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Uni Bern Magazin: Thema Health and Medicine

Virus hunting, digital diagnostics, animal welfare

Health and Medicine

Novel viruses, bacterial resistances and the shortage of medical specialists pose major challenges for our society. To tackle these, researchers at the University of Bern develop award-winning tools and methods and are engaged in the innovative promotion of young scientists.

Current

Tissue medicine

Blood poisoning due to fungus

Bernese researchers show how a yeast fungus, which is harmless in itself, can trigger blood poisoning and receive help from the immune system. These findings could enable new therapeutic approaches.

Digitalization

Artificial intelligence as a legal entity?

Artificial intelligence increasingly serves as a decision-making aid. But who bears responsibility for its decisions and subsequent actions? Christoph Ammon from the Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology at the Uni of Bern investigates this.

Medicine

Fine-tuning customized medical technology

From hip prostheses to artificial heart circuits: pioneering medical technology has been developed in Bern since 1963. A decisive role in this context was played by a research workshop that became a part of the University of Bern in 1989.

Climate science

More heat deaths due to global warming

Global warming caused 60 percent of Swiss heat deaths in the summer of 2022. Women are more affected – especially senior citizens. This is shown by a study led by the University of Bern.

Medicine

Trauma could be inherited in the long term

External influences such as diet or stress affect our bodies more strongly than previously thought: researchers at the University of Bern demonstrate that over long periods of time even genes could be altered as a result.

Combating distemper and measles viruses

Bernese Researchers have been able for the first time to depict the canine distemper virus (CDV), which is closely related to the measles virus, at molecular level. This paves the way for the development of novel therapies against CDV and measles.

People

Prevention

Gaming for health

Mike Falkner develops video games for older adults with the aim to train memory and fine motor skills – and thus help prevent diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease.

Medical Education

Innovations for medical education created in Bern

The Institute for Medical Education (IML) at the University of Bern is now more than 50 years old. As a national center of expertise, it carries out research into medical teaching and aims to strengthen its quality in Switzerland. An interview with its director, Sissel Guttormsen.

Cardiology

Can a heart really break?

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?

Nutrition science

What diet makes us powerful?

Physical and cognitive performance is highly dependent on diet. The basis is energy intake to meet needs plus sufficient essential nutrients such as specific amino acids and fatty acids as well as vitamins. In nutritional medicine, we measure individual needs by taking into account age, gender, body composition and state of health. We also take training and competition aspects into account.

Sleep research

Exploring the mysteries of sleep

Mattia Aime from the Department for BioMedical Research has discovered how sleep helps to process emotions. For this he receives a Pfizer Research Prize, one of the most prestigious medical prizes in Switzerland.
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