The European Research Council (ERC) awards Consolidator Grants to support excellent project ideas from advanced researchers. Those who succeed in the competition for these coveted grants are among the best in their respective fields of research. Four scientists from the University of Basel have now been awarded ERC grants.
Construction of the University of Basel’s new biomedicine building is progressing as planned and is even ahead of schedule: the shell was completed in December – around three months earlier than anticipated.
Some bacteria use a kind of molecular “speargun” to eliminate their rivals, injecting them with a lethal cocktail. Researchers at the University of Basel have now discovered that certain bacteria can protect themselves against these toxic attacks. But this defense comes with a surprising downside: it makes them more vulnerable to antibiotics.
Professor Viktoria Jansesberger is to become the new assistant professor of political science, with a focus on environment and development. The professorship is being financed by the Max Geldner Foundation.
14 December marks the 30th anniversary of the end of the Bosnian War. Two researchers from the University of Basel are examining how its effects are being felt today, both locally and in the diaspora.
An international study led by the University of Basel has discovered that nuclear pore complexes – tiny gateways in the nuclear membrane – are not rigid or gel-like as once thought. Their interiors are dynamically organized, constantly moving and rearranging. The findings reshape our understanding of a vital transport process in cells and have implications for diseases and potential therapies.
When parliamentarians disclose their additional income from lobbying work, they gain more trust from the electorate. This was demonstrated for the first time by researchers from the University of Basel. Even members of parliament who receive very large financial contributions from their vested interests benefit from greater transparency.
Claudia Lenz has developed a method that increases the amount of time available to provide proof of strangulation injuries, thereby improving the evidence base for violent crimes. The physicist was awarded the Emilie Louise Frey Prize at this year’s Dies academicus for this and other work as part of her habilitation.
For more than two decades, researchers at the University of Basel have been investigating a severe form of muscular dystrophy in which muscles progressively degenerate. The research team has now discovered that the muscles’ ability to regenerate is also impaired. Future therapies should therefore aim not only to strengthen muscles but also to promote their regeneration.
