Humor brings together – or divides

In focus

From political weapon to social outlet: Humor can be used in a variety of ways in society. A theater expert, a sociologist, a Middle East specialist and a literary scholar shed light on its many facets.

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Intercultural knowledge

All articles about intercultural knowledge

An underestimated source of power

Humor makes life easier

Humor helps to reduce stress, strengthens relationships and protects the psyche. Developmental psychologist Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello shows why humor is much more than just entertainment, how we can use it meaningfully in everyday life, and how we can train it in a targeted way.

Is laughing allowed?

What a story about religious humor reveals

Throughout history, Jews, Christians and Muslims have laughed more at each other than with each other. A legend about three travel companions provides an insight into the background.

Women’s Health

Menstruation and Menopause: A Workplace Taboo

Periods and menopause make adaptations in the workplace necessary: Studies by gynecologist Petra Stute and gender researcher Christine Bigler show us where are the areas that need improving and what are the needs of the female body.

Linguistic Research

New language app explores Italian around the world

How is the Italian language changing in an age of globalization and migration? A new language app developed at the University of Bern aims to find out.

A question for Oliver Lubrich

What does Bern gain from Dürrenmatt’s global literature?

Literary scholar Oliver Lubrich captures the essence of what the Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professorship for World Literature means for Bern.

In focus

Job Stress Index

Many Swiss employees feel stressed, as regular monitoring shows. This not only harms them, but also the economy.

Tackling the clichés

Women’s soccer breaks down gender norms

Just in time for the Euro 2025 soccer tournament, two Bern-based researchers are publishing a new book, “Das Recht zu kicken” [The Right to Kick]. During an interview, co-author Marianne Meier recounts historical anecdotes and pits Swiss women’s soccer against gender stereotypes.

University and studies

All articles about university and studies

A question for Andreas Michel

How important is humor for professional success?

Andreas Michel is Head of HR Development and Recruiting at the University of Bern and explains how humor can be used profitably in the workplace and what needs to be considered when doing so.

Abuse of power at universities

“Use the Advisory Services”

Swiss media recently reported cases of abuse of power at universities. The University of Bern would like to use this report as an opportunity to explicitly draw attention to its advisory services, as Vice-Rector Heike Mayer explains in an interview.

Equal Opportunities

“A paradigm shift in economics is imperative”

The VWelles Rethinking Economics student group is committed to including different schools of thought in the study of economics in Bern and treating them equally. On November 19, it will receive the “Prix Lux” 2025, the equal opportunities prize of the University of Bern.

University history

The “ivory tower” and us

The people of Bern and their University: A long and fruitful, but also complicated relationship, not without its dramatic moments, as a look at history shows.

Health and medicine

All articles about health and medicine

Social and Preventive Medicine

Sex and Gender: The Path to better medicine

Angèle Gayet-Ageron, Director of the Institute for Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM) at the University of Bern, explains why sex and gender need to be systematically taken into account in medical research.

Humor and health

Laughter connects and relaxes

Does laughter really promote healing? Neurologist Claudio Bassetti answers this question and explains how he uses humor in communication and even in the diagnosis of diseases.

Diabetes

Low blood sugar detected by speaking into a smartphone

Diabetes can be accompanied by dangerous low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia). Recordings with an ordinary smartphone microphone could make diabetes management safer and easier in the future.

Medicine

Why the "gut brain" plays a central role for allergies

Scientists from Bern and Charité (– Universitätsmedizin Berlin) have identified a previously unknown function of the intestinal nervous system. The findings open new avenues for advancing therapies for allergies and intestinal disorders.

Animal experimentation

Strengthening reproducibility in animal experimentation

An international collaboration led by Bernese researchers launched the first comprehensive atlas of the mouse gut microbiome. The landmark study has the potential to enhance the reliability of biomedical research using mouse models.

FOKUS

Funny, isn't it?

In focus

Have you laughed today?

When and how often we laugh depends, among other things, on our age, our environment, and our expectations. A look at the data shows how these factors work—and what they trigger in us.

Machine laughter

Do ChatGPT and Co. understand humor?

Language models such as ChatGPT know millions of jokes. But do they understand why they are funny, or do they just pretend they do? Malte Elson deals with the psychology of digitalization and knows the answer.

Is laughing allowed?

What a story about religious humor reveals

Throughout history, Jews, Christians and Muslims have laughed more at each other than with each other. A legend about three travel companions provides an insight into the background.

Matter and universe

All articles on matter and universe

Astronomy

Even sharper images from the Zimmerwald Observatory

Air turbulence impairs observations of the universe from Earth. The Swiss Confederation has granted CHF 3 million to the Zimmerwald Observatory to support the development of an optical system that will correct the disruptive effects in real time.

Sustainable water management

Humans and environment exacerbate drought in southern Spain

The Axarquía region in southern Spain experienced an extreme water crisis between 2019 and 2024. Victoria Junquera from the University of Bern sheds light on the causes.

Planetary sciences

Jonas Kühn captures images of very distant planets

Professor of Astronomical Instrumentation Jonas Kühn has developed a new type of instrument. It is based on liquid crystals, as we know them from smartphones, and will image planets outside our solar system on a new telescope.

MicroBooNE collaboration

No evidence of sterile neutrinos

There is no evidence for the existence of sterile neutrinos – a fourth type of the elementary neutrino particle. This is shown by the international MicroBooNE collaboration at the US research center Fermilab with the participation of the University of Bern.

Politics and administration

All articles about politics and administration

Institute of Marketing and Business Management

Conscious and satisfying gift-giving

The Christmas gift season has been in full swing since Black Friday, if not before. Discounts and emotions tempt people to make impulse purchases. Which strategies help us to make more conscious decisions on online platforms and in stores?

Satire under pressure

Between freedom of expression and censorship

Geneva-based cartoonist Patrick Chappatte and Bern-based media lawyer Franz Zeller discuss the limits of freedom of expression and the role of political satire at a time when traditional media are coming under increasing pressure.

Law

Human Rights Law Clinic: Putting human rights into practice

The Human Rights Law Clinic of the University of Bern was the first Swiss law clinic to work exclusively with real cases. We visited them – and learned what sets their curriculum apart and what inspires their students.

Sender: Bern Education Commission

Wishes and expectations from politicians

Seven members of the Education Commission of the Cantonal Parliament write to the University of Bern. They describe their view of the role of the University within the education system, its responsibility to society, and also their idea of how visible and accessible a university should be today.

Infographic

Driving value added in the region

The University of Bern makes a key economic contribution to the region. It attracts investment from the federal government and others, creates jobs and purchases services from local companies. Its employees and students are consumers in the region. The financial contribution of the canton generates roughly three times as much value added in the regional economy.

Istituto di italiano giuridico

“The federal city of Bern is ideally suited for this institute”

The University of Bern is strengthening the status of the Italian language in law. Iole Fargnoli, founder and director of the new Institute for Italian Legal Language, explains why Bern is the ideal location for it.

Forum for University and Society

"Our events are also social spaces"

The university is more than just teaching and research. In order to document its contribution to society, the Forum for University and Society (Forum für Universität und Gesellschaft, FUG) has been inviting participants to events for more than 20 years and successfully cultivating an exchange with the political leadership.

Sustain-
ability

All articles about sustainability

Hans Sigrist Prize 2025

“We can’t expect judges to save us”

The Norwegian-German law professor, Christina Voigt, has been awarded the University of Bern’s Hans Sigrist Prize worth 100 000 Swiss Francs. This honor recognizes her achievements in advancing international climate law.

2nd Bern Climate Law Conference

Climate protection in the gray area

Watching Netflix, eating tropical fruits, wearing cheap fashion—most greenhouse gas emissions are caused by imported goods and services. A conference at the University of Bern is focusing on these "gray emissions".

United Nations Ocean Conference 2025

The ocean is at its limit – but there is still hope

Heating, deep-sea mining, vulnerable ecosystems: In this interview, climate researcher Thomas Frölicher explains what is going on with the ocean, what glimmers of hope there are and why this is important for Switzerland.

Successful search for the oldest ice

Traveling back 1.2 million years with Antarctic ice

A team from twelve European research institutions in Antarctica has succeeded in retrieving ice cores containing climate information from the past 1.2 million years and more. The University of Bern played an important role in this scientific breakthrough.