Testimonial of Patricia Marini University of Basel, Switzerland, Research Group Dirk Bumann Where are you from and what are you studying? I’m from Rheinfelden in Germany, just over the border, and study molecular biology at…

Roughly eight in every million children are born with a particularly severe form of muscle weakness known as LAMA2-related muscular dystrophy. In Switzerland, 18 cases are currently known. This rare hereditary disease is…

Proteins are the workhorses of our cells: They transport substances, digest nutrients and serve as building blocks. To perform this wide range of tasks, they must be folded correctly. This process is ensured by an arsenal of…

In certain infectious diseases, antibiotics are less effective than expected, as seen in infections caused by Salmonella bacteria, which can lead to illnesses such as typhoid fever. For many years, researchers believed that…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…