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SNr neurons in the midbrain send precise signals to control movement. Their activity determines which movements actions are initiated or inhibited. (Image: Biozentrum, University of Basel)

A switchboard with precision: How the brain licenses movements

Neurons deep in the brain not only help to initiate movement—they also actively suppress it, and with astonishing precision. This is the conclusion of a new study by researchers at the University of Basel and the Friedrich Miescher…
FMI researchers adapted a mouse experiment

How the brain detects surprises — and why it could matter for mental health

What happens in the brain when our senses don’t match our expectations — for example, when we take a step, but there’s no sound or the sound is delayed or distorted? A new study led by FMI neuroscientists sheds light on how the brain…
Sections of multinucleated muscle fibers (green; nuclei in magenta).

New insights challenge previous views about a muscle growth factor

The protein Myc has long been thought to support skeletal muscle growth. In recent work, the research team led by Prof. Markus Rüegg at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, provides compelling evidence that Myc in muscle fibers is…
Junger Basler Nachwuchswissenschaftler mit Hirnliga-Forschungsstipendium ausgezeichnet

Junger Basler Nachwuchswissenschaftler mit Hirnliga-Forschungsstipendium ausgezeichnet

Das Forschungsstipendium 2025 über 60’000 Franken der Schweizerischen Hirnliga geht an den erst 22-jährigen Valiantsin Darafeyeu, PhD-Student in der Forschungsgruppe von Prof. Dr. Andreas Keller (Departement für Biomedizin der Universität…
Image © IOB, 2025

Brain's efficiency emerges from randomness

Scientists have wondered for a long time how neurons in our brain process information so efficiently. Traditional theories suggested that this required precisely tuned neural patterns. However, new research at IOB shows that highly…
The nerve (yellow) communicates with skeletal muscle fibers (purple) at neuromuscular junctions (red).

Numerous genes important for muscle-nerve connection identified

Nerves and muscles must work together perfectly for us to move. The team led by Prof. Markus Rüegg at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel has identified a large number of genes in mice that help maintain the connection between muscle…
Prof. Dr. Tobias Derfuss.

Two doctors to share professorship at newly created Research Center

The University Council has appointed Tobias Derfuss and Jens Kuhle as Professors of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis in the Faculty of Medicine. The professorship will be divided between the two doctors.
Early-born neurons

/ Research

The brain creates three copies for a single memory

A new study from Prof. Flavio Donato at the Biozentrum, University of Basel, now published in “Science”, reveals that the memory for a specific experience is stored in multiple parallel “copies”, which are preserved for varying durations,…
Loss of presynaptic GABAB receptors in Ajap1-/- mice. Immunolabeling of AJAP1 and presynaptic GABAB1a (GB1a) protein in the hilus region of the hippocampus of Ajap1-/- and Ajap1+/+ mice. Presynaptic GABAB receptors are lost in the absence of AJAP1 protein.

/ Research

Discovery of a new mechanism involving GABA-B receptors and the protein AJAP-1 in the localization of these receptors in the brain (Bettler Lab)

The DBM congratulates the Bettler Lab for their recent paper accepted by Science Advances. The authors have uncovered a novel mechanism involving GABA-B receptors and the protein AJAP-1, which maintains the receptors' placement in the…
The Wolf Prize in Medicine acknowledges José-Alain Sahel's (left) and Botond Roska's exceptional contributions to the field of ophthalmology.

/ Research

Botond Roska and José-Alain Sahel win the Wolf Prize 2024 in the field of medicine

Botond Roska and José-Alain Sahel have been awarded the Wolf Prize in Medicine for their pioneering work on restoring vision to blind patients using optogenetic therapy.
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