news 2021

For most people, satisfaction in a relationship changes over time. Researchers at the Institute of Psychology, University of Bern have, for the first time, managed to identify typical developmental trajectories, both over a person's life span and over the duration of a relationship. The study shows that average satisfaction in a relationship is at its lowest at the age of 40 and after 10 years of being in a relationship.

Young people are less satisfied with their lives when they are stressed. Physical activity can counter this by helping to relieve stress. Researchers from the University of Basel found that intrinsic motivation plays a key role in this regard. One in four boys and one in three girls feels stressed during their schooling, a study conducted by Sucht Schweiz in 2019 found.

Researchers from the UNIGE and USI have analysed the impact of the Swiss motorway network on the evolution of household composition among the country's municipalities. The development of transport infrastructure is a central issue for states, which spend billions to connect cities. But what is their real effect on the municipalities concerned? Researchers from the University of Geneva and the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) looked at the evolution of the income composition of the population of cities in Switzerland once they are connected to the motorway network.

The practice of mindfulness shows a positive impact of the intervention on the adolescents' everyday life and on their ability to react to new events. Adolescents born prematurely present a high risk of developing executive, behavioural and socio-emotional difficulties. Now, researchers from Geneva University Hospitals (HUG) and the University of Geneva have revealed that practicing mindfulness may help improve these various skills.

Using artificial intelligence, a team from the UNIGE has developed a device for the early detection of autism spectrum disorder in children. Individuals affected by autism spectrum disorder often present communication issues and difficulties in social interactions. Although very frequent, this disorder is challenging to diagnose before the age of five.

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. Language is one of our species' most important skills, as it has enabled us to occupy nearly every corner of the planet.

An international team led by UNIGE demonstrates that the characteristics of bilingualism allow autistic children to compensate for certain fundamental deficits. Affecting more than one in a hundred children, autism spectrum disorder is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders. It has a particular impact on social interaction, including difficulties in understanding other people's perspectives, beliefs, desires and emotions, known as 'theory of mind'.

One-third of children and adolescents experienced mental health problems during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Switzerland. Parents and young adults also perceived considerable stress, yet the perceived stresses differed from those of children and adolescents, the first Switzerland-wide representative study by the University of Zurich and La Source School of Nursing Lausanne has shown.

The risk of people being forced from their homes by flooding increases by half for each additional degree of global warming, as an international research team led by the Weather and Climate Risks Group at ETH Zurich demonstrate. Every year, millions of people around the world are displaced from their homes due to severe weather caused by climate change.

Motivated by the goal of reducing the polarization of opinions online, new EPFL/UNIL research indicates that this may be far more difficult than expected, even when using liked or respected celebrities as spokespeople. Celebrities, thanks to their level of fame, are often considered to be influential and many have used their status to campaign for issues they believe to be important - consider Beyoncé's feminist activism or Leonardo DiCaprio's outspokenness on Climate Change.

An international team of scientists has drawn up a report on the resilience capacity needed by our societies to prevent, react to and recover from the COVID-19 crisis. The authors propose a path forward to shape resilient, inclusive, and sustainable societies. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a global systemic crisis.

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic caused a sharp decline in living standards and rising food insecurity in lowand middle-income countries across the globe, according to a new study by an international team of economists including from Swiss TPH. The study, published today Advances, provides novel insights into the collateral damage of the pandemic, and urges the international community to take action to mitigate the impact on hunger and poverty.

Marmoset monkeys perceive the vocal interactions between their conspecifics not just as a string of calls, but as coherent conversations. They also evaluate their content. These are the findings of a study by researchers at the University of Zurich which combined thermography methods with behavioral preference measures.

Scientists from the University of Geneva and UPF have analysed the skeletons of several Bronze Age communities that lived in Western Switzerland in order to reconstruct the evolution of their diet. The Bronze Age (2200 to 800 BC) marked a decisive step in the technological and economic development of ancient societies.

Scientists at ETH Zurich have leveraged big data from recruitment platforms and machine learning to study hiring discrimination. They show that discrimination against immigrants depends, among other things, on the time of day; and that both men and women face discrimination. Education, professional skills and experience are the essential criteria for filling a position - or at least that is the expectation.