University of Basel

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How do cells sort their recycling? A @biozentrum.unibas.ch team has identified a molecular switch that controls how reusable cargo is loaded into transport vesicles.

Researchers at the University of Basel have investigated how fine particles in exhaust emissions from aircraft and marine engines change in the atmosphere. Their findings show that aircraft emissions in particular become more toxic over time.

Happy Nano Day! Today, October 9, we’re celebrating the #NanoDay with a look into the fascinating #nanoscience research being conducted at the SNI. Many thanks to all our partners! @unibas.ch @psi.ch @fhnw.ch #NationalNanoDay nanoscience.unibas.ch/en/news/deta...

At first, it spread almost unnoticed, but for the past two years the tiger mosquito has been found throughout Basel. Researchers @swisstph.ch & @unibas.ch have now investigated how Basel can treat one of the mosquito’s breeding sites particularly effectively.

A gene therapy combined with special goggles can help people with advanced #retinitispigmentosa, a severe inherited retinal disease, perceive simple visual information again. A study involving @iobswiss.bsky.social & @unibas.ch has now found improvements in visual perception in several participants.

At the end of Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey, Odysseus leaves his home and sails west. This scene doesn’t appear in Homer’s original work, but it still makes sense to Martin A. Guggisberg, professor of classical archeology. A search for clues in Calabria reveals why.

Researchers @biozentrum.unibas.ch & @fmiscience.bsky.social have created the most detailed map yet of the mouse motor cortex. The map reveals 16 distinct subregions and sheds new light on the brain circuits that control movement.

The University Council has appointed Professor Gregor Hutter @hutterlab.bsky.social as Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at the Faculty of Medicine. Hutter's research focuses on glioblastoma, the most common malignant brain tumor in adults. 👉 www.unibas.ch/en/News-Even...

Brown adipose tissue could play a key role in tackling #obesity. Endocrinologist Professor Matthias Betz @dkf.unibas.ch and University Hospital Basel explains why such approaches are still needed even in the age of weight-loss drugs and what challenges remain.

How do we perceive our surroundings, and what criteria do we use to evaluate them? In this interview, philosopher Antonietta Di Giulio explains how different concepts of landscape can lead to conflicts and how policymakers can answer them.

Botond Roska, professor @unibas.ch and director of science @iobswiss.bsky.social, wins the 2026 António Champalimaud Vision Award together with José-Alain Sahel (@pittophthalmology.bsky.social). The prize, worth one million euros, is the world’s largest award in vision research and ophthalmology.

Can macrophages be turned against cancer? Researchers from Basel and Cambridge developed molecules that help these immune cells engulf tumor cells while weakening the tumor’s defenses.

Six female scientists at the University of Basel have been awarded one of the prestigious ERC Starting Grants. Prof. Petya Apostolova @dixonlab.bsky.social @yuping-li.bsky.social Dr. Cathelijne Nuijsink Prof. Olena Palko Prof. Burcu Tepekule

Liver cancer is difficult to treat because tumors vary greatly from patient to patient. Researchers @biomedizin.unibas.ch have captured this diversity by creating a collection of mini-tumors which they use to systematically search for new treatment options and to develop promising drug combinations.

Is it true that money alone doesn’t bring happiness? Or is that just a cliché to comfort those who are less well-off and who look at the rich and famous with a certain envy? Happiness researcher Reto Odermatt explains what the research shows.

As in many homes, Michelle Engeler’s kitchen table is a hive of activity and a hub of everyday life. For her as a social anthropologist, the dining table also provides the basis for her research about how people from diverse backgrounds live together.

This year, the University Library celebrates its 555th anniversary. @ubbasel.bsky.social has weathered many historical upheavals, but little is known about this chapter during World War II. Noah Regenass examined archival sources and uncovered contradictions in the library’s operations at the time.

Why does staying awake inevitably make us sleepy? Researchers @schierlab.bsky.social @biozentrum.unibas.ch have identified neuronal populations in the brain of mice that become activated during prolonged wakefulness and are crucial for sleep drive.

Forgot to take your pill or did your condom break? For situations like these, there is the “morning-after pill”. A tool that emerged from a @unibas.ch research project is designed to make conversations between pharmacy staff and customers more comfortable and help them make better decisions.

How does a machine made of just an atom and light work? Researchers at the University of Basel show how heat and useful energy can be distinguished in quantum systems – and why it matters for future technologies.

A new EU strategy is placing greater emphasis on the use of artificial intelligence in heart disease management. However, @hvkolfschooten.bsky.social believes this is premature. In an interview, she criticizes the lack of demonstrated benefits for patients and the gaps in the legislation.

Researchers @unibas.ch & @tum.de have developed a new method to reveal the collective motion of electrons in one of the most elusive states of matter: the Wigner crystal. Using light, the physicists were able to uncover previously inaccessible properties of this fragile quantum state.

Transport incurs costs that are largely invisible today. A study by the University of Basel shows how these external costs could be charged for and the revenue redistributed in a socially acceptable way.

Ansgar Kahmen has been studying Switzerland’s forests for years. There has never been a summer as hot and dry as that of 2026. The forests of northwestern Switzerland are suffering severe damage. The forest of the future will look much different from today, the biologist is convinced.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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 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.

"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 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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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