Older people who help and support others live longer. These are the findings of a study published in the journal “Evolution and Human Behavior”, conducted by researchers from the University of Basel and others.
Neurons in the brain store RNA molecules – DNA gene copies – in order to rapidly react to stimuli. This storage dramatically accelerates the production of proteins. This is one of the reasons why neurons in the brain can adapt quickly during learning processes.
The Prix Bartholdi Association awarded its annual prize to Eucor – The European Campus on 9 December 2016 in the Freiburg University Library, thus recognizing the university alliance for its fundamental contribution to cross-border cooperation. The prize was accepted by representatives from the member universities Basel, Freiburg, Upper Alsace, and Strasbourg, as well as the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.
Before an operation, surgeons have to obtain the most precise image possible of the anatomical structures of the part of the body undergoing surgery. University of Basel researchers have now developed a technology that uses computed tomography data to generate a three-dimensional image in real time for use in a virtual environment.
A research team at the University of Basel’s Biozentrum has investigated the expression of ribosomal proteins in a wide range of human tissues including tumors and discovered a cancer type specific signature. As the researchers report in “Genome Biology” this “cancer signature” could potentially be used to predict the progression of the disease.
Majorana fermions are particles that could potentially be used as information units for a quantum computer. An experiment by physicists at the Swiss Nanoscience Institute and the University of Basel’s Department of Physics has confirmed their theory that Majorana fermions can be generated and measured on a superconductor at the end of wires made from single iron atoms. The researchers also succeeded in observing the wave properties of Majoranas and, therefore, in making the interior of a Majorana visible for the first time.
Three researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Basel have been awarded the coveted ERC Starting Grants by the European Research Council (ERC). Michal Juríček, Michael Nash and Konrad Tiefenbacher each receive 1.5 million Euros for their research projects.
Using targeted immunotherapy, doctors have succeeded in curing a type of autoimmune enteritis caused by a recently discovered genetic mutation. This report comes from researchers at the Department of Biomedicine of the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel. Their results raise new possibilities for the management of diarrhea, which is often a side effect of melanoma treatment.
At the 556th Dies Academicus, the University of Basel awarded honorary doctorates to eight figures from academia and society. Those honored included, inter alia, writer Thomas Hürlimann, museum director Sam Keller and medical historian Barbara Duden.
