Astronomers have examined the distribution and movement of dwarf galaxies in the constellation Centaurus, but their observations do not fit with the standard model of cosmology that assumes the existence of dark matter.
A diagnosis of cancer causes huge psychological stress, but many patients do not receive any psychological support. An online stress management program can significantly improve their quality of life, as shown by a study conducted by researchers from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel.
Researchers at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel, together with researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Dresden, have set up a novel lab-on-a-chip with accompanying automatic analysis software. As they report in Nature Communications, this integrated setup can be used to study gene regulation in single bacterial cells in response to dynamically controlled environmental changes.
Physicists have developed a technique based on optical microscopy that can be used to create images of atoms on the nanoscale. In particular, the new method allows the imaging of quantum dots in a semiconductor chip.
Ethicists from the University of Basel have outlined a new biosecurity framework specific to neurotechnology. While the researchers declare an outright ban of dual-use technology ethically unjustified, they call for regulations aimed at protecting the mental privacy and integrity of humans.
Prof. Silvia Arber, Neuroscientist at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, receives the Pradel Research Award 2018. She receives the award by the National Academy of Sciences for her groundbreaking research on the organization and function of circuits regulating motor behavior.
In Switzerland, 5,500 operations to combat morbid obesity are conducted every year. Gastric bypasses and sleeve gastrectomy operations perform similarly: patients lose two-thirds of their excess weight in the long term. When it comes to gastric acid reflux, the bypass clearly shows better results.
Erich Nigg, Professor of Cell Biology and, since 2009, Director of the Biozentrum will retire from the University of Basel at the end of January 2018. On this occasion, to honor the achievements of the future emeritus, a full-day scientific symposium will take place on February 1, 2018, at the Biozentrum.
How does the zebrafish get its stripes? Why does it change from species to species? Which cells are responsible for the variety and beauty of the pattern? These are questions that Prof. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard, Nobel laureate in Medicine or Physiology, is exploring in depth in her research. In the coming “Biozentrum Lecture”, that will take place on 24 January 2018, she will address the puzzles surrounding the formation of the typical “zebra” pattern.
