The two major competing experiments, XENON/DARWIN at Gran Sasso in Italiy and LUX-ZEPLIN in the US, have now joined forces to work together on a new, single, multi-tonne scale xenon observatory to explore dark matter. The detector will be highly sensitive to a wide range of proposed dark matter particles and their interactions with visible matter.

People who have contact with other social groups are more likely to be committed to social justice. However, an international study led by the University of Zurich has shown that for this to be the case, power relations and discrimination must be actively addressed and group-specific needs must be met. It is important that disadvantaged group members, such as racial minorities and LGBTIQ+ individuals, are given a voice, and that those who belong to advantaged groups do not feel labeled as biased.

A new special exhibition at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich shines the spotlight on evolution and its consequences in our everyday lives. The exhibition, which uses examples from medicine, agriculture and nature conservation, has been put together by members of the University Research Priority Program (URPP) Evolution in Action: From Genomes to Ecosystems.

Indigenous peoples pass on their knowledge of medicinal plants orally. If their languages go extinct, valuable medical knowledge will be lost. A study by the University of Zurich estimates that 75 percent of the world's medicinal plant applications are only known in one language.

Women are severely underrepresented in Swiss media coverage compared to men. Only about one in four people featured in media reports are female. According to a study by the University of Zurich, the gender gap has shas remained practically unchanged across all language regions and media types in Switzerland since 2015. The gap is highest for sports and business topics, and smallest when it comes to culture and human-interest. Moreover, the gender gap is smaller in coverage focusing on private matters than when the focus is on professional roles.

When viruses infect cells, changes in the cell nucleus occur, and these can be observed through fluorescence microscopy. Using fluoresence images from live cells, researchers at the University of Zurich have trained an artificial neural network to reliably recognize cells that are infected by adenoviruses or herpes viruses. The procedure also identifies severe acute infections at an early stage.

Some four months ago, a devastating flood ravaged the Chamoli district in the Indian Himalayas, killing over 200 people. The flood was caused by a massive landslide, which also involved a glacier. Researchers at the University of Zurich, the WSL and ETH Zurich have now analyzed the causes, scope and impact of the disaster as part of an international collaboration.

The active ingredient aducanumab, which was discovered at the University of Zurich, has been approved for use in the United States as a treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Aducanumab, a human antibody, is the first treatment that has been found to slow the progression of Alzheimer's, which is incurable.