We are constantly exposed to a wide range of sensory stimuli, from loud noises to whispers. In order to efficiently process these diverse stimulus intensities, the brain needs to strike a balance in its responsiveness. An…

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…

Our body is made up of a wide variety of cells with the most diverse functions. Irrespective of being heart, liver or nerve cells, however, they all contain the same genetic information. The reason why cells develop…

Throughout our body there is a dense, widely ramified network of blood vessels. It is estimated to be about 150,000 kilometers in length. The vessels supply all cells, even those in most far away regions of the body with…

The incidence of liver cancer, also known as hepatocellular carcinoma, is steadily increasing. In the last twenty years, the number of cases has almost doubled in Switzerland. Hepatocellular carcinoma is usually diagnosed at…

Bartonella are bacteria that are transmitted from blood-sucking insects to mammals, including humans. There they enter the red blood cells and cause various symptoms. An example of such a human infection with a worldwide…

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…

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…

Fitness clubs are booming: New gyms are springing up like mushrooms. More and more people are striving to build up and strengthen their muscles. But what exactly happens in the muscle during training? In their recent work,…