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A team from the University of Geneva has discovered the genetic programmes that allow motor neurons to retract from the spinal cord. This discovery opens up prospects for combating neurodegeneration. The motor cortex is made up of neurons responsible for muscle contraction. These neurons have cellular extensions called axons, which project from the cortex into the spinal cord.

Scientists at the University of Geneva, Bern Inselpital and UNIBE have discovered that hidden mutations in non-coding DNA are responsible for the ageing of certain tissues, such as those in the liver. The accumulation of mutations in DNA is often mentioned as an explanation for the ageing process, but it remains just one hypothesis among many.

A team from the University of Geneva and ETH Zurich has shown how the locus coeruleus, a small region of the brain, manages the transition from intense focus to heightened global awareness. What enables our brain to go from intense concentration to a heightened state of alertness? A study carried out by neuroscientists at the University of Geneva , in collaboration with ETH Zurich, shows that a brain region called locus coeruleus (LC) and the neurotransmitter noradrenaline act as conductors, reorganising brain functions according to the mental demands of the moment.

An international team has shown the existence of two distinct populations of sub-Neptunes, resolving a debate in the scientific community. The majority of stars in our galaxy are home to planets. The most abundant are the sub-Neptunes, planets between the size of Earth and Neptune. Calculating their density poses a problem for scientists: depending on the method used to measure their mass, two populations are highlighted, the dense and the less dense.

A team from the University of Geneva shows how visual social skills develop in a unique way in children with autistic disorders. As they grow, children increasingly focus their attention on social elements in their environment, such as faces or social interactions. However, children with autism are often more interested in non-social stimuli, such as textures or geometric shapes.

The SP80 team has just attached a kite to its sailboat, in another step towards its goal of breaking the current world record and reaching a speed of 150 km/h.

Researchers have found strong evidence that supermassive stars can explain the anomalies observed in large clusters of stars. Globular clusters are the most massive and oldest star clusters in the Universe. They can contain up to 1 million of them. The chemical composition of these stars, born at the same time, shows anomalies that are not found in any other population of stars.

A study by the HUG, the UNIGE and the EPFL shows that almost all Genevans (93.8%) have antibodies against SARS-CoV 2 but less than one in two (46.7%) have them against the BA.4/BA. Omicron sub-variants. A study by the Geneva University Hospitals (HUG), the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Geneva and the EPFL shows that almost all Genevans (93.8%) have antibodies against SARS-CoV 2, almost three quarters of whom acquired them through an infection.

The benefits of good education and lifelong learning extend into old age. The initial findings of a long-term study show that certain degenerative processes are reduced in the brains of academics. Their brains are better able to compensate age-related cognitive and neural limitations. A good education is an excellent way to embark on a successful career and develop your personality.

Buildings that own and run themselves: this idea, from the think-tank Dezentrum, was put into action for the first time at ETH Zurich in the form of a prototype. The result is a meditation cabin that shakes up the usual economic and social expectations. The outward appearance of the small, prism-shaped hut in the recently opened Student Project House on ETH's Zentrum campus is enough to arouse the curiosity of anyone looking at it.

While it is important for students to work in groups during their studies, that is not enough for them to acquire many of the transversal skills needed in the professional world. A recent EPFL study highlights the need for engineering courses to explicitly address professional skills through a combination of theory and feedback.

By confirming the link between children's cardiorespiratory fitness and their school results, researchers at the UNIGE underline the importance of physical education classes at school. Recent studies indicate a link between children's cardiorespiratory fitness and their school performance: the more athletic they are, the better their marks in the main subjects - French and mathematics.

Using the IBM Q computer, physicists at EPFL have verified for the first time the tight relationship between quantum entanglement and wave-particle duality, showing that the former controls the latter in a quantum system. "It is possible to do experiments in fundamental physics on the remotely accessible IBM Q quantum computer ," says Marc-André Dupertuis, a physicist at EPFL's School of Basic Sciences.

Better grades thanks to your fellow students? A study conducted by the University of Zurich's Faculty of Business, Economics and Informatics has revealed that not only the grade point average, gender and nationality peers can influence your own academic achievement, but so can their personalities. Intensive contact and interaction with persistent fellow students improve your own performance, and this effect even endures in subsequent semesters.