To increase the biodiversity of meadows, less intensive management is not always enough. Sometimes meadows also need to be actively resown. As part of a research project on the Swiss Plateau, researchers from the University of Bern tested various methods for restoring plant diversity in meadows and demonstrated their effectiveness: After four years, all the methods used had led to effective restoration, with an average increase of 29 percent in the number of plant species present.

Scientific research has consistently demonstrated that the consumption of misogynistic media content is associated with increased hostility towards women. While it was previously unclear whether men and women exhibit similar negative reactions, recent findings indicate that when media content contains explicit violence against women, it is primarily men - rather than women - who display negative responses. These conclusions are based on a comprehensive international study led by the University of Bern.

How does fine dust aggregate into building blocks that ultimately form entire planets like our Earth? A research team led by the University of Bern, with the participation of ETH Zurich, the University of Zurich and the National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) PlanetS has provided the first experimental evidence - obtained during parabolic flights in zero gravity - that a key physical process, known as shear-flow instability, actually occurs under conditions similar to those in planet formation regions. The study thus addresses an important gap in our understanding of the very first steps of planet formation.

Researchers at the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the University of Bern have, for the first time, directly measured how the human brain exchanges probing signals when asleep and when awake.

For the first time, researchers at the University of Bern have studied the immune system of brown trout cell by cell and compiled an overview of the gene activity in each cell. The study shows the diversity of the immune system of this ecologically important fish species, which is protected in Switzerland, and demonstrates that rearing conditions can leave measurable traces in the immune cells.

An international research group involving the University of Bern has shown in the beaver lake near Marthalen that wetlands created by beavers store up to ten times more carbon than comparable landscapes without beavers. By damming rivers and retaining sediment, beavers transform streams into natural carbon reservoirs - with the potential to contribute to climate protection.

Researchers at the University of Bern have investigated the influence of siblings on the development of lifelong social competence in African cichlids. In an experiment, they show for the first time that two factors must work together for this effect to occur: Both the number of siblings present during early life and the quality of their interactions with them are crucial.

An international research team, with participation of the University of Bern, has conducted the world's first comprehensive genetic study of cancer in domestic cats. The study shows that some of the genetic changes in cat tumors closely resemble those found in human cancers. These parallels open up new perspectives for developing targeted cancer therapies, particularly for breast cancer.