A huge number of volunteers signed up to help people in coronavirus risk groups – primarily via online platforms. Such websites can have a positive impact with regard to the mobilization, willingness and satisfaction of volunteers, including in the longer term.
Researchers at the University of Basel have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria ensure that their outer cell membrane remains intact and functional even under hostile conditions. This mechanism is important for the pathogen’s survival in the host. The study provides new insights underlying pathogenic virulence.
Bronze Age pastoralists in what is now southern Russia apparently covered shorter distances than previously thought. It is believed that the Indo-European languages may have originated from this region, and these findings raise new questions about how technical and agricultural innovations spread to Europe. An international research team, with the participation of the University of Basel, has published a paper on this topic.
The Dammann collection is one of the most extensive collections of languages and oral literatures of Namibia. To raise awareness of this unique archive and make it more visible to the Namibian public, students and faculty members of the University of Basel developed the online platform “Namibia 1953–54.”
Despite significant progress in prevention and therapy, millions of people still get infected with HIV every year. The main burden of HIV/AIDS falls on Africa. To contain the epidemic, innovative methods are needed to enable early diagnosis of all those affected. A Basel research group has now been able to significantly improve the success of "door-to-door" testing campaigns thanks to HIV self-tests.
In a study published in “Nature”, researchers at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) and the University of Basel unraveled mechanisms orchestrating organoid formation and intestinal regeneration. Using a unique image-based screening approach, the researchers identified a compound that improves intestinal regeneration in mice.
Living at home in old age: This is what most older adults want. As a result, there is a high demand for senior apartments and tailor-made services for the care of older adults in need of assistance in their own households. This is one of the main findings of the population survey in Canton Basel-Landschaft, which was conducted as part of the "Inspire" project.
Phosphorus is essential for agriculture, yet this important plant nutrient is increasingly being lost from soils around the world. The primary cause is soil erosion, reports an international research team led by the University of Basel.
With life expectancy increasing, age-related diseases are also on the rise, including sarcopenia, the loss of muscle mass due to aging. Researchers from the University of Basel’s Biozentrum have demonstrated that a well-known drug can delay the progression of age-related muscle weakness.