

What will the new MEG bring to the building?
Foregoing the arrival at Campus Biotech of the first MEG in Switzerland, the Human Neuroscience Platform shares a few words on how the MEG will integrate the existing platforms.
What is Magnetoencephalography?
Speaking seems to be an easy process, almost working by itself. And yet, our brain is very active when we speak. But how does it work? In 2022 a #magnetoencephalography MEGIN will join the Human Neuroscience Platform of the Campus Biotech. And for the first time in Switzerland, MEG researchers will see what’s happening in the brain as it happens.
Projet art-science avec Julie Semoroz
Né d’une collaboration entre le Flux Laboratory et le Prof. Didier Grandjean du CISA – PRN Evolving Language, DOUZE MILLE VINGT se réfère à l’intéroception – la perception interne du son, champ scientifique largement méconnu – et agit sur la capacité à ressentir l’activité physiologique interne, à percevoir notamment la pulsation du sang dans les veines, le bruit des viscères, le souffle de la respiration, comme autant d’indicateurs des émotions, de l’état corporel.
We stand in solidarity
Some of our researchers have personal links to Ukraine and our thoughts are with you. Like many others around the world, we stand together in unity against aggression and violence, and in favour of peace, respect and our common humanity.
Genève au coeur du cerveau humain
C’est une première en Suisse: la plateforme de Neurosciences Humaines (HNP), accueillera l’été prochain une unité de magnétoencéphalographie (MEG) avec l’achat d’un MEGIN TRIUX™ neo, scanner de dernière génération permettant d’analyser l’activité cérébrale de manière non-invasive. Cette acquisition est le fruit d’un partenariat entre plusieurs institutions situées au Campus Biotech et la promesse de nouvelles […]
11.02.2022: Women in Science day
For the #WomeninScienceDay #IDWGS2022 we are happy to share with you three testimonies from our female researchers from the University of Zurich Franziska Wegdell, Nicole Tamer & Chiara Barbieri!
Improving reading skills through action video games
What if video games, instead of being an obstacle to literacy, could actually help children improve their reading abilities? A team from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has joined forces with scientists from the University of Trento in Italy to test an action video game for children, which would enhance reading skills. The results, published […]
Decoding inner language to treat speech disorders
What if it were possible to decode the internal language of individuals deprived of the ability to express themselves? This is the objective of a team of neuroscientists from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG).
Quand nos émotions se conjuguent au numérique
Des chercheurs de l’Université de Lausanne et de l’EPFL ont pour objectif de décortiquer la manière dont nous partageons nos émotions par messagerie instantanée. L’étude, qui est portée par le programme CROSS et qui s’intègre dans les recherches du PRN Evolving Language, s’avère particulièrement intéressant pour la préservation de l’héritage linguistique helvétique. Par Emilie WyssEn […]
Do languages and genes share cultural evolutionary history? – A focus article by Sciences Advances
Sciences Advances wrote a focus article presenting the study with NCCR members Peter Ranacher, Balthasar Bickel, Ken Shimizu and a larger international team. This is the 5th focus piece in 2021 (& only non-biomedicine paper), which highlights its importance.
Note les emojis et participe à une recherche scientifique!
🙋❤️📱 🙂. Depuis l’arrivée de la communication numérique, les emojis sont devenus de plus en plus populaires. Mais que signifient-ils? Comment et dans quel contexte sont-ils utilisés? Pour tenter de répondre à ces questions, une équipe interdisciplinaire de l’Université de Lausanne de l’EPFL a lancé ACCOMOJI, un projet qui examine les conversations WhatsApp en Suisse. […]
New SNSF Project on Native Accents in Infant’s cries
Prof. Dr. Alexis Hervais-Adelman, Associate Investigator for the NCCR Evolving Language, has been awarded a SNSF grant for his project on Native Accents in Infants’ Cries. Title: Native Accents in Infants’ Cries – A primitive mechanism to optimise caregiver responses, and the foundation of spoken language Summary: Over the last decade evidence has begun to […]
Les instruments de musique d’Amérique du Sud reflètent les relations entre les populations
La musique est une caractéristique universelle de la culture humaine et son histoire remonte à au moins 35 000 ans, ce qui en fait une pièce intéressante du puzzle de l’évolution culturelle. Une nouvelle étude menée par des chercheurs de l’université de Zurich analyse pour la première fois des données organologiques et leur relation avec les groupes linguistiques et l’histoire de la population en Amérique du Sud, suggérant des contacts culturels sur de longues distances géographiques et des cas d’extinction récente.
International Symposium Announcement, Zurich, Sept. 29-30
the Swiss National Competence Center in Research ‘Evolving Language’ is happy to announce a special symposium on The Molecular Anthropology of Language: Results and Prospects. This two-day event held at the University of Zurich from 29-30 September 2021 will bring together both established and emerging leaders in this burgeoning field.
Scientifica 2021 – When researchers meet the public
The NCCR Evolving Language community took actively part in Scientifica, the science festival held by the University of Zurich and ETH Zurich on September 4-5.
Et si notre histoire était inscrite dans notre grammaire? (EN)
Les humains ont toujours été en mouvement, créant une histoire complexe de langues et de traditions culturelles dispersées sur le globe. Une équipe internationale dirigée par l’UZH a maintenant retracé des familles de langues apparentées sur plus de 10 000 ans en combinant des données issues de la génétique, de la linguistique et de la musicologie à l’aide de nouvelles méthodes numériques. Leurs conclusions : la grammaire représente le mieux la préhistoire commune d’une population et reflète donc la génétique plus que toute autre caractéristique culturelle.
La politesse, c’est tendance chez les singes
Apes use specific gestures to start and end social interaction. A behavior not seen outside of the human species until now, report scientists from the Universities of Neuchâtel (UniNE) and Durham (UK). They also found that the social and power dynamics between the interacting apes affected the communication efforts used, which the researchers say mirrors patterns similar to human politeness. The findings are published today in the journal iScience.
Paul Widmer (UZH) has been appointed full professor
Our PI Paul Widmer has been appointed Full Professor of Comparative Indo-European Linguistics at the University of Zurich, Department of Comparative Language Science. Congratulations to him!
The South American Ethnosphere: Human diversity in time and space
A workshop sponsored by the platform Congressi Stefano Franscini (ETH) and the Latin American Center Zurich to promote exchanges and conversations on the state of the art research on human diversity and landscape impacts in South America. Participants include experts from different fields such as archaeology, history, anthropology, linguistics, genetics, botanic.
SciFilmIt: create a movie in 72 hours!
Are you eager to learn about science communication and storytelling? Do you want to create a short film about your research under the mentorship of experts and present it in a cinema? Here’s the opportunity! We’re very happy to tell you that we’ve partnered up with the association SciFilmIt, which aims at bridging the gap between science and emotion through film.
Cracking language mystery for over a year!
It has been over a year since the launch of the NCCR. We are very proud of what we have accomplished during the past months.
Movie hackathon: a film on Language in 72 hours
We’re very happy that Carmen Saldana and Chiara Barbieri agreed to participate in the SciFilmIt Hackathons and created a movie on language.
Dr. Silvia Marchesotti was awarded by the Swiss Dyslexia Association
Silvia Marchesotti received the Swiss Dyslexia Association Research Award 2021 for her work “Selective enhancement of low-gamma activity by tACS improves phonemic processing and reading accuracy in dyslexia”.
Venez à la rencontre de quelques-unes des femmes du PRN!
Embarque pour un voyage fascinant à travers l’évolution du langage ! Cinq de nos #NCCRWomen te présentent leurs recherches et leur expérience personnelle dans le domaine scientifique.
Happy Birthday, NCCR Evolving Language!
We celebrate one year of joint interdisciplinary research and outreach activities. Launching an NCCR during the global pandemic was not a piece of cake but we are proud of our achievements and we look forward to more exciting research in the years to come!
La diversité au cœur d’Evolving Language
Le 21 mai est la journée mondiale de la diversité culturelle pour le dialogue et pour le développement. Elle offre l’opportunité d’approfondir nos réflexions sur les valeurs de la diversité culturelle et ainsi apprendre à mieux “vivre ensemble”. Au sein du Pôle de Recherche National (PRN) Evolving Language, la diversité est un pilier essentiel. À ce titre, plusieurs mesures sont mises en place pour garantir une inclusion sans faille.
The ZNZ talks about us!
What makes our NCCR unique and how will it carry language research far into the future? Find it out in the latest issue of the Neuroscience Center Zurich (University of Zurich) newsletter! With our PIs Richard Hahnloser, Martin Meyer, Moritz Daum & Silvia Brem
Adrian Guggisberg has been appointed head of Neurorehabilitation at the University Hospital in Bern.
The management of the Insel Group has appointed Prof. Adrian Guggisberg, MD, as head of Neurorehabilitation at the University Hospital in Bern.
Marmoset Monkeys Eavesdrop On and Understand Conversations Between Other Marmosets
Marmoset monkeys perceive the vocal interactions between their conspecifics not just as a string of calls, but as coherent conversations. They also evaluate their content. These are the findings of a study by researchers at the University of Zurich which combined thermography methods with behavioral preference measures.
Additional information to the 19h30 RTS of Friday (04.02.21)
Following the report “Brain stimulation, a hope to cure dyslexia”, on February 4, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. of the RTS, the dyslexia team of the NCCR (National Center of Competence in Research)- Evolving Language, Profe Anne-Lise Giraud, Dr. Sylvia Marchesotti and Johanna Nicolle provided additional information on the study which can be found on the website of the Association Dyslexie Suisse romande.
Around 200 people attended our Online Information Event
Around 200 people joined us yesterday for our online information event! This was a great opportunity to officially introduce our NCCR to the community.
Les bonobos sont sensibles à leurs engagements conjoints
Les bonobos, lorsqu’ils sont brusquement interrompus dans une activité sociale avec un autre congénère, la reprennent, aussitôt la phase d’alerte terminée, avec le même partenaire. On pensait que cette capacité d’avoir conscience d’une activité sociale mutuelle était réservée aux humains.
An ERC Consolidator Grant for Judith Burkart
Judith Burkart has been awarded an ERC Consolidator Grant for her research on interdependence between humans and apes during human evolution.
Présentation en ligne du NCCR
We would like to invite you all to an online information event on January 22nd, 2021, 4-5 pm. We will present the project, explain our larger scientific vision and discuss our long-term plans. The presentation will be in English, followed by a Q&A session.
Dwarf mongooses may combine units in order to create new meanings
Dwarf mongooses seem to produce a complex call that may be a combination of distinct call units.
NCCR member Silvia Brem has been presented with the Georg Friedrich Götz Award
Cancer researcher and physician Steffen Böttcher from the Universitätsspital Zürich and neuroscientist Silvia Brem have been presented with the Georg Friedrich Götz Award for their outstanding contributions in the field of medical research.
NCCR PI Sabine Stoll’s results in the latest Research*eu magazine
ERC Research from our PI and director of ISLE, Sabine Stoll, was presented in the latest Research*eu magazine: ‘How children learn how to speak: a cross-language investigation’.
Martin Volk joins management board of COST Action
NCCR PI Martin Volk joined the management board of the COST Action Language In The Human-Machine Era. This COST Action aims at preparing linguistics and its subdisciplines for the digital challenges of our times as well as at fostering the long-term dialogue between linguistics and technology developers.
NCCR officially started
The NCCR Evolving Language officially started on June 1, 2020. An official inauguration event will be held in fall at the University of Zurich. Date and location will be communicated in due course.
NCCR starting date postponed
Baring possible further decisions by the SERI or the SNSF, the starting date of the NCCR has been postponed to June 1, 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic. The earliest timepoint for hiring scientific staff is one month after the start date. Since this is just before the summer break, most projects will take […]