Annual Report 2020

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Research on the coronavirus front

Achievements of researchers from Bern in the crisis

Key area

Health and Medicine

Thanks to its University, Bern is a nationally and internationally acclaimed center of teaching and research in the field of health and medicine – and is establishing itself as the Swiss center for cutting-edge medicine. The University of Bern provides top-level medical, natural and human science, and veterinary medical achievements in the fields of biomedical sciences, medicinal technology, neurocognition, host-pathogen interaction as well as physical and mental health.

In 2020, the coronavirus was the all-pervading topic. Researchers in Bern played a major role in ensuring that knowledge about Sars-CoV-2 became more comprehensive and precise. The University of Bern used the knowledge gained and, so that future pandemics can be combated, committed itself by founding a multidisciplinary center for infectious diseases and immunity in 2020.

Further Stories

Artificial Intelligence

For better patient care

The University of Bern and the Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, have founded the Center for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (CAIM). Using artificial intelligence it will develop new medical technologies to enable tailor-made, more efficient patient care

Animal experiments

Push for alternative methods

No less than three research groups at the University of Bern received funding from the Swiss 3R Competence Centre (3RCC) in 2020 for innovative projects that aim to replace animal experiments. In order to study cancer, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and drug transfer between mother and fetus, human patient cells are cultivated in the laboratory.

Sleep research

REM sleep tunes eating behavior

Lots of different areas of the brain show increased activity during REM sleep – although little is known about why this should be. Researchers from Bern have now discovered that the activation of specific nerve cells during REM sleep regulates eating behavior: Suppressing this activity in mice decreases their appetite.

Neonicotinoid insecticides

Alarming long-term effects on ants

Researchers at the Institute of Bee Health of the University of Bern show that even low doses of neonicotinoid insecticides adversely affect the development of black garden ants. The researchers question the current deployment of chemical pest control and are calling for more sustainable agriculture.

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