UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel

• 
  In conversation

  "We always avoid making sacrifices any way we can."

  Interview: Noëmi Kern / During the pandemic, we reigned in our lives for the common good. But we still insist on our dream beach vacations, although they are bad for the environment. Georg von Schnurbein explains the difference – why we do good and why a degree of egotism is required.

• 
  In pictures

  Dental implants like a cicada’s wings.

  Text: Angelika Jacobs / The oral cavity is populated by hundreds of different species of bacteria, some of which can attack the surface of dental implants, triggering inflammation and potentially leading to the loss of the implant. While antibiotics can help, more and more bacteria are developing resistance to these medications. One possible solution is being pursued by a team of researchers including Laurent Marot and Fabien Sanchez.

• 
  Dossier

  The complexity of an emotion.

  Text: Fabienne Hübener / A psychiatrist and a neuroscientist approach fear from different angles. Both strive to create new therapies and promote a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying anxiety.

• 
  Dossier

  Overcoming anxiety with broccoli monsters.

  Text: Yvonne Vahlensieck / Up to a point, fear is a normal – and even beneficial – experience for children. But when fear takes the upper hand, it helps to make the causes of this anxiety tangible.

• 
  Dossier

  Stronger than fear.

  Text: Niklas Bienbeck / It is understandable to be afraid of a dangerous animal or a risky situation, but if this feeling manifests in moments where there is no clear and present danger, fear can become its own burden. Ways that can help.

• 
  Dossier

  Dreaded future.

  Interview: Angelika Jacobs / Psychologist Karina Wahl studies rumination. We have plenty of reasons to worry about what the future will bring. A discussion about constructive ways to handle our fears about what is to come.

• 
  Dossier

  Call to prayer instead of church bells?

  Text: Noëmi Kern / Foreign infiltration, Islamization, economic decline: Political actors use threatening scenarios to exert influence over people. By playing with our emotions, they leave the rational level behind.

• 
  Dossier

  Displaced.

  Text: Urs Hafner / Migration is a source of anxiety, both for the existing population and for the migrants themselves. Very little research has been done on the fears of children housed in cantonal repatriation facilities. Their plight is a desperate one, warns Walter Leimgruber.

• 
  Dossier

  Visions of the end-time.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Harrowing images of a divine judgment at the end of the world, as described in the New Testament, were commonplace during the Middle Ages. Yet, people at the time did not live in constant fear of punishment for sin and everlasting damnation.