UNI NOVA – Research Magazine of the University of Basel

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  Research

  Montages at the boundary between art and politics.

  Text: Ylenia Sartorel / German artist John Heartfield used photomontages to shine a critical light on social issues in interwar Germany. Now, an art historian in Basel has re-examined his work.

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  Research

  Breathing air reveals diseases.

  Text: Martin Hicklin / A person’s exhalation reveals their personal metabolic profile. Researchers at the University Children’s Hospital Basel (UKBB) are investigating how this information can be used to diagnose and monitor particular illnesses.

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  Opinion

  Buddha and the early Christians.

  Text: Stephan Peter Bumbacher / Did Indian Buddhism influence early Christians in the Middle East? There is evidence that suggests so.

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  Portrait

  A participant observer.

  Text: Christoph Dieffenbacher / Social anthropologist Rita Kesselring examines both the legacy of apartheid and mining in southern Africa. For her field research, she often travels alone to townships and inhospitable mining towns.

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  Alumni

  From biology to communications.

  Interview: Bettina Volz-Tobler / Tanja Dietrich studied biology at the University of Basel. Today, she is communications director at Basel Zoo and owner of a communications agency specializing in online marketing and consulting for small and mediumsized enterprises and associations.

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  Alumni

  An economist against inequality.

  Pia Schneider has worked at the World Bank since 2004, where she has held a position as lead economist for health issues for the last three years. At the University of Basel she studied economics and she obtained a PhD in health economics from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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  Alumni

  New alumni association created.

  Text: Jolanda Bucher / Actuarial science has been taught at the University of Basel for 80 years now. This makes the program one of the oldest German-language courses in the field. This year’s anniversary event included the launch of the actuarial science alumni association.

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  Alumni

  Supporting “Offener Hörsaal”.

  Text: Annalena Durrer und Timo Posselt / Money collected through this year’s Annual Giving will be donated to the “Offener Hörsaal” association at the University of Basel.

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  Column

  The Magic Mountain, 4 3 2 1, and Game Changer.

  Text: Jan Pieter Abrahams / My books: Jan Pieter Abrahams, the professor for bioimaging at the Biozentrum, suggests Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain, Paul Auster’s 4 3 2 1 and Game Changer by Matthew Sadler and Natasha Regan