news 2022

By comparing the infectious viral load caused by ancestral SARS-CoV-2 as well as by the Delta and Omicron variants, scientists from the University of Geneva and HUG highlight the benefits of vaccination. To conduct the research, the UNIGE and HUG team was able to reanalyze samples from previous waves of the disease.

The diagnosis is rare, but devastating - children with congenital muscle disorders often never learn to walk. Until now, there was no chance of recovery, but researchers at the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel are now presenting a possible therapeutic approach for the first time. Professor Susan Treves remembers seeing one child affected by the condition at the age of six months.

Researchers at the University of Geneva show that the experience of impending cell death within a primary  tumour can lead to the development of «pro-metastatic» cells. Metastatic cells form in a primary tumour and then break away from it, migrate to other organs, attach to them and form new tumours.

A Swiss-French team that includes scientists has discovered how to trigger apoptosis in leukaemia cells by disrupting their energy maintenance mechanism. Acute myeloid leukaemia, which affects blood and bone marrow cells, is a particularly dangerous form of cancer. More than half of patients under the age of 60 die.

Neuropeptides play fundamental roles in modulating cellular and circuit functions within the brain. One such signaling molecule - orexin - regulates arousal and wakefulness, and its failure can lead to constant daytime sleepiness (narcolepsy). University of Zurich researchers have now developed a fluorescent orexin biosensor to observe this molecule "live" in the living mouse brain.

Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 by infection or vaccination generates immune cells that provide long-term immunity. These long-lived memory T cells play a key role in preventing severe cases of Covid-19. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now discovered how these memory T cells form. Many questions about how exposure to SARS-CoV-2 by infection or immunization might result in long-term protective immunity remain unanswered.

A team of researchers led by Professor Yimon Aye at EPFL's School of Basic Sciences has developed a new screening method to explore an important biological process known as electrophile signaling. In general, an electrophile is a highly reactive compound that -seeks- to bond with atoms or other molecules that have an available electron pair.

Seemingly less hazardous than Delta, but significantly more infectious: The spread of the omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus raises the question of whether it can push the healthcare system to its breaking point. researchers have worked with partners to model scenarios for both Switzerland and Germany - and conclude that this is an unlikely course of events.

A large-scale study in the scientific journal Science reveals that the Epstein-Barr virus responsible for causing glandular fever is involved in the development of multiple sclerosis. Professor Jens Kuhle, who participated in the project, summarizes the results in an interview. Professor Kuhle, almost everyone is infected with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), usually without symptoms.

Stroke survivors have improved recovery of hand and arm function with the help a new rehabilitation protocol thanks to finely tuned electrostimulation of target muscles in the arm. After lying for a while in a way that puts pressure on a nerve in your arm, it may happen that you no longer feel your arm anymore.

On 13 February 2022, Swiss citizens will be asked to vote on a popular initiative calling for a complete ban on all animal and human experimentation in Switzerland. The initiative also calls for a ban, from 2024, on all new drugs and medical treatments that have been tested on animals or humans, anywhere in the world.

Computer algorithms can determine antimicrobial resistance of pathogens faster than previous methods. This is the result of a study by researchers at the University of Basel, the University Hospital Basel and ETH Zurich. This could help treat serious infections more efficiently in the future - a major step forward in the battle against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.