Skin is our largest organ. Every year more than 50 million people suffer from skin defects and need skin transplants to restore skin function. Unfortunately, standards of care are often lacking and ineffective, leaving patients with scars. Scars are disfiguring but also highly discomfiting, they can impair growth and movement and require serial surgeries and […]
Is there life on planets outside our solar system? In this short lecture we dedicate ourselves to this question, which has occupied mankind for thousands of years. For this we dive into the world of "exoplanets", planets orbiting other stars than the sun. We will look at how many exoplanets have already been found, what […]
Everyone is talking about the safety of voting systems. What exactly are the characteristics we expect from a secure system? Is it at all possible to supplement or even surpass the security of paper-based voting documents electronically? And how can a fully decentralized system, namely a blockchain, be helpful here? This short talk presents the […]
Damaged tissue that simply grows back: What is real everyday life for some species in the animal kingdom remains a nice dream for humans. We can only regrow lost tissue to a limited extent – for example, in the case of skin and liver. Our goal is to produce tissue and spare parts for the […]
Two basic questions arise in zoo animal feeding: Should zoo animals be fed according to their original habitats as much as possible? Zoo lions could then eat live hares, for example. Or is it more important that zoo animals eat as balanced a diet as possible and that their nutritional needs are met with a […]
What would it mean to have a robot judge making decisions in courts? How would that judge be built? While artificial intelligence could make decisions more efficient and consistent, there are also risks that automated systems could replicate or amplify existing biases and rigidities. Given the stakes, these technologies force us to think carefully about […]
Mobile apps are taking on an increasingly important role in psychological research. They are easy to use, can be used at any time and from anywhere, and provide real-time data from a person's natural environment. Developmental psychologists at the University of Zurich have developed the "kleineWeltentdecker app," which parents can use to document their children's […]
Unlike embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells can safely be used in regenerative therapies. Their potential to develop into specific tissues gives them the unique ability to restore function to damaged tissues and organs. This ability can be used in the treatment of various injuries and diseases such as spinal cord injury, heart failure and […]
In 2015, the heads of state and government of the 193 UN member states agreed on 17 global goals, the so-called Sustainable Development Goals. These goals aim to end poverty, fight inequality and address climate change by 2030. In the meantime, more than five years have passed, and there is still much to do! All […]
In nature, the gecko is the master of perfect adhesion. It manages to walk quickly and safely along vertical walls and even overhangs. In our dreams we would like to climb everywhere and see the world from a different perspective. Is this a dream or are we already on the way to realization? This lecture […]
Bacteria are ideal organisms to study evolution in real time. Bacteria always occur in thousands, reproduce quickly and therefore have an enormous potential to adapt to environmental changes. These adaptations can be studied in artificial laboratory systems. As an example, we use the evolution of antibiotic resistance. How do bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, which […]
In this short lecture, Dr Rocha Martin invites the public to take a tour inside the body. We will stop at all the places where microorganisms live within our bodies, aiming to understand how they can protect or harm us. The first stop is our skin, the largest organ we have, which is covered with […]
In recent years, artificial intelligent (AI) technologies have advanced at an enormous pace and in impressive ways. AI systems are now in every smartphone for speech and image recognition, in self-driving cars, and even robots are acting smarter and smarter thanks to their artificial neural networks. Nevertheless, AI still has a long way to go […]
The robot Pepper gives us information in the mall, we ask Siri for the next pizzeria, and service robots are used in nursing: What are the characteristic features of communication with machines? What are the differences between this type of interaction and human-to-human communication? How do we perceive such interactions? Is one artificial, the other […]
Children's books should inspire, fascinate and arouse curiosity. In pictures and text, they use artistic means to present spectacular natural phenomena. But how exactly does this art of marveling at nature work in children's books? And how do nature and art come together in picture books? The short lecture invites you on a journey of […]
Although tendon injuries in horses are very common, promising therapies are still lacking. The often traded stem cell therapy has great potential. However, it leaves many questions about its exact effect unanswered and has therefore not been widely accepted to date. Another approach is the therapy with Genipin, which was originally extracted from Gardenia plants. […]
Parenthood is a miracle of nature! An egg and a sperm combine their genetic material to form a new organism, the pregnancy results in the birth of a new life. The development of mankind has been taking place in this way for thousands of years. However, for various reasons, the possibility of having children naturally […]
Blood vessels form a complex network of transport pathways through which blood circulates and reaches every region of our body. Together with the heart, they form the circulatory system that supplies all tissues with oxygen and nutrients. Functioning blood vessels are indispensable for a healthy life. But our vessels are also subject to malfunction. Vascular […]
How do planets form? Thousands of extrasolar planets have been discovered to date, and yet we still do not know how planets form out of the galaxy’s raw materials of interstellar gas and dust. Astrophysicists have made some progress by using supercomputer models to try to interpret new exciting images of planetary nurseries – protoplanetary […]
We are interested in how we can arrange molecules in relation to each other. Not so easy when you can't touch molecules directly! But we believe that the shape of a molecule – its three-dimensional topography – can help us. A trick that potato chips have taught us. But how can we bend and shape […]
Cardiovascular diseases are the most frequent causes of death worldwide. With preventive measures, this circumstance could be efficiently counteracted. Studies have shown that with adequate control of the eight modifiable cardiovascular risk factors, over 90% of all cardiac events could be prevented. This sometimes – but by no means always – requires drug therapy. In […]
Our presentation explores the relationship between conceptualizations of law and the observation of natural phenomena in antiquity. We will offer examples from three main cultures of the ancient Mediterranean: Mesopotamia, Greece and Israel. In the ancient Near East, people tried to explain and predict natural phenomena like illness, the movements of stars and planets, and […]
Lameness in horses can have many causes. One of them is bone cysts, which often settle at the knee joint of thoroughbreds, but in warm-blooded horses and jumpers can affect various parts of the legs - often the toe joints. The cysts form cavities under the joint surface. Depending on their size, they lead to […]
Human tissue structures with biological fidelity and organisation are no longer science fiction, and human bone marrow (BM) is no exception. BM is a semi-solid, sponge-like tissue found in the center of the bones, and it is the home to hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs ensure hematopoiesis: Life-long blood and immune cell manufacture in the […]
Two basic questions arise in zoo animal feeding: Should zoo animals be fed according to their original habitats as much as possible? Zoo lions could then eat live hares, for example. Or is it more important that zoo animals eat as balanced a diet as possible and that their nutritional needs are met with a […]
Much of our food comes from plants that humans domesticated thousands of years ago and then steadily cultivated and improved. Today, rice, maize, wheat, potatoes and tomatoes are among the most important crops. But meat and other animal foods can only be produced to today’s extent because humans feed animals with cultivated plants. But how […]
Every person produces more than one liter of urine every day, which is formed by our kidneys. How does this organ work? On the one hand, kidneys dispose of toxins and waste, and on the other, they regulate the amount of fluid, salt and other nutrients the body needs. Kidneys also produce important hormones and […]
Meteorites are pieces of rock that formed in space and landed on Earth. Some of them, the chondrites, formed very early in the solar system and recorded the processes that took place at the time. While we cannot observe these processes today, we can use computer simulations to reproduce them as closely as possible and […]
Planets are common astronomical objects. Gas giant planets, which are massive planets made of mostly hydrogen and helium, are the first planets to form, and due to their large masses, they affect the dynamical evolution of young planetary systems. In addition, giant planet composition reveals key information on the birth environment of planets. In this […]
The human brain is the most complex structure known to us in the universe. Due to the formation of an interconnected neuronal system, the human brain has spectacular capabilities. However, the high complexity also has its price: the regenerative capacity of our brain is limited. Many diseases, such as stroke, lead to irreparable damage to […]
Viruses are part of nature and are found in all cells. Their number by far exceeds the number of all cells and organisms on our planet. Some viruses, such as flu viruses or SARS-CoV-2 (coronaviruses) cause diseases, others are harmless. How is this possible? Can harmful viruses be eradicated? To answer these questions, we need […]
We use the term microbiome to describe the totality of all microorganisms – for example bacteria, viruses or yeasts – on earth. In humans, we find the microbiome in different forms in the respiratory tract, in the gastrointestinal tract, on the skin and in the genital tract. These microorganisms live with us in symbiosis, fending […]
Biological materials such as tooth enamel and seashell gain their strength from a unique internal structure, where rigid “building blocks” are arranged in an interlocking formation. This means that no block can move without disturbing its neighbors. The combination of this interlocking with weak interfaces between the building blocks leads to unique properties that typical […]
What is the current state of machine intelligence? How is our society is changing as we hand over more and more of our decision making to artificial intelligence (AI)? Drawing on ethnographic work on the entanglements of religion and AI, this talk will explore our dreams of AI and how our visions of AI superintelligence […]
Based on the "SWEET-SURE" research project, we show how the Swiss energy system can be transformed to make the energy supply more environmentally friendly and secure. We will look at new technologies, the role of consumers and the costs of this transformation. For the younger participants, we have a little puzzle ready, with which they […]
Germany and Switzerland are linked not only by their geographical proximity, but also by their common language. However, the communicative routines (e.g. greetings) are different and communicative misunderstandings occur again and again in everyday life. How exactly does our communication behaviour differ? Is it true, for example, that people in Switzerland are quicker to switch […]
What neural principles underlie the vocal learning and imitation behaviour of songbirds? Neuroscientist Richard Hahnloser presents his experimental and theoretical models, which he uses to investigate signal processing in the neurons of songbirds. His work aims to decipher the neuronal networks of the song system and to explain their structural and functional plasticity in response […]
