alternative methods to animal experiments in line with the 3Rs principle. To highlight outstanding achievements of its members in the field of 3Rs, the university has introduced the UZH 3R Award, which has now gone to Giuseppe Esposito and Melanie Generali.
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  • Open Access

    Strengthening Open Science Practices Together

    During Open Access Week from 23 to 29 October 2023, a variety of events across Switzerland aimed at researchers and students will shine a light on open science. UZH is also taking part, with a poster exhibition in the Lichthof and a panel discussion with high-profile speakers.
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  • Sleep Research

    Increased deep sleep benefits your heart

    Stimulating the brain with gentle sounds during deep sleep significantly enhances cardiac function, according to a new study. This discovery could have implications not only for cardiovascular diseases but also for competitive sports, among other areas.
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  • Systems Biology

    Predictions of the effect of drugs on individual cells are now possible

    Experts from ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and University Hospital Zurich have used machine learning to jointly create a innovative method. This new approach can predict how individual cells react to specific treatments, offering hope for more accurate diagnoses and therapeutics.
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  • Evolutionary Biology

    Genetics of Attraction: Mate Choice in Fruit Flies

    Genetic quality or genetic compatibility? What do female fruit flies prioritize when mating? UZH researchers show that both factors are important at different stages of the reproductive process and that females use targeted strategies to optimize the fitness of their offspring.
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  • Oliver Ullrich Honored

    Highest Honor for UZH Researcher

    Oliver Ullrich, Director of the UZH Space Hub and professor at the Institute of Anatomy, has been awarded the Life Sciences Award by the International Academy of Astronautics. The aerospace medicine expert is being recognized for his innovative research in space life sciences, a field he has been instrumental in establishing.
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  • Data Protection and Ethics

    A Solid Basis for Research

    A new self-assessment tool enables researchers at the University of Zurich to systematically check their projects for any data protection or ethical issues. The tool is also intended to increase awareness and improve research security.
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  • Healthy Longevity

    “Warren Buffet isn’t past it”

    We should give older people more opportunities for engagement, say Harald Gall and Mike Martin. In this interview, the computer scientist and psychologist share their views on healthy longevity, a more nuanced view of old age and what’s important to people.
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  • Media Research

    News Coverage in Major Media Outlets Is Politically Balanced

    A new study by the fög shows that news coverage in the major media outlets in particular is diverse and politically balanced. While proposals from governmental authorities are more likely to be covered positively, popular initiatives are given more overall attention.
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  • DSI Strategy Lab "Artificial Intelligence in Medicine"

    Our Digital Doppelgangers

    Artificial intelligence is also revolutionizing the world of medicine. In the future, we will be able to create digital twins that simulate various processes in our body. These digital representations of ourselves will be able to help us diagnose and treat diseases.
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  • MOASIS Study

    Mr. Deetlefs sings in Cavalleria rusticana

    Keeping active in later life keeps you healthy. MOASIS is a study conducted by UZH to examine how older people live and the effect this has on their fitness levels and well-being. The message is clear: use it or lose it.
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  • Inaugural symposium

    Focus on One Health

    The establishment of the One Health Institute at UZH is well under way. An inaugural symposium will be held on 21 September, focusing on the two key research areas, epidemiology and evolution.
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  • History

    Wide-Ranging Cases of Sexual Abuse in Swiss Catholic Church

    An independent team of historians was given unprecedented access to archives of the Swiss Catholic Church to investigate cases of sexual abuse within the church. The UZH researchers have now documented 1,002 cases of sexual abuse committed by Catholic clerics, church staff and members of Catholic orders that have occurred in Switzerland since the mid-20th century.
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  • Symposium in Honor of K. Alex Müller

    “We unleashed an avalanche”

    On 21 September, UZH is hosting a symposium in honor of the late physicist and Nobel laureate K. Alex Müller. Ahead of the event, we shine a spotlight on the discovery that earned Müller the Nobel Prize and speak with two of his close colleagues.
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  • Scientifica 2023

    Science Draws in the Crowds

    20,000 to 30,000 visitors experienced science up close this weekend at Scientifica, Switzerland’s largest science festival. Some 1,000 researchers from the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich were on site to present their work.
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  • Cooperation

    Catching Squid Together

    The very first humans knew that cooperation and division of labor could bring advantages – and even help them survive. Today, anthropologist Andrea Migliano conducts research into the social networks of modern hunter-gatherer cultures.
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  • Sleep Research

    Neurons Humming

    Sleep disorders are very common, and they’re particularly problematic for people with Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers at UZH, USZ and ETH are developing a device that can help patients sleep more deeply and improve their quality of life.
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  • SNSF Advanced Grant

    Two Million for Memory Research

    Neuroscientist Fritjof Helmchen has been awarded a coveted SNSF Advanced Grant worth CHF 2 million to fund his project researching a new theory of memory formation.
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  • Scientifica

    Accessible Zurich

    People with limited mobility have to deal with numerous obstacles in Zurich. ZüriACT, a joint project of UZH and the city of Zurich, aims to tackle this issue and make the city more accessible. Learn about the project at this year’s Scientifica festival.
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  • Neuroimmunology

    When Controls Fail

    In autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, the body’s immune system attacks the central nervous system. Immunologist Sarah Mundt wants to figure out why that happens and how to keep autoreactive T cells in check.
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  • Behaviour

    Criticism with care is more persuasive

    When unethical behavior is criticized, demands are often met with defensiveness and denial. New research shows that concern for their welfare makes people more open to criticism.
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  • Innovative Teams

    Passion Aplenty

    Turning an exciting idea into a successful start-up firm requires vision, a lot of knowhow and good planning. But most of all, it requires different people who work together really well.
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  • Us and ChatGPT

    “Like a Swiss army knife”

    ChatGPT is overrated as artificial intelligence and underrated as a language model, linguist Noah Bubenhofer says. He, philosopher Hans-Johann Glock, and computational linguist Rico Sennrich discuss how chatbots could change science, universities, and everyday work in the interview below.
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  • Linguistics

    Driven to Work by the “Fahri”

    The Swiss Amish in the US city of Berne still speak a language called Shwitzer. It derives from the Bernese German dialect spoken by the Emmental Anabaptists, but far from being archaic, Shwitzer is a highly innovative and dynamic language.
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  • Space telescope

    Euclid Sheds Light on the Darkness

    On 1 July, the Euclid space telescope will start its journey into outer space on an important mission – to seek further clues about the origin of the universe. UZH researchers are involved in the scientific preparation and evaluation of the mission as part of a project led by the European Space Agency (ESA).
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  • AI language models

    GPT-3 Informs and Disinforms Us Better

    AI language model produces accurate tweets that are easier to understand, but also tweets containing disinformation that are harder to detect, according to a UZH study.
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  • Teamwork

    Feeling Good at Work

    Positive emotions are the cornerstone of successful and productive work. Economist Jochen Menges is exploring how the emotions of teams and therefore their performance can be influenced. His research shows that not everyone wants the same things.
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  • Research Infrastructures

    UZH’s Research Infrastructures Score Highly

    The University of Zurich achieved excellent results in the Swiss government’s 2023 Swiss Roadmap for Research Infrastructures, acting as the sponsoring institution for 5 out of 14 large-scale priority projects.
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  • Human, Animal and Environmental Health

    UZH the First European University to Establish One Health Institute

    Researchers from veterinary medicine, human medicine and the natural sciences have joined forces to establish Europe’s first university-based One Health Institute at UZH. Together, they want to explore the links between human, animal and environmental health.
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  • Scientific Integrity

    Researchers Who Cheat

    Science is committed to truth. But there are isolated cases in which researchers rig data, disregard authorship, steal ideas or plagiarize. UZH has an integrity ordinance to tackle potential misconduct.
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  • Applied Statistics

    Disk or Globe?

    Why is the Earth not flat, but spherical? Scientists at the University of Zurich have developed a new, easy-to-understand statistical method to determine the curvature of the Earth.
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  • Chemistry

    Electron Dynamics in Real Time

    Making the dynamics of an excited molecule visible is only possible using computationally intensive simulations. Recently, a research team led by Sandra Luber from the University of Zurich has developed a method that speeds up these complex simulations.
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  • Evolution of Language

    Chimpanzees Combine Calls to Communicate New Meaning

    Similar to humans, chimpanzees combine vocalizations into larger communicatively meaningful structures. UZH researchers suggest that this ability might be evolutionarily more ancient than previously thought.
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  • What We Believe

    “Digital Trinity”

    Digitalization is taking on certain social functions of religion. Faith in divine decisions is being replaced by our faith in algorithmic selection, says communications researcher Michael Latzer.
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  • Physiology

    Main Suppliers of Epo in the Human Body Identified

    We know Erythropoietin, or Epo for short, from doping cases. But the body also produces this vital hormone. Now, scientists have been able to identify the main producer of Epo, laying the foundation for the development of new therapies.
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  • Sociology

    Misconceptions Put Women Off STEM Subjects

    Young women seem to be less drawn to degrees in science or technology. But what is putting them off? A sociological study at UZH has revealed that outdated gender stereotypes – such as supposed differences in analytical thinking – play a major role.
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  • Fake news

    Thinking More Slowly

    Fake news is everywhere and achieving a new level of quality thanks to artificial intelligence. Safeguarding ourselves against it isn’t easy, as many people prefer to believe plausible misinformation rather than complicated facts.
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  • 1 Million for Chemistry Project

    Boost for Sustainable Use of Resources

    Initial funding of 1 million: thanks to the Werner Siemens-Stiftung, UZH chemistry professors Greta Patzke, David Tilley, Stefan Seeger and Kathrin Fenner and their teams will be able to develop their project idea for a research into technologies for sustainable resource use. If successful, 100 million and the creation of a new WSS research center awaits.
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  • Climate Crisis

    Fleeing Climate Disasters

    All over the world, extreme climatic events are causing people to lose their homes and livelihoods, forcing them to start over elsewhere. The interdisciplinary research project RE-TRANS identifies which regions are particularly under threat and analyzes how to best manage mass relocations.
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  • Sinology

    China's Dream

    Rivalry between the US and China is increasing. With tensions running high, the European nations should make greater efforts to coordinate their China policies, says Simona Grano. In her new book, the sinologist and China expert examines how this trial of strength between the two superpowers is impacting smaller nations.
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  • Russian disinformation

    Putin’s Politics of Propaganda

    Millions of Russians live in a world of make-believe, hoodwinked by state propaganda. Alternative realities are the opium of the people and allow the elites to hold on to power, as shown by a look at history with Slavonic studies scholar Sylvia Sasse and historian Jeronim Perović.
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  • FAN Awards

    Heart Attacks, Science Fiction and Lessons from Organic Agriculture

    Three UZH junior researchers are honored with a FAN Award for their original work: Florian Wenzl for his research on personalized heart attack treatment, Jessica Imbach for her study of Chinese science fiction and Emilio Dal Re for revealing the unintended consequences of organic agriculture.
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  • Digital Religion(s)

    Praying With Alexa

    With God-like artificial intelligence and online spirituality, digital technology is changing the face of religion and faith. Religious thinking also influences how we perceive new technologies.
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  • Sustainable Digitalization

    “We’re not at the mercy of the future”

    Digital technologies make many systems and processes more efficient. Lorenz Hilty, professor of informatics, is researching how the digital transformation can also be harnessed for sustainable development.
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  • Cancer Research

    A Targeted Method to Combat Cancer

    By analyzing tumors in unprecedented depth, the Tumor Profiler project represents an important step along the road toward personalized cancer treatments. And the team have already recorded initial successes: in a study focusing on skin cancer, tumors shrank in about one third of patients.
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  • LINA testing facility

    Flying Toward the Future

    A new testing facility at Dübendorf Airport enables researchers to develop autonomous systems such as drones from idea to marketable product. The facility was conceived thanks to the Digitalization Initiative of the Zurich Higher Education Institutions.
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  • Medicine

    Unlocking the Data Treasure Chest

    The LOOP Zurich research center is creating a central platform to exchange health data between UZH, ETH Zurich and the four university hospitals in Zurich, making it possible to quickly and easily use this information for the benefit of patients.
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  • Self-Regulation Training

    Hurdy shows the way

    Today, economics is a universal behavioral science, says Ernst Fehr. In an experiment at schools, the economist showed that young students who can regulate themselves well learn better. This ability can be trained.
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  • Economics

    Out of the Cocoa Fields

    In Côte d’Ivoire and Malawi, many children don’t attend school because they have to work on cocoa plantations or are married off at an early age. UZH economist Guilherme Lichand is using innovative experiments to explore solutions to this problem.
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  • Provenance research at the Ethnographic Museum

    "Benin Bronzes" in the Spotlight

    Eight Swiss museums, including UZH’s Ethnographic Museum, have come together under the Swiss Benin Initiative (BIS) to work with Nigeria in investigating the provenance of their holdings from the historical kingdom of Benin. Alexis Malefakis, who curates the museum’s African collection, discusses the project, the limitations of provenance research, and the restitution of looted artefacts.
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  • DNA Research

    Artificial Intelligence Improves Efficiency of Genome Editing

    Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new tool that uses artificial intelligence to predict the efficacy of various genome editing repair options. Unintentional errors in the correction of DNA mutations of genetic diseases can thus be reduced.
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  • Sustainable assets

    Green Investing

    Investors can contribute to the sustainable development of the economy, says economist Falko Paetzold. Supporting innovative start-ups is the most high-impact way of doing so.
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  • Sociology

    Men Are Leaving Feminizing Occupations

    Many women and men still work in sex-typed occupations. One important reason for this is that men are selectively leaving occupations that are increasingly taken up by women, a recent study from the University of Zurich has shown.
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  • Remote sensing

    The Oracle of Leaves

    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.
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  • Diamond Open Access

    Flourishing Journals

    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.
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  • In Memoriam

    Swimming Against the Current

    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.
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  • UZH Postdoc Team Award

    Checking the Pulse of Society

    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.
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  • Jurisprudence

    Taking Climate to Court

    Over a dozen climate-related lawsuits are pending at the European Court of Human Rights, putting legal processes at the institution to the test. Two UZH lawyers are investigating how courts can reach fair and judicious decisions in climate cases.
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  • UZH Spin-Offs in 2022

    Entrepreneurial Milestones in Life Sciences

    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.
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  • Top of the Press Pops 2022

    Donated Livers, Dolphin Apothecaries and Dangerous Dishwashers

    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.
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