Health professionals are in urgent need of new antibiotics to tackle resistant bacteria. Researchers at the University of Zurich and the company Spexis have now modified the chemical structure of naturally occurring peptides to develop antimicrobial molecules that bind to novel targets in the bacteria's metabolism.

Similar to humans, chimpanzees combine vocalizations into larger communicatively meaningful structures. researchers suggest that this ability might be evolutionarily more ancient than previously thought.

Young women seem to be less drawn to degrees in science or technology. But what is putting them off? A sociological study at UZH has revealed that outdated gender stereotypes - such as supposed differences in analytical thinking - play a major role.

Mouse lemurs give birth to their offspring during the 5-month rainy season and lay down a fat cushion to survive the dry season when food is scarce. But what happens when the rainy season becomes drier and the dry season warmer? Researchers at the German Primate Center - Leibniz Institute for Primate Research and the University of Zurich show that climate changes destabilise mouse lemur populations and increase the risk of extinction.

The Johanna Spyri and Heidi archives in Zurich have been added to UNESCO's Memory of the World International Register.

Erythropoietin, or Epo for short, is familiar from doping cases. But the body itself also produces this vital hormone. Now, for the first time, an international research team including scientists has been able to identify the main producer of Epo: a subgroup of kidney cells called Norn cells.

Neuroscientists at the University of Zurich have developed innovative objectives for light microscopy by using mirrors to produce images. Their design finds correspondence in mirror telescopes used in astronomy on the one hand and the eyes of scallops on the other. The new objectives enable high-resolution imaging of tissues and organs in a much wider variety of immersion media than with conventional microscope lenses.

West African chimpanzees in Guinea are threatened by mining. Using a novel genetic approach, researchers together with an international team have collected information on the population size and community structure of the threatened species. These data provide an important basis for assessing the impact of mining