Congenital muscular dystrophy is a rare hereditary disease which cannot be cured. The more than 30 known forms of this neuromuscular disease differ in the type of genetic defect and in the severity of disease progression.…

With its hundreds of thousands of nerve cells, the vertebrate brain is the most complex organ in the animal kingdom. During vertebrate evolution not only have the number of neurons and consequently the volume of the brain…

Fats are highly diverse molecules that serve as fuel and energy storage, and they constitute the building blocks for cell membranes, hormones and messengers. Despite the diversity of fats, all the fatty acids contained…

Each living cell grows and divides, thus generating new offspring. This process is also known as the cell cycle. Strictly speaking, it describes a periodic repetition of two coordinated cycles: the duplication of a cell’s…

All organisms need energy to live. We get energy from various components of our food. Our body uses a part of this energy directly and stores the rest. While glucose serves as an immediately available energy source, fats are…

Autism occurs in about one percent of the population and is characterized by alterations in communication, repetitive behavior and social difficulties. There are numerous genetic factors involved in the development of…

Proteins perform various jobs in cells, they catalyze thousands of biochemical reactions, relay signals and are required for building cellular structures and transport processes. Within every single cell of our body vast…

Odors, light, hormones and a tremendous variety of signaling molecules are recognized by a large family of cell receptors, known as G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). They are located on the cell surface and transduce…

In Switzerland, it is not uncommon for a patient to develop an infection during a hospital stay. One reason for this is insufficient hygiene, as shown recently in a study by the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products,…

On March 30th, 2023, Prof. em. Walter Keller passed away at the age of 84 years in Basel, after a long illness. With his death, the Biozentrum has lost an outstanding scientist, an important figure in shaping the institute…