Modern therapies have transformed care for people with #MultipleSclerosis. Yet the disease continues to progress in some patients, even without relapses. Researchers @biomedizin.unibas.ch & @dkf.unibas.ch now report on a blood marker to help track disease progression and monitor treatment response.

Blood marker tracks hidden progression in multiple sclerosis

Modern therapies have transformed care for people with multiple sclerosis (MS). Yet the disease continues to progress in some patients, even in the absence of relapses. Detecting and treating this gra...

unibas.ch

A ping-pong game of creative ideas, followed by phases of intensive calculations: that’s how Admir Greljo describes his work as Professor of Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology @unibas.ch. Read more about Admir Greljo in the current Uni Nova issue: www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even...

Mysterious cold periods in the past few millennia were probably triggered by #VolcanicEruptions. This is what Alice Paine from @unibas.ch discovered together with an international research team. To reach this conclusion, they analysed #IceCores #VolcanicRock and #moraines. ➡️ sohub.io/x9xz

How do blood vessels form to reliably supply the body with oxygen and nutrients? A research team @biozentrum.unibas.ch has uncovered a key mechanism: Pushing and pulling forces enable individual vessel segments to connect, forming a continuous blood vessel.

Blood must flow: How pushing and pulling forces shape our blood vessels

How do blood vessels form to reliably supply the body with oxygen and nutrients? A research team at the University of Basel, has uncovered a k...

unibas.ch

Four new professors at the University of Basel Emergency medecine: @wolfhautz.bsky.social Systens developmental medicine: @mariuslange.bsky.social Ibero-Romance and general linguistics: Sandra Schlumpf-Thurnherr Sustainability and behavioral change: Florian Lange 👉 www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even...

Can older people still determine their daily lives and make decisions for themselves when they rely on care? A team of researchers at the University of Basel is trying to find out. @nursing.mstdn.nursing.unibas.ch.ap.brid.gy

Having a say, right to the end.

Can older people still determine their daily lives and make decisions for themselves when they rely on care? A team of researchers at the Univ...

unibas.ch

How would a society without coins and banknotes function? And what role does the government play in this? A thought experiment by Aleksander Berentsen, Professor of Economic Theory @unibas.ch.

A cashless future.

How would a society without coins and banknotes function? And what role does the government play in this? A thought experiment.

unibas.ch

Money is based on a system of trust, promises and expectations. This makes it possible to accrue debt. Far from being a deviation from the norm, debt is the foundation of a modern economy, as Laura Rischbieter (@laurabasel.bsky.social), Professor of the History of Capitalism @unibas.ch, explains.

Living on credit.

Money is based on a system of trust, promises and expectations. This makes it possible to accrue debts. Far from being a deviation from the no...

unibas.ch

For millennia, farming in Switzerland did not reduce plant diversity but helped increase it, University of Basel researchers have shown in a detailed reconstruction covering the past 7000 years. Only recent decades paint a different picture.

Human activity has not always harmed biodiversity – quite the opposite

Researchers show that, over thousands of years, humans have actually increased—rather than reduced—plant diversity through agriculture.

unibas.ch

The ultra-thin material graphene can surprisingly host several superconducting states. This has been shown by @unibas.ch researchers together with colleagues from @mit.edu. Some of these states are even stabilized by magnetic fields, rather than being destroyed by them, as is usually the case.

Graphene reveals surprising types of superconducting states

Researchers demonstrate several unusual states of superconductivity in graphene.

unibas.ch

Electrolyte and water balance, blood pressure and much more: Hormones keep numerous processes in the body in a delicate equilibrium. This can be disrupted by substances from the environment, such as those in plastics.

What puts hormones under stress.

Electrolyte and water balance, blood pressure and much more: Hormones keep numerous processes in the body in a delicate equilibrium. This can be disrupted by substances from the environment, such as t...

unibas.ch

Professor Christophe Piveteau (@christophepiveteau.bsky.social) has been appointed the new assistant professor of theoretical quantum computing. @dmi.unibas.ch 👉 www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even...

A miniature dental robot that could one day automatically prepare teeth for crowns: The technology developed at the University of Basel could help reduce the number of appointments needed for dental treatment.

A mini robot to simplify dental treatment

Researchers at University of Basel, Switzerland, developed a miniature robot to simplify and automate dental treatments.

unibas.ch

Some people report being particularly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. In a fact check for Uni Nova, epidemiologist @martinroosli.bsky.social debates whether cellphone masts and Wi-Fi hotspots are really to blame for their symptoms. @swisstph.ch

Fact check: Electromagnetic hypersensitivity?

Some people report being particularly sensitive to electromagnetic fields. Epidemiologist Martin Röösli debates whether cellphone masts and Wi-Fi hotspots are really to blame for their symptoms.

unibas.ch

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a common but still mysterious sleep disorder. Using zebrafish, Prof. Alex Schier's team (@schierlab.bsky.social) has discovered that a gene associated with RLS is crucial for the development and function of the cerebellum. @biozentrum.unibas.ch

Restless Legs Syndrome – Clues from Zebrafish

A study of zebrafish provides new clues that the cerebellum might be involved in restless legs syndrome.

unibas.ch

Like a miniature lunar rocket: Researchers at University of Basel developed a modular nanorobot for tasks in medicine, industry or environmental technology. It's even self-assembling and reusable. 👉 www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even... @nanoscience.ch

"The global order must be defended whenever it’s challenged." International law is being violated all over the world. In an interview for the latest issue of Uni Nova, Prof. Dr. Andreas Müller talks about the past and present of this fragile yet enduring concept.

“The U.N. is being put to the test like never before.”

Iran, Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine: International law is being violated all over the world. We talk to Andreas Müller, an expert on international law, about the past and present of a fragile but enduring ...

unibas.ch

The gut does much more than just digest food. Researchers @biozentrum.unibas.ch have now discovered a surprising link between gut function, feeding, and sleep in fruit flies. Their study adds to growing evidence that the gut communicates with the brain and can influence behavior.

Sleeping instead of eating: How the gut influences behavior

The gut and brain are closely connected: a study in fruit flies shows how gut function influences sleep, food intake and survival.

unibas.ch

"Absolute poverty means having to manage on less than three dollars per day. It affects just short of 840 million people, primarily in Africa." Legal scholar Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer discusses the laws of poverty in an interview for the latest issue of Uni Nova.

The laws of poverty.

Anyone who has to live on less than three dollars a day has to become the manager of their own survival. At the same time, poverty is being criminalized, as legal scholar Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer ...

unibas.ch

The oldest coins in the Mediterranean were found in what is now western Turkey, but the circulation of coinage was not ubiquitous in the ancient world. Rather, bartering was the dominant economic system, particularly in times of crisis.

Money, myths and might.

The oldest coins in the Mediterranean were found in what is now western Turkey, but the circulation of coinage was not ubiquitous in the ancient world. Rather, bartering was the dominant economic syst...

unibas.ch

For decades, Alzheimer’s was considered incurable. Now, a shift is emerging: clinician and dementia researcher @marcaurelbusche.bsky.social explains why our understanding of the disease is currently undergoing a fundamental transformation.

“For me, Alzheimer’s is a disease of lost connections.”

New therapies and early diagnosis are transforming how Alzheimer’s disease is understood and treated.

unibas.ch

Meningitis is rare in newborns but often dramatic. For the first time, researchers @biozentrum.unibas.ch & @ethz.ch have developed a preventive approach that stops harmful bacteria in their tracks before transmission even occurs. They harness one of its natural enemies: a virus that kills bacteria.

Protection for newborns: new treatment aims to prevent meningitis without antibiotics

Researchers in Basel and Zurich are developing an antibiotic-free therapy to prevent dangerous meningitis in newborns.

unibas.ch

"Stories create a safe space in which you do not have to speak directly about yourself at first, but can begin by talking about the story." Literary scholars Moniek Kuijpers and Tina Ternes investigate how Shared Reading affects well-being. In an interview, they offer insights into their research.

The art of reading aloud

Literary scholars Moniek Kuijpers and Tina Ternes investigate how Shared Reading affects people’s well-being. On the occasion of the Schweizer Vorlesetag on 27 May, they offer insights into their rese...

unibas.ch

Lakes remove excess nitrogen from the water. An international research team led by @unibas.ch & @eawag.bsky.social has now shown that climate change could weaken this natural purification process. This would have consequences extending all the way to coastal marine ecosystems.

Climate change weakens the purification function of lakes

Climate change weakens lakes’ purification: shorter winter mixing reduces nitrogen removal – with impacts on marine ecosystems.

unibas.ch

Evolution runs through the gut: Researchers show, using highly diverse cichlids, how diet shapes the composition of intestinal tissue. @tschopplab.bsky.social @snsf.ch

You are what you eat: how diet drives evolution

A University of Basel study shows how different diets shape the evolution of intestinal cells in cichlid fishes.

unibas.ch

Stem cell donation can help people with #leukemia. A pilot study suggests that blood stem cell donors may be able to donate more and better-quality blood stem cells through exercise.

Physical exercise may improve stem cell donation

Intense exercise may complement stem cell donation treatment by mobilizing beneficial blood stem cells in a targeted way.

unibas.ch

Millions of people worldwide carry viral infections they acquired at birth, often for life. New research provides evidence that the immune system fights these infections more effectively than previously thought. @biomedizin.unibas.ch

How the immune system battles lifelong viral infections acquired at birth

The adult immune system responds to viruses acquired at birth but remains only partially effective.

unibas.ch

The University Council has appointed Professor Samuel Allemann as professor of pharmaceutical care. Allemann's research aims to make medication in chronic and complex diseases safer, more effective and more suitable for everyday use. 👉 www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even...

In many diseases, dysfunctional mitochondria play a central role. Researchers @iobswiss.bsky.social have now developed MitoCatch, a system which delivers healthy donor mitochondria specifically to the cells that need them most urgently.

MitoCatch delivers healthy mitochondria to diseased cells

Researchers are presenting a method for specifically transplanting healthy mitochondria into diseased cells.

unibas.ch

The #plague regularly affected the city of Basel. Excavations beneath Basel’s Stadtcasino uncovered graves from the 17th century, including plague burials. Analysis by researchers @unibas.ch shows that it was primarily young people from lower social strata who fell victim to the disease.

Plague outbreaks in the Early Modern period hit working youths the hardest

Excavations beneath Basel’s Stadtcasino uncovered graves from the 17th century, including plague burials. Analysis by researchers at the University of Basel shows that it was primarily young people fr...

unibas.ch