Blood poisoning caused by a fungal infection is a severe, life-threatening condition. Researchers at the University of Bern have now discovered a mechanism that helps a yeast fungus to spread more easily within the body. The immune system, of all things, plays a major role in this process. These findings could open up new therapeutic avenues for blood poisoning caused by yeast, but also for other invasive fungal infections.

Corn roots secrete certain substances that affect the quality of the soil. In certain fields, this effect increases the yield of wheat planted after corn in the same soil by more than 4%. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bern. Although the findings from several field experiments show that such effects are highly variable, they could nevertheless contribute in the long term to making the cultivation of cereals more sustainable without additional fertilizers or pesticides.

Researchers at the University of Bern have studied antibody levels against Sars-CoV-2 and their influence on infections with different variants of the virus in employees of the Bern Cantonal Police for over a year. Among other things, the results show that antibody levels offered different levels of protection depending on the variant of the virus and that police officers did not become infected with Covid-19 more frequently than the rest of the population, even though they have very frequent contact with people.

Climate change is intensifying heat, leading to a significant increase in heat-related health problems. About 60 percent of the more than 600 heat-related deaths in the summer of 2022 in Switzerland can be attributed to human-induced global warming. This is shown by a study led by the University of Bern.

With methods of so-called geoengineering, the climate could theoretically be artificially influenced and cooled. Bernese researchers have now investigated whether it would be possible to prevent the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet by artificially "dimming the sun". The results show that artificial influence does not work without decarbonization and entails high risks.

Maize roots secrete certain chemicals that affect the quality of soil. In some fields, this effect increases yields of wheat planted subsequent to maize in the same soil by more than 4%. This was proven by researchers from the University of Bern. While the findings from several field experiments show that these effects are highly variable, in the long term they may yet help to make the cultivation of grains more sustainable, without the need for additional fertilizers or pesticides.

Alexander von Humboldt was a pioneer of climate research. On his voyages to America (1799-1804) and Asia (1829), he conducted meteorological measurements that he used to develop a modern, holistic model of the Earth's climate. Humboldt thus founded comparative climatology. Now Humboldt's climate writings have been collected and edited at the University of Bern, annotated from the perspective of the history of knowledge and climatology.

Professor Thomas Feurer, the Director of the University of Bern's Institute of Applied Physics, was appointed Head of the European XFEL Management Board. He takes up his new position on 1 January 2024. This international facility began operations in Schenefeld bei Hamburg in 2017. It generates ultrashort X-ray flashes that enable advanced research to be conducted in a wide range of different fields.