Follow me! (02/2022)

A dossier on the platforms that connect people and divide societies. Interested? Then please scroll, click and subscribe.

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  Dossier

  The world on a screen.

  Text: Noëmi Kern / A selfie with your best friend, a photo in front of the Eiffel Tower … We use our smartphones to showcase what we experience and share on social media. This affects how we perceive and present ourselves and the world around us.

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  Dossier

  Data leeches.

  Text: Andreas Grote / When we are active online, we leave behind a data trail. There is a lack of transparency on which data social media companies collect. Cybersecurity expert Isabel Wagner explains the mechanisms and highlights areas where we should exercise caution.

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  Dossier

  “Mommy, put your phone down!”

  Text: Eva Mell / What effect does it have on a child’s development when its parents are permanently stuck on their smartphones. Psychologist Eva Unternährer is developing tips for healthy smartphone use in the family.

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  Dossier

  Research tweets.

  Text: Anika Zielenski / Communicating with the community and finding out what other research groups are doing: Six scientists' experiences in their Twitterverse.

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  Dossier

  Making politics visual.

  Text: Jonas Frey / Those seeking to win favor with voters are well-advised to be present on social media. How exactly politicians go about this – and how successful they are in their endeavors – is the subject of research by a team of political and computer scientists.

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  Dossier

  The manipulation machine.

  Interview: Angelika Jacobs / Advances in artificial intelligence pervade social networks. Data scientist Geoffrey Fucile on the curated self, bots and the battle over the definition of truth.

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  Dossier

  A disturbing dictionary.

  Text: Urs Hafner / Right-wing populism has been gaining strength for years now. The pandemic provided rich soil for the growth of conspiracy theories. Now, researchers have demonstrated a link between these phenomena based on online comments from right-wing populist circles.

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  In pictures

  Seeing, fast and slow.

  Text: Angelika Jacobs / Signals from the peripheral fields of vision have a much longer path to the optic nerve than those from the center of the retina. How is it that we do not perceive a delay between our central and peripheral fields of vision?

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    Dossier

    Who rules the metaverse?

    Text: Eva Wolfangel / When social media creates virtual realities, many artifacts of the material world play out there. A voyage into a possible future of social media shows what this might look like.

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  In conversation

  "Many zoonoses are being forgotten in the wake of corona."

  Interview: Irène Dietschi / Since the end of the 20th century, a growing number of pathogens are spreading from animals to humans. Jakob Zinsstag studies these zoonotic diseases, or zoonoses, and explores how a new understanding of medicine can help fight them.

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  Opinion

  Exploitation of natural resources – a medieval idea?

  Text: Karsten Engel / According to the Bible, human beings are special. Does that, however, give us the right to exploit our planet? Magnus Hundt was grappling with this question back in the late Middle Ages. This is what we can learn from his opinions.

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  In pictures

  A forest without rain.

  Text: Angelika Jacobs / In woodland in Hölstein (Canton of Basel-Landschaft), Ansgar Kahmen’s team studies how trees cope with climate change. A visit to the forest lab.

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    Portrait

    The pioneer.

    Text: Yvonne Vahlensieck / Curiosity is the driving force in Maria Hondele's life. In her research, the biochemist is exploring new frontiers in the field of cell biology.

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  Research

  Extinguishing fires in the brain.

  Text: Ori Schipper / People researching puzzling diseases such as multiple sclerosis are constantly making unexpected discoveries, such as immune cells from the intestine that migrate to the brain – where they relieve inflammation.

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  Research

  The diary of Anna Maria.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Two-hundred years ago, society was more heavily influenced by illness and death than it is today. One lady of Basel's elite "Daig" milieu recorded her thoughts on health, aging and death in private writings.

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  Research

  Protecting sensitive data, providing valuable insights.

  Text: Tim Schröder / Medical details are strictly confidential. However, analysis of this information can reveal complex interrelations and therefore help patients. Led by medical ethicist Bernice Elger, an interdisciplinary team is looking at how this valuable information can be used safely and sagely in the future.

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  Opinion

  What does neutrality mean for Switzerland, Laurent Goetschel?

  Text: Laurent Goetschel / From participation in international alliances to its stance on the war in Ukraine – Swiss neutrality is in a constant state of renegotiation within Switzerland. A historian and a political scientist reflect on how the role of Switzerland in the international community has developed over time and how it is defined today.

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  Opinion

  What does neutrality mean for Switzerland, Georg Kreis?

  Text: Georg Kreis / From participation in international alliances to its stance on the war in Ukraine – Swiss neutrality is in a constant state of renegotiation within Switzerland. A historian and a political scientist reflect on how the role of Switzerland in the international community has developed over time and how it is defined today.

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  Literature as a school of feeling.

  Text: Alfred Bodenheimer / My book: During the Corona pandemic, Alfred Bodenheimer read the novel "Nemesis," which is set at the time of a polio epidemic. He thus followed twice how people behave in such an exceptional situation.

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  Alumni

  Education rather than blind activism.

  Interview: Davina Benkert /

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  Alumni

  Bureaucracy, our constant companion.

  Text: Jonas Bischoff /