Media releases 2024

Cichlid fishes exhibit differing degrees of curiosity. The cause for this lies in their genes, as reported by researchers from the Universities of Bern and Basel in the journal Science. This trait influences the cichlids’ ability to adapt to new habitats.

The mystery of how Pluto got a giant heart-shaped feature on its surface has finally been solved by an international team of astrophysicists led by the University of Bern and members of the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS. The team is the first to successfully reproduce the unusual shape with numerical simulations, attributing it to a giant and slow oblique-angle impact.

Thanks to the support of the Stiftung für medizinische Weiterbehandlung, Rehabilitation und Prävention BRH (Foundation for Further Medical Treatment, Rehabilitation and Prevention BRH), the University of Bern is now able to set up an endowed Professorship for Interdisciplinary Rehabilitation together with the Insel Gruppe. The latter is endowed with CHF 7.75 million and, along with its remit in teaching and research, is intended to promote innovation.

When crops grow in arsenic-contaminated soil, this toxic element accumulates in the food chain. A study by the University of Bern and the University of Basel has now discovered a mechanism used by corn plants to reduce arsenic uptake: the key factor is a special substance released into the soil by the roots.

Researchers in Bern have co-developed and tested a new method to combat the blockage of tiny coronary arteries after a heart attack. The new approach, born from a cooperation of engineers, clinicians, and industry, offers a treatment option to prevent the death of heart tissue after a heart attack, responsible for poor long-term patient health.

Each person has their own sleep profile, which can be identified by the electrical brain activity during sleep. Now, researchers from the University of Bern show that brain waves during periods of deep sleep in a specific area of the brain can be used to determine how cooperative and prosocial a person is in their everyday life.

With the support of the German Manfred Stärk Foundation for Brain Research, the University of Bern has been able to establish an endowed Professorship for Neuromorphic Systems. The total endowment is 3.6 million Swiss francs and serves to strengthen the successful research in Theoretical Neuroscience at the University of Bern.

Researchers at the University of Bern have investigated the process of decomposition on pig carcasses left in nature. The researchers discovered that the previous standard method for assessing decomposition in Switzerland needs to be adapted – with an impact on forensic analysis. The method presented by the researchers aims to better determine the post-mortem interval.

Ten researchers from the University of Bern have been awarded Sinergia funding from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for their six research projects. The projects are being supported by the SNSF with funds totaling approximately CHF 6.7 million over a period of four years.

Thanks to simulations with a software system developed at the University of Bern, an international team under Bernese leadership has provided important insights into the impact of NASA's DART space probe on the asteroid Dimorphos: it is very likely that not just a crater was created, but the entire asteroid was reshaped. The ESA space probe Hera, which is currently being prepared for its journey to Dimorphos, will bring certainty. The simulations will also provide valuable insights for the defense of planet Earth.

An international team of researchers including the University of Bern shows in a new study that male glassfrogs that care for their offspring have smaller testes than males of species that do not provide any brood care. This indicates an evolutionary trade-off between sperm production and parenting.

On Friday, February 23, 2024, the World Trade Institute (WTI) of the University of Bern will host an international conference on women's economic empowerment. The conference will bring together 16 international experts to discuss a UN recommendation and develop a subsequent workshop recommendation. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is expected to adopt this recommendation in October 2024. The University of Bern is the first Swiss university to participate actively in this process.

Vapes are an effective aid to quitting smoking tobacco cigarettes. However, they do not help to reduce nicotine dependence. This is shown by the results of the world's largest study on this topic, which was conducted by a Swiss-wide interdisciplinary research group led by the University of Bern.

Computer simulations by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the University of Bern show that the migration of icy, so-called sub-Neptunes into the inner regions of their planetary systems can explain the ominous gap in the size distribution of exoplanets. With increasing proximity to the central star, vaporizing water ice forms an atmosphere that makes the planet appear larger than in its frozen state. At the same time, smaller rocky planets lose part of their original gas envelope over time, causing their measured radius to shrink.

Based on the findings of the report from the administrative investigation of the Institute for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Societies (ISNO), the Executive Board of the University of Bern has decided to close the institute in its current form. The faculty will present a structural report outlining the reorganization of the subject by the end of June 2024. Prof. Dr. Serena Tolino receives a formal warning for poor management, and the institute is placed under the supervision of the Head of Faculty until the new structure is implemented.

A research team from the University of Münster has discovered for the first time meter-sized rocks on the surface of the moon that are covered in dust and presumably have unique properties - magnetic anomalies, for example. The findings help to understand the processes that form and change the lunar crust. The study has now been published in the "Journal of Geophysical Research - Planets".