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University of Zurich – News Releases
- 08.05.2012Typically human brain development older than first thought
A large neonate brain, rapid brain growth and large frontal lobes are the typical hallmarks of human brain development. These appeared much earlier in the hominin family tree than was originally thought, as anthropologists from the University of Zurich who re-examined the Taung child’s fossil cranial sutures and compared them with other fossil skulls now prove. The late fusion of the cranial sutures in the Taung child is also found in many other members of the Australopithecus africanus species and the earliest examples of the Homo genus. More... - 02.05.2012A small cut with a big impactDuring inflammation, controlled gene expression is necessary in order to allow the organism to mount an effective defense response. For this process, the protein ARTD1 is removed from the DNA. Veterinary biochemists and molecular biologists from the University of Zurich have now elucidated this previously unclear mechanism: ARTD1 is cut into two pieces by molecular scissors, which enhances gene expression. The results are groundbreaking for our understanding of inflammatory responses and the development of new anti-inflammatory drugs. More...
- 27.04.2012New particle discovered by the CMS Experiment at CERNPhysicists from the University of Zurich, working with their colleagues on the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC), have discovered a previously unknown particle composed of three quarks. The so-called «Xi_b^*0 baryon» confirms fundamental assumptions of physics regarding the binding of quarks. More...
- 23.04.2012First fertile, then futile: ammonites or the boon and bane of many offspring
Ammonites changed their reproductive strategy from initially few and large offspring to numerous and small hatchlings. Thanks to their many offspring, they survived three mass extinctions, a research team headed by paleontologists from the University of Zurich has discovered. More... - 19.04.2012State of Himalayan glaciers less alarming than feared
Several hundreds of millions of people in Southeast Asia depend, to varying degrees, on the freshwater reservoirs of the Himalayan glaciers. Consequently, it is important to detect the potential impact of climate changes on the Himalayan glaciers at an early stage. Together with international researchers, glaciologists from the University of Zurich now reveal that the glaciers in the Himalayas are declining less rapidly than was previously thought. However, the scientists see major hazard potential from outbursts of glacial lakes. More... - 19.04.2012Associated institute and up to five chairs for economics to be established at the University of Zurich with the support of UBSThe University of Zurich (UZH) and UBS have entered into a collaboration. Up to five new chairs will be created at the Department of Economics. The UBS International Center of Economics in Society will tap into top-flight research in a number of new fields of research, and promote a dialog between science, business and society. A Swiss Graduate School of Economics will also be set up to improve the training of the next generation of researchers. More...
- 18.04.2012Egg-laying beginning of the end for dinosaurs
They laid eggs, occupied many ecological niches with only one species and competed with one another. Researchers from the University of Zurich have uncovered the chain of events that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs. More... - 13.04.2012European dung-fly females all aflutter for large males
European dung fly females prefer large males, making them the driving selective force behind the rare phenomenon in insects of large males and small females. This is what evolutionary ecologists from the University of Zurich discovered when they compared North American and European dung flies, which not only differ in sexual size dimorphism (SSD), but also in their mating behavior. More... - 03.04.2012Plants mimic scent of pollinating beetles
The color and scent of flowers and their perception by pollinator insects are believed to have evolved in the course of mutual adaptation. However, an evolutionary biologist from the University of Zurich has now proved that this is not the case with the arum family at least, which evolved its scent analogously to the pre-existing scents of scarab beetles and thus adapted to the beetles unilaterally. The mutual adaptation between plants and pollinators therefore does not always take place. More... - 29.03.2012Dolphins cultivate loose alliances
Dolphins behave uniquely. On the one hand, male dolphins form alliances with others; on the other hand, they live in an open social structure. Anthropologists from the University of Zurich detected this unusual behavior in the animal kingdom in dolphins in Shark Bay, Australia.
More... - 28.03.2012Hot on the trail of metabolic diseases and resistance to antibiotics
Proteins belonging to the large and important family of ABC transporters have been associated with metabolic diseases and can cause resistance to antibiotics. Biochemists from the University of Zurich and the NCCR Structural Biology have succeeded in determining the atomic structure of a new ABC transporter. The insights gained could give rise to new therapies to treat multi-resistant bacteria, cystic fibrosis or gout, for instance. More... - 27.03.2012Exploding dinosaur hypothesis implodes
Exploding carcasses through putrefaction gases – this is how science explained the mysterious bone arrangements in almost fully preserved dinosaur skeletons for decades. Now a Swiss-German research team has proved that these carcasses sank to the seabed and did not explode. The sedimentologists and paleontologists from the universities of Zurich and Basel thus dispel the myth of exploding marine reptiles. More... - 26.03.2012Smokers could be more prone to schizophreniaSmoking alters the impact of a schizophrenia risk gene. Scientists from the universities of Zurich and Cologne demonstrate that healthy people who carry this risk gene and smoke process acoustic stimuli in a similarly deficient way as patients with schizophrenia. Furthermore, the impact is all the stronger the more the person smokes. More...
- 08.03.2012Chimpanzees have policemen, too
Chimpanzees are interested in social cohesion and have various strategies to guarantee the stability of their group. Anthropologists from the University of Zurich reveal that chimpanzees mediate conflicts between other group members, not for their own direct benefit, but rather to preserve the peace within the group. Their impartial intervention in a conflict – so-called “policing” – can be regarded as an early evolutionary form of moral behavior. More... - 07.03.2012The petunia points the way to better harvests
Most plants live in symbiosis with soil fungi and are supplied with water and nutrients as a result. Based on the petunia, plant biologists at the University of Zurich have now discovered that a special transport protein is required to establish this symbiotic relationship. The targeted control of this protein could lead to greater harvests. More... - 05.03.2012How chemotherapy becomes more effective
Researchers from the University of Zurich have found a cellular brake that protects cancer cells from chemotherapy – and they demonstrate which medication can be used to render it inoperative. Their study published in the journal “Natural Structural and Molecular Biology” provides the molecular basis for promising therapeutic advances. More... - 27.02.2012Multiple sclerosis: damaged myelin not the triggerDamaged myelin in the brain and spinal cord does not cause the autoimmune disease Multiple sclerosis (MS), neuroimmunologists from the University of Zurich have now demonstrated in collaboration with researchers from Berlin, Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. In the current issue of Nature Neuroscience, they therefore rule out a popular hypothesis on the origins of MS. The scientists are now primarily looking for the cause of the development of MS in the immune system instead of the central nervous system. More...
- 20.02.2012Global permafrost zones in high-resolution images on Google Earth
Thawing permafrost will have far-reaching ramifications for populated areas, infrastructure and ecosystems. A geographer from the University of Zurich reveals where it is important to confront the issue based on new permafrost maps – the most precise global maps around. They depict the global distribution of permafrost in high-resolution images and are available on Google Earth. More... - 09.02.2012Tell me how you are – and I know how long you will liveThe way people rate their health determines their probability of survival in the following decades. Researchers from the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Zurich demonstrate that for ratings ranging from “excellent”, “good”, “fair” and “poor” to “very poor”, the risk of mortality increases steadily – independently of such known risk factors as smoking, low education levels or pre-existing diseases. More...
- 17.01.2012Arm in plaster changes brain in 16 days
People who only use their left hand after breaking their right arm already exhibit significant anatomical changes in particular areas of the brain within 16 days. Researchers from the University of Zurich have demonstrated that the thickness of the left brain areas is reduced while the areas on the right hand side that compensate for the injury increase in size. The fine motor skills of the compensating hand also improve considerably. The results of the study are significant for the treatment of strokes, in which the immobilization of an arm or a leg is central. More...