news 2025

For the first time, an international team of researchers has shown that countless tiny ice quakes take place in one of Greenland's mightiest ice streams. This finding will allow the flowing of the ice stream and associated changes in sea level to be estimated more accurately. The great ice streams of the Antarctic and Greenland are like frozen rivers, carrying ice from the massive inland ice sheets to the sea - and a change in their dynamics will contribute significantly to sea-level rise.

Antibiotics are indispensable for treating bacterial infections. But why are they sometimes ineffective, even when the bacteria are not resistant? In their latest study published in the journal "Nature", researchers from the University of Basel challenge the conventional view that a small subset of particularly resilient bacteria are responsible for the failure of antibiotic therapies.

Body weight and body mass index alone are not enough to predict whether someone will develop a metabolic disease. A new atlas of cells in fat tissue could help to explain why some overweight people stay healthy, while others do not. Researchers have created a detailed atlas of cellular changes in obese people.

Women are less likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit after a cardiac arrest, receive less intensive care treatment and have a higher risk of dying than men. These are the findings of a new Swiss-wide study by researchers from the University Hospital Basel and the University of Basel. Cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, despite advances in modern medicine.

A daily intake of one gram of omega-3s can slow down biological aging by up to four months, according to an analysis of clinical data from the international DO-HEALTH study led by the University of Zurich. For the first time, epigenetic clocks were used to measure the aging process. Many people would like to delay or even stop the aging process.

A team from UNIGE, the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Physiology in Dortmund, and Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf has identified the attack mechanism of the Tc toxin produced by certain bacteria. From the breakthrough of Nobel Prize-winning CRISPR gene-editing methods to the development of COVID-19 mRNA vaccines, the ability to manipulate biomolecules has emerged as one of the most significant advancements in science and medicine over the past decade.

Women are less likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit after a cardiac arrest, receive less intensive care treatment and have a higher risk of dying than men. These are the findings of a new Swiss-wide study by researchers from the University Hospital Basel and the University of Basel. Cardiac arrest is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, despite advances in modern medicine.

Meteoroid impacts create seismic waves that cause Mars to shake stronger and deeper than previously thought: This is shown by an investigation using artificial intelligence carried out by an international research team led by the University of Bern. Similarities were found between numerous meteoroid impacts on the surface of Mars and marsquakes recorded by NASA's Mars lander InSight.

Around one in ten diagnoses is wrong. In an extensive study, a research team led by Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, and the University of Bern has investigated whether an AI-based diagnostic system could improve diagnostic quality. The result is surprising: despite high expectations, the system that was tested showed no measurable advantage over conventional diagnostic processes.

Researchers have developed a computational method to explicitly consider the impact of water while designing membrane receptors with enhanced stability and signaling, paving the way for novel drug discovery and protein engineering. Proteins are life's engines, powering processes like muscle movement, vision, and chemical reactions.

Researchers have designed flexible, batlike wings that boost lift and improve flight performance. This innovation could lead to more efficient drones or energy-harvesting technologies. In 1934, French entomologist Antoine Magnan wrote that bumblebees "should not be able to fly", as their small wings should theoretically not be able to produce enough lift.

An international research team has concluded that the Sikkim flood disaster in the Himalayas in October 2023 was caused by some 14.7 million cubic meters of frozen moraine material collapsing into South Lhonak Lake, triggering a 20-meter flood wave. The event is a striking example of the increasing dangers of climate change in high mountain regions.

At the slightest sign of rot on an apple or pear, little flies start swirling around it. No wonder! Drosophila and their larvae love rotting fruit. Researchers at the University of Fribourg have discovered how they can sense when a fruit is 'ripe '. Thanks to taste cells called mechanoreceptors, fly larvae can not only taste food, but also appreciate its consistency.

Consumers in Switzerland are prepared to spend much more money on cow's milk products if they have been produced in an animal-friendly way, and this factor is even more important to them than climate sustainability, as shown by a new study by the University of Basel. Consumers in Switzerland value the well-being of cows in Switzerland.

By applying techniques from explainable artificial intelligence, engineers can improve users' confidence in forecasts generated by artificial intelligence models. This approach was recently tested on wind power generation by a team that includes experts from EPFL. Explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) is a branch of AI that helps users to peek inside the black-box of AI models to understand how their output is generated and whether their forecasts can be trusted.

Researchers at the University of Basel are able to test the effects of more than 1,500 compounds on cell metabolism in parallel. Their analysis also led to the discovery of previously unknown mechanisms for known drugs. This approach could help scientists better predict side effects and find additional uses for commercially available medications.

An international team, including the University of Geneva, has discovered a super-Earth that will enable astronomers to test new hypotheses in the search for life in the Universe. Thirty years after the discovery of the first exoplanet, we detected more than 7000 of them in our Galaxy. But there are still billions more to be discovered! At the same time, exoplanetologists have begun to take an interest in their characteristics, with the aim of finding life elsewhere in the Universe.

Researchers have combined injections of a novel hydrogel with systemic osteoporosis drugs in rats, achieving rapid local increases in bone density. The results offer hope for future fracture prevention therapies in osteoporosis patients. Osteoporosis is a disease in which bone resorbs faster than it is formed, gradually weakening its structure over time and leading to fractures.

A study by UNIGE and the Weizmann Institute reveals how certain proteins assemble as soon as they are synthesized, ensuring their stability and efficiency. Proteins, the pillars of cellular function, often assemble into "complexes" to fulfill their functions. A study by the University of Geneva and the Weizmann Institute, in collaboration with the Technion, reveals why this assembly often begins during the very process of protein synthesis or ''birth''.

Researchers aim to use vibrations to stimulate bone growth. Now, a new study paves the way for developing new therapies that may one day benefit patients suffering from bone fractures and age-related bone loss. Bone does not just grow in any which way - rather, the bone cells respond to external forces.