News & Events

AI-generated images and videos pose a threat to democratic processes and undermine trust within society. Researchers from the Bio Engineering Lab led by Andreas Hierlemann have now developed chip technology that enables verification of the authenticity of sensor data including images or videos. 

Researchers from the Control Theory and Systems Biology lab of Mustafa Khammash have developed an improved genetic feedback controller that helps cells regulate themselves more quickly and reliably. Published in Cell Systems, the study shows how a simple modification to a classic control motif can combine fast responses with reduced cellular noise, offering a new design principle for robust control in synthetic biology.

Researchers around Petra Dittrich and the computer scientist André Kahles, both at ETH Zurich, and the  bioinformatician Ashley Rooney at the University of Zurich received a BRIDGE Discovery Grant to address the question: “Is this a bacterial infection – or not?” A new device promises a leap in emergency and precision medicine.

Today, upon application of Joël Mesot, President of ETH Zurich, the ETH Board appointed seven new professors and promoted five professors, amongst them: D-BSSE faculty members and associate professors Petra Dittrich, head of the Bioanalytics Lab, and Sai Reddy, head of the Synthetic Immunology Lab, were both promoted to Full Professor. Congratulations!

Today, the Department of Biomedicine (DBM) of the University of Basel and the D-BSSE officially celebrated the launch of the Xenium spatial transcriptomics platform in Basel. The event marks an important milestone for our research community and further strengthens Basel’s position as a leading center for spatial profiling technologies.

On 23-24 March 2026, the 3rd International Conference Ethics of Engineering Life will take place in Vatican City, with free access to virtual attendance. Guided by the questions "Quid est homo? Quis est homo" (What is the human being - and who is the human being?), ICEEL 2026 ivites the international scientific audience to reflect on the ethical implications of the rapid advances in biomedicine and engineering life sciences – and on their consequences.

The Mexico-born molecular biologist studied at the University of Bern how multidrug-resistant bacteria can colonize the gut of Swiss nationals living abroad. Soon he found himself inspired by the research at D-BSSE. Working here, however, felt like a distant summit on the horizon. As a passionate trail runner, he believes in steady climbs and long distances. The endurance paid off: in January 2026, he joined the Bioprocess Lab of Sven Panke as a postdoctoral researcher.

On 9 February, the biotech company Memo Therapeutics announced a major strategic collaboration with CLS, a global developer in medicines that treat people with rare and serious diseases, to advance next-generation immunoglobulin (IgG) therapies. Development and commercial milestone payments may total up to CHF 265 million for the first product. Memo Therapeutics was founded in 2012, transferring technology from Sven Panke’s Bioprocess lab to the marketplace.

Scientists from the Quantitative Developmental Biology lab of Barbara Treutlein and their colleagues from the Universities of Basel and Copenhagen have created the most detailed picture yet of how early human brain tissue responds to the chemical signals that guide brain development, offering a powerful new resource for studying the origins of the human nervous system – and what happens when development goes off course.