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Archive Media Releases 2021

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  • Climate and soil determine the distribution of plant traits

    An international research team succeeded in identifying global factors that explain the diversity of form and function in plants. Led by the University of Zurich, the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry in Jena and the University of Leipzig, the researchers collected and analyzed plant data from around the world. For the first time, they showed for characteristics such as plant size, structure, and life span how strongly these are determined by climate and soil properties. Insights derived from this could be crucial to improving Earth system models with regard to the role of plant diversity.
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  • Academic Education Can Positively Affect Aging of the Brain

    The benefits of good education and lifelong learning extend into old age. The initial findings of a long-term study show that certain degenerative processes are reduced in the brains of those with a university education. Their brains are better able to compensate age-related cognitive and neural limitations.
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  • Mechanism for DNA Invasion of Adenoviral Covid-19 Vaccines Discovered

    Adenoviruses have a linchpin protein that stabilizes their DNA until it reaches the infected cell’s nucleus. The protein then detaches from the viral genome, and the virus uncoats. Only then are the genes released into the nucleus, which is necessary for the production of new viruses. This process, discovered by researchers at the University of Zurich, is a key for effective functioning of various Covid-19 vaccines.
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  • Embroideries, Appliqués and Pleats as Carriers of Cultural Meaning

    The Ethnographic Museum at the University of Zurich is showing textiles made by Miao societies in Southwest China for the first time. The new exhibition Hidden Complexities showcases the complex textile skills and knowledge of Miao women based on 400 items of clothing, fabric and tools. And it reveals that there is far more to the stunning colors, patterns and materials than meets the eye.
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  • 2,700-Year-Old Leather Armor Proves Technology Transfer Happened in Antiquity

    Researchers at the University of Zurich have investigated a unique leather scale armor found in the tomb of a horse rider in Northwest China. Design and construction details of the armor indicate that it originated in the Neo-Assyrian Empire between the 6th and 8th century BCE before being brought to China.
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  • Exposure to Harmless Coronaviruses Boosts SARS-CoV-2 Immunity

    Infections with the novel coronavirus and vaccination lead to strong antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2. Immune responses to other human coronaviruses, which mostly only cause harmless colds, also provide some protection against SARS-CoV-2. This cross-reactive immune response is an important piece of the puzzle of how to achieve comprehensive coronavirus immunity, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown.
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  • Covid-19 Leads to Short-Term and Long-Term Push in Digitalization

    The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalization of everyday life. Especially when it comes to working and shopping, Swiss people want to see most of these changes remain in the long run. These are results of a representative survey conducted by the University of Zurich on internet use in Switzerland.
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  • New Insights into Kidney Disease with Tropical Frog Models

    Using cutting-edge genetic engineering, UZH researchers have developed a model to study hereditary kidney disease with the help of tropical frogs. The method allows them to collect large amounts of data on anomalies, which can then be analyzed using artificial intelligence. The research opens up new opportunities in the search for new treatment approaches for the hitherto incurable disease.
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  • Nature’s Masterpieces on Display

    From November, visitors to the University of Zurich’s Zoological and Paleontological Museum will be able to marvel at 50 incredible fossil specimens. These naturally created masterpieces will be beautifully presented in a brand new, specially designed “Schatzkammer”. The exhibits are a long-term loan from the Aathal Dinosaur Museum.
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  • Rising Approval of Regulation among Swiss Population

    The majority of Swiss people approve of how their government is regulating the economy. However, the idea of increased regulation, for example in healthcare or the financial industry, has been gaining favor, according to a survey among 2,350 Swiss voters conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich in 2020.
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  • Journalism Increasingly Important in Combatting Disinformation

    Professional quality media, particularly in times of crisis, help to put facts and numbers in context and stem the tide of false information. Still, the economic situation for journalism continues to deteriorate. For the first time, revenues from online advertising also declined. In Switzerland, there is relatively high public support for media subsidies for private media. These are some of the main findings of the Yearbook Quality of the Media 2021 produced by the Research Center for the Public Sphere and Society (fög) at the University of Zurich.
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  • Mechanism Behind Ineffective Psoriasis Drugs Identified

    Interleukin-12 – a messenger molecule of immune cells – was long considered to trigger the development of psoriasis. Now, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown that interleukin-12 does not actually cause the skin disease but protects against it. This also explains why common psoriasis drugs that block the messenger show insufficient treatment efficacy.
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  • Towards Precision Medicine for Dialysis Patients

    A common gene variant for the protein Aquaporin-1 lowers the amount of water channels in the cell membranes. This reduces water transport and leads to a higher risk of death in patients with kidney failure treated with peritoneal dialysis. In such cases, specific osmotic solutions should be used, as an international research team led by the University of Zurich has shown.
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  • 80 Percent of People in Switzerland Feel Fully Integrated into Society

    Only very few people in Switzerland feel highly excluded – including mostly foreigners, less educated people, young people as well as older people. Some in the French- and Italian-speaking regions do not feel fully integrated into society either, according to a recent study conducted by the Institute of Sociology at the University of Zurich.
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  • Flying High-Speed Drones into the Unknown with AI

    Researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new approach to autonomously fly quadrotors through unknown, complex environments at high speeds using only on-board sensing and computation. The new approach could be useful in emergencies, on construction sites or for security applications.
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  • Antidepressants Inhibit Cancer Growth in Mice

    Classic antidepressants could help improve modern cancer treatments. They slowed the growth of pancreatic and colon cancers in mice, and when combined with immunotherapy, they even stopped the cancer growth long-term. In some cases the tumors disappeared completely, researchers at UZH and USZ have found. Their findings will now be tested in human clinical trials.
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  • 29,400 students return to UZH

    Nach drei Online-Semestern in Folge findet die Lehre an der Universität Zürich erstmals wieder weitgehend in Präsenz statt. Knapp 29'400 Studierende haben sich für das Herbstsemester 2021 eingeschrieben – 750 Personen mehr als im Vorjahr. Wesentliche Veränderungen erwarten die Studierenden insbesondere in den Rechtswissenschaften und in der Veterinärmedizin.
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  • Natural Killer Cells Coordinate Wound Healing

    Natural killer cells do not just kill cancer cells or cells infected with viruses, they also mediate a trade-off between wound healing and bacterial defense in skin wounds. If the healing process is accelerated, the immune defense is weakened, researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown. This has relevance in treating skin injuries and in tackling antibiotic-resistant germs.
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  • On artificial skin and natural packaging

    The seventh edition of Scientifica, the science festival held by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, had a new format this year: for the first time, the Hönggerberg and Irchel campuses were also open to visitors, offering them the chance to experience up close recent scientific developments around the topic “Synthetic – naturally”. The large numbers of visitors demonstrated the huge public appetite that exists for direct interaction with researchers.
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  • UZH and Airbus to Grow Miniature Human Tissue on the International Space Station (ISS)

    UZH Space Hub and Airbus Defence and Space are sending an experiment into space on the next resupply flight to the International Space Station (ISS) with the aim of advancing the industrial production of human tissue in microgravity. The ISS will thus function as a workshop to produce miniature human tissues for terrestrial use in research and medicine. Initial preparatory tests on the ISS 18 months ago were successful.
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  • Tailoring Treatment of Patients with the Lung Disease COPD

    Patients with COPD are treated with drugs to improve the breathing ability in combination with inhaled corticosteroids to reduce the risk of acute worsening of the lung conditions. But the balance between reduced exacerbations and increased adverse effects of the drugs depends on the dose and on patient characteristics. Researchers from the University of Zurich now show how to personalize treatments to optimally balance benefits and side effects.
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  • What If Our History Was Written In Our Grammar?

    Humans have been always on the move, creating a complex history of languages and cultural traditions dispersed over the globe. An international team under UZH’s lead has now traced families of related languages over more than 10,000 years by combining data from genetics, linguistics and musicology using novel digital methods. Their findings: grammar reflects best the common prehistory of a population and therefore mirrors genetics more than any other cultural feature.
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  • Generous with Individuals and Selfish to the Masses

    Financial scandals or just normal human behaviour? Neuroeconomists at the University of Zurich have shown in an experimental setting that most people are willing to steal half of the earnings of a large group if their personal gain exceeds 100 euro, even though the very same people are generous towards individuals.
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  • New Algorithm Flies Drones Faster than Human Racing Pilots

    For the first time an autonomously flying quadrotor has outperformed two human pilots in a drone race. The success is based on a novel algorithm that was developed by researchers of the University of Zurich. It calculates time-optimal trajectories that fully consider the drones’ limitations.
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  • Leading Xenon Researchers Unite to Build Next-generation Dark Matter Detector

    The two major competing experiments — XENON/DARWIN at Gran Sasso in Italy and LUX-ZEPLIN in the US — have now joined forces to work together on a new, single, multi-tonne scale xenon observatory to explore dark matter. The detector will be highly sensitive to a wide range of proposed dark matter particles and their interactions with visible matter.
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  • Women Still Severely Underrepresented in Swiss Media

    Women are severely underrepresented in Swiss media coverage compared to men. Only about one in four people featured in media reports is female. According to a study by the University of Zurich, the gender gap has remained practically unchanged across all language regions and media types in Switzerland since 2015. The gap is highest for sports and business topics, and smallest when it comes to culture and human-interest. Moreover, the gender gap is smaller in coverage focusing on private matters than when the focus is on professional roles.
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  • Actively Addressing Inequalities Promotes Social Change

    People who have contact with other social groups are more likely to be committed to social justice. However, an international study led by the University of Zurich has shown that for this to be the case, power relations and discrimination must be actively addressed and group-specific needs must be met. It is important that disadvantaged group members, such as racial minorities and LGBTIQ+ individuals, are given a voice, and that those who belong to advantaged groups do not feel labeled as biased.
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  • Microscopy Deep Learning Predicts Viral Infections

    When viruses infect cells, changes in the cell nucleus occur, and these can be observed through fluorescence microscopy. Using fluoresence images from live cells, researchers at the University of Zurich have trained an artificial neural network to reliably recognize cells that are infected by adenoviruses or herpes viruses. The procedure also identifies severe acute infections at an early stage.
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  • Evolution Is Happening, Here and Now

    A new special exhibition at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich shines the spotlight on evolution and its consequences in our everyday lives. The exhibition, which uses examples from medicine, agriculture and nature conservation, was developed in collaboration with the University Research Priority Program (URPP) Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems.
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  • Chamoli-Disaster

    Some four months ago, a devastating flood ravaged the Chamoli district in the Indian Himalayas, killing over 200 people. The flood was caused by a massive landslide, which also involved a glacier. Researchers at the University of Zurich, the WSL and ETH Zurich have now analyzed the causes, scope and impact of the disaster as part of an international collaboration.
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  • Language Extinction Triggers Loss of Unique Medicinal Knowledge

    Indigenous peoples pass on their knowledge of medicinal plants orally. If their languages go extinct, valuable medical knowledge will be lost. A study by the University of Zurich estimates that 75 percent of the world’s medicinal plant applications are only known in one language.
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  • Innovation

    The active ingredient aducanumab, which was discovered at the University of Zurich, has been approved for use in the United States as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. Aducanumab, a human antibody, is the first treatment that has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s, which is incurable.
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  • Artificial Neurons Recognize Biosignals in Real Time

    Researchers from Zurich have developed a compact, energy-efficient device made from artificial neurons that is capable of decoding brainwaves. The chip uses data recorded from the brainwaves of epilepsy patients to identify which regions of the brain cause epileptic seizures. This opens up new perspectives for treatment.
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  • Young Orangutans

    Social learning in orangutans is shaped by their sex. Young males learn their foraging skills from immigrant individuals, while young females get their skills by observing their mothers and other residents in the area. These different sets of ecological knowledge help secure their survival.
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  • High Cholesterol Levels Stably Lowered with New Gene Editing Tool

    Base editing is a novel gene editing approach that can precisely change individual building blocks in a DNA sequence. By installing such a point mutation in a specific gene, an international research team led by the University of Zurich has succeeded in sustainably lowering high LDL cholesterol levels in the blood of mice and macaques. This opens up the possibility of curing patients with inherited metabolic liver diseases.
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  • New Technology Makes Tumor Eliminate Itself

    A new technology developed by UZH researchers enables the body to produce therapeutic agents on demand at the exact location where they are needed. The innovation could reduce the side effects of cancer therapy and may hold the solution to better delivery of Covid-related therapies directly to the lungs.
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  • The African Wild Dog: An Ambassador for the World’s Largest Nature Reserve

    The world’s largest terrestrial conservation area is located in southern Africa and covers 520,000 square kilometers spanning five countries. A study from the University of Zurich now shows that the endangered African wild dog mostly remains within the boundaries of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) when dispersing, thus highlighting the relevance of such a large-scale conservation initiative for maintaining key wildlife corridors of threatened species.
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  • Defective Epithelial Barriers Linked to Two Billion Chronic Diseases

    Humans are exposed to a variety of toxins and chemicals every day. According to the epithelial barrier hypothesis, exposure to many of these substances damages the epithelium, the thin layer of cells that covers the surface of our skin, lungs and intestine. Defective epithelial barriers have been linked to a rise in almost two billion allergic, autoimmune, neurodegenerative and psychiatric diseases.
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  • Biomarker Detects Severe COVID-19 Early On

    Severe cases of COVID-19 can now be detected at an early stage. Researchers at the University of Zurich have identified the first biomarker that can reliably predict which patients will develop severe symptoms. This can help to improve the treatment of severe cases of COVID-19.
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  • Lockdown Led to Stress and Mental Health Problems among Children, Adolescents, Parents and Young Adults

    One-third of children and adolescents experienced mental health problems during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. Parents and young adults also perceived considerable stress, yet the perceived stresses differed from those of children and adolescents, the first Switzerland-wide representative study by the University of Zurich and La Source School of Nursing Lausanne has shown.
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  • The First Comprehensive Single-Cell Atlas of Human Teeth

    Researchers at the University Zurich have mapped the first complete atlas of single cells that make up the human teeth. Their research shows that the composition of human dental pulp and periodontium vary greatly. Their findings open up new avenues for cell-based dental therapeutic approaches.
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  • UZH Awards Seven Honorary Doctorates

    The 2021 Dies academicus has received a new digital dress-up, with the day’s proceedings available online through an interactive platform. The University of Zurich has awarded honorary doctorates to musician Rudolf Lutz, notary Jürg Schmid, financial expert Bruno Biais as well as CT specialist Thomas Flohr. Further honorary doctorates have gone to veterinarian Lothar Wieler, German studies scholar Anil Bhatti and ornithologist Werner Müller.
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  • UZH Physicist Awarded Funding of 2.5 Million Euros

    Thomas Gehrmann, full professor of theoretical physics at the University of Zurich, has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant: He will receive 2.5 million euros from the European Research Council to develop new methods for precision calculations in particle physics with his team and apply them to specific particle reactions.
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  • UZH Researchers Find New Measure to Predict Stress Resilience

    Neuroeconomists, psychologists, and physicians at the University of Zurich show that increased sensitivity in a specific region of the brain contributes to the development of anxiety and depression in response to real-life stress. Their study establishes an objective neurobiological measure for stress resilience in humans.
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  • Toward a More Digital, Sustainable and Diverse Future

    The University of Zurich wants to harness the digital advances and the experience gained from the coronavirus pandemic to provide a targeted mix of classroom and online formats in the future. Learning will thus become a more individual, flexible and accessible process. More emphasis will also be placed on sustainability and diversity in the coming years.
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  • Joyful Screams Perceived More Strongly than Screams of Fear or Anger

    The human scream signals more than fear of imminent danger or entanglement in social conflicts. Screaming can also express joy or excitement. For the first time, researchers at the University of Zurich have demonstrated that non-alarming screams are even perceived and processed by the brain more efficiently than their alarming counterparts.
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  • Modern Human Brain Originated in Africa Around 1.7 Million Years Ago

    The human brain as we know it today is relatively young. It evolved about 1.7 million years ago when the culture of stone tools in Africa became increasingly complex. A short time later, the new Homo populations spread to Southeast Asia, researchers from the University of Zurich have now shown using computed tomography analyses of fossilized skulls.
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  • The Ship Cloths of Southern Sumatra

    For many centuries, the people of southern Sumatra saw themselves as living on a ship floating between the sea and the heavens. This idea was woven into fascinating textiles featuring elaborate depictions of ships carrying humans and animal-like beings. These ship cloths were used in ceremonial and ritual contexts, and some examples are now being presented in an exhibition at the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zurich.
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  • New Results Challenge Leading Theory in Physics

    Researchers at UZH and CERN have just released new intriguing results. According to the international research collaboration that runs the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment, the latest measurements strengthen hints for a deviation with respect to the theoretical expectations. If confirmed, the findings point towards physics beyond the Standard Model such as a new fundamental force.
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  • Artificial Light Affects Plant Pollination Even During the Daytime

    Streetlights alter the number of flower visits by insects not just at night, but also during the daytime. Artificial light at night thus indirectly affects the entire plant-pollinator community, with unknown consequences for functioning of the ecosystem, as researchers from the University of Zurich and Agroscope have proven for the first time.
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  • Consumption of Added Sugar Doubles Fat Production

    Too much sugar is unhealthy – that we know, but it’s not just down to the many calories. Even moderate amounts of added fructose and sucrose double the body’s own fat production in the liver, researchers from the University of Zurich have shown. In the long term, this contributes to the development of diabetes or a fatty liver.
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  • Reflecting on Your Own Capabilities Boosts Resilience

    Reflecting on how you have overcome past personal challenges can help you process negative experiences, a new study from the University of Zurich confirms. Actively reminding yourself of your self-efficacy could also prove useful in the coronavirus era.
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  • Musical Memories as Mood Boosters

    Hearing sounds that are linked to positive experiences from the past can considerably increase well-being, reduce depressive moods and alleviate behavioral problems in people with memory loss, a study by the University of Zurich in cooperation with clinical partners has found. The work with music and memories also benefits the nursing staff and carers involved.
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  • Reactivating Aging Stem Cells in the Brain

    As people get older, their neural stem cells lose the ability to proliferate and produce new neurons, leading to a decline in memory function. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered a mechanism linked to stem cell aging – and how the production of neurons can be reactivated.
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  • Hide-and-Seek Can Lead to Higher Drug Prices

    Pharmaceutical manufacturers and national authorities often negotiate secret rebates when determining drug prices. A UZH study shows that these rebate systems may hamper patient access to drugs. In the medium term, this practice can even lead to increasing drug prices.
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  • Smartphone App to Change Your Personality

    How quickly can personality traits be modified? An international research team led by the University of Zurich has shown that daily use of a smartphone app can lead to desired personality changes within three months. And three months after the daily interventions, the changes are still noticeable.
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  • Friends Matter: Giraffes that Group with Others Live Longer

    Adult female giraffes who spend time in larger groups with other females live longer than less sociable individuals. The effects of sociability on survival outweigh other factors such as environment or human presence, a study of giraffes in Tanzania led by the University of Zurich has shown.
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  • Synchronization of Brain Hemispheres Changes What We Hear

    Most of the time, our brain receives different input from each of our ears, but we nevertheless perceive speech as unified sounds. This process takes place through synchronization of the areas of the brain involved with the help of gamma waves, neurolinguists at the University of Zurich have now discovered. Their findings may lead to new treatment approaches for tinnitus.
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  • 1918 Pandemic Second Wave Had Fatal Consequences

    In the event of a pandemic, delayed reactions and a decentralized approach by the authorities at the start of a follow-up wave can lead to longer-lasting, more severe and more fatal consequences, researchers from the universities of Zurich and Toronto have found. The interdisciplinary team compared the Spanish flu of 1918 and 1919 in the Canton of Bern with the coronavirus pandemic of 2020.
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  • Marmoset Monkeys Eavesdrop On and Understand Conversations Between Other Marmosets

    Marmoset monkeys perceive the vocal interactions between their conspecifics not just as a string of calls, but as coherent conversations. They also evaluate their content. These are the findings of a study by researchers at the University of Zurich which combined thermography methods with behavioral preference measures.
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  • Risk-Taking Linked to Particular Brain Features

    There is a common genetic and neurobiological basis for risky behavior – the genetic disposition for risk-taking is mapped in several areas of the brain, a UZH study shows. The study combines genetic information and brain scans from more than 25,000 people for the first time.
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  • Solar System formation in two steps

    Why are the planets of the inner solar system dry and rocky, but the outer ones are not? An international team of researchers with participation of the University of Zurich discovered that a two-step formation process of the planets can explain the chronology and split in volatiles like water and isotope content of the inner and outer solar system.
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  • Die TRAPPIST-1-Planeten könnten aus ähnlichem Material bestehen

    The TRAPPIST-1 star is home to the largest batch of roughly Earth-size planets ever found outside our solar system. An international study involving researchers from the Universities of Bern, Geneva and Zurich now shows that the exoplanets have remarkably similar densities, which provides clues about their composition.
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  • Size of Connections between Nerve Cells Determines Signal Strength

    Nerve cells communicate with one another via synapses. Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich have now found that these connections seem to be much more powerful than previously thought. The larger the synapse, the stronger the signal it transmits. These findings will enable a better understanding of how the brain functions and how neurological disorders arise.
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  • How Fellow Students Improve Your Own Grades

    Better grades thanks to your fellow students? A study conducted by the University of Zurich’s Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics has revealed that not only the grade point average, gender and nationality peers can influence your own academic achievement, but so can their personalities. Intensive contact and interaction with persistent fellow students improve your own performance, and this effect even endures in subsequent semesters.
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