Fraudulent practices in food production, especially false claims of geographical origin, cause billions of dollars in economic damage every year. Botanists at the University of Basel have now developed a model that can be used to determine the origin of food in an efficient and low-cost manner.
Modest financial rewards can help increase COVID-19 vaccination rates. This is the conclusion of an international study co-lead by Swiss universities, based on data from Sweden.
In the largest worldwide pricing experiment to date, researchers from the University of Basel, ETH Zurich and ZHAW have demonstrated that road users change their behavior when they must pay for the social and environmental effects of their transportation. The study took place in urban agglomerations in French- and German-speaking Switzerland.
Mercury released into the atmosphere by industry enters the sea and from there makes its way into the food chain. Now, an analysis by the University of Basel has revealed how the harmful substance enters seawater in the first place. This is not primarily via rainfall, as previously assumed, but rather also involves gas exchange. Measures to reduce mercury emissions could therefore take effect faster than previously thought.
A sophisticated system guides the development of our limbs. Researchers at University of Basel have shed new light on the genetic toolkit used during evolution to create a range of different extremities such as fins, wings, hooves, toes and fingers.
The University of Basel’s impressive new Biozentrum building celebrated its official opening on Tuesday in the space of its large atrium. Research in the life sciences in the Basel region will also benefit from its state-of-the-art infrastructure and international reputation.
Cell biologist Benjamin Engel has been appointed assistant professor at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. Engel’s research focuses on the relationship between the architecture of cellular organelles and their function.
Researchers from the University of Basel have developed an augmented reality app for smartphones in order to help people reduce their fear of spiders. The app has already shown itself to be effective in a clinical trial, with subjects experiencing less fear of real spiders after completing just a few training units with the app at home.
In chronic leukemias, blocking the overactive kinase JAK2 by a targeted therapy approach is only mitigating the patients’ symptoms, but cannot truly change the course of the disease. A study by the University of Basel has shown that it may be possible to improve the therapeutic effects by additionally inhibiting a specific signaling pathway. The results are so convincing that they are already being incorporated into clinical studies in a “bench-to-bedside” approach.
