The online magazine of the University of Bern

Real friends go through fire and flood for each other. How does this mutual care come about? A journey through the animal kingdom with behavioral ecologist Michael Taborsky shows that cooperation has its origins in biology.

Social anthropologist Serena Owusua Dankwa studied the life stories of women in Ghana who love women. To do so, she left Western notions of sexual identity and the LGBTQ scene behind.

The end of a relationship, an unrequited love or the death of a loved one – they can all break your heart. At least proverbially. But does this emotional pain also manifest itself physically?

Whether global warming, the pandemic, or the war in Ukraine: today’s crises also endanger our food supplies. Sabin Bieri and Theresa Tribaldos of the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) call for a transition away from uniform food production and processing.

Most societies are aware of eating taboos, but these affect different foods. The very idea of eating something that is taboo causes disgust among its members. This leads to the paradox that an involuntary physical emotion such as disgust is culturally constructed.

Improving global food security is one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. However, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine shows how trade insecurity can destroy food security. The Word Trade Institute (WTI) at the University of Bern has been monitoring Ukraine’s grain exports, which are so important for Africa, since February. Now it is formulating demands.

Whether blindness in chamois or heart abnormalities in lynxes, diseases found in wildlife shape the professional life of Marie-Pierre Ryser. Good collaboration with equally passionate project partners and the balance in nature help the Head of the Wildlife Division at the Vetsuisse Faculty to deal with the immense workload.

Martino Mona is Professor of Penal Law and the Philosophy of Law at the University of Bern. What he particularly appreciates about his field is that it is not only socially relevant, but also of intellectual and philosophical significance.

Katharina Heyden is Professor of Ancient History of Christianity and is an ordained priest. Her research focuses in particular on interreligious encounters. She obtains her research material from text sources, art and archeology.