news

Many people aspire to a successful partnership. But is this success determined by destiny, or does it result from working on the relationship? Researchers from the University of Basel have investigated the role of people's inner convictions on how they approach a relationship and how satisfaction develops over time.

Compassionate leadership has tangible benefits: CEOs' expressions of empathy correlate with positive stock performance, a study led by the University of Zurich shows. The researchers analyzed data from conference calls between CEOs and financial analysts during the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted an unprecedented financial crisis.

Monitoring and treating a case of multiple sclerosis requires reliable and long-term data on how the disease is progressing in the person in question. Fitness trackers and smartphones can supply this data, as a research team led by ETH Zurich has now shown. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an insidious disease.

Rain jackets, swimming trunks or upholstery fabrics: Textiles with water-repellent properties require chemical impregnation. Although fluorine-containing PFAS chemicals are effective, they are also harmful to human health and accumulate in the environment. researchers are now developing a process with alternative substances that can be used to produce environmentally friendly water-repellent textile fibers.

Researchers have developed GEMLI, a pioneering tool that could democratize and vastly improve how we study the journey of cells from their embryonic state through to specialized roles in the body, as well as their changes in cancer and other diseases. In the intricate dance of life, where cells multiply and diversify to form the different parts of organisms, understanding each cell's origin can be crucial.

Scientists have reconstructed for the first time a film of the assembly of the human centriole, one of the essential structures that constitute our cells. Cells contain various specialised structures - such as the nucleus, mitochondria or peroxisomes - known as "organelles''. Tracing their genesis and determining their structure is fundamental to understanding cell function and the pathologies linked to their dysfunction.

A team from the University of Geneva discovered that treatment for cystic fibrosis does not eliminate the docking stations of bacteria responsible for respiratory infections. Cystic fibrosis is a genetic and hereditary disease affecting specific cells - epithelial cells - lining certain organs, including the respiratory epithelium in our lungs (inset).

The approval of marijuana for medical use has had little effect on the mental health of the general population in the US. But legalization for therapeutic purposes does benefit those for whom it is intended. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers at the University of Basel. In the US, access to marijuana has been facilitated in most states since the mid-1990s - whether through medical clearance or through decriminalization of recreational use.

A recent breakthrough sheds light on how the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, invades human red blood cells. The study, led by the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH) and Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics, reveals the role of a sugar called sialic acid in this invasion process.

Researchers at EPFL reveal how Drosophila's Turandot proteins protect against immune self-harm. The study is the first to identify some proteins that protect against antimicrobial peptides offering insights into cellular resilience mechanisms with potential therapeutic applications. In the constant battle between organisms and pathogens, our immune system plays the role of a vigilant guardian.

EPFL neuroscientists have located single neurons in a deep structure of the brain that regulates the heart and the lungs, a first detection in humans. The results shed light on how the brain-body system self-regulates both vital bio-rhythms. The body self-regulates in a process known as homeostasis, and the brain is responsible for this as it is constantly monitoring all'of the body's vital signals.

Researchers at the University of Zurich and the University Hospital Zurich have discovered that a specific mutation in the cancer cells of an aggressive type of blood cancer can prevent novel immunotherapies such as CAR T-cell therapy from working. Their study also explains why the cancer cells are resistant and how this resistance can be overcome: through concomitant pharmacotherapy or genetically improved CAR T-cells.

Bacterial lysates are widely used in the clinic to minimize the pathologic consequences of respiratory infections. Our new study shows how one such lysate, OM-85, works on human myeloid cells to trigger an immunomodulatory gene circuit. Bellinzona, March 21, 2024 - OM-85 is a bacterial lysate commonly used in clinical practice to reduce duration and frequency of recurrent respiratory tract infections.

A study published yesterday by Swiss TPH and partners in Lao PDR has revealed high rates of Steatotic Liver Disease in a rural region where liver fluke infections and diabetes are prevalent. Surprisingly, an infection with parasitic worms was inversely associated with the prevalence of Steatotic Liver Disease.

By showing how a type of anticancer drug kills cancer cells and damages healthy cells, a team from the University of Geneva is paving the way for improved treatments. Some anti-cancer treatments not only target tumour cells but also healthy cells. If their effects on the latter are too strong, their use can become limiting.

Researchers in Bern have co-developed and tested a new method to combat the blockage of tiny coronary arteries after a heart attack. The new approach, born from a cooperation of engineers, clinicians, and industry, offers a treatment option to prevent the death of heart tissue after a heart attack, responsible for poor long-term patient health.

A stem cell donation saves a leukemia sufferer's life. Five years later, the patient develops a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that occurs very rarely following a transplant. Researchers from the University of Basel and University Hospital Basel havestudied the case and are calling for more extensive genetic analyses in bone marrow donors.

Researchers have developed a haptic device capable of reproducing the softness of various materials, from a marshmallow to a beating heart, overcoming a deceptively complex challenge that has previously eluded roboticists. The perception of softness can be taken for granted, but it plays a crucial role in many actions and interactions - from judging the ripeness of an avocado to conducting a medical exam, or holding the hand of a loved one.

EPFL neuroscientists have devised a way to alter our social perception and monitor specific types of hallucinations, both in healthy individuals and patients with Parkinson's disease. The test, which is also available online, provides the medical community with a tool to monitor hallucination susceptibility.

A team from the University of Geneva and the HUG has revealed the role of the microbiota in the increased risk of developing liver disease in the offspring of mothers suffering from obesity. Obesity, which could reach 50% of the population in certain developed countries by 2030, is a major public health concern.