Multidrug-resistant bacteria are found in half of all dog foods made from raw meat, researchers from the University of Zurich have found. Feeding pets a diet of raw meat, also known as a "BARF" diet, is a growing trend. The resistant bacteria in the raw food can be transmitted to the pets - and thus also to humans.

The human brain is about three times the size of the brains of great apes. This has to do, among other things, with the evolution of novel brain structures that enabled complex behaviors such as language and tool production. A study by anthropologists at the University of Zurich now shows that changes in the brain occurred independent of evolutionary rearrangements of the braincase.

The teeth of mammals experience constant wear. However, the details of these wear processes are largely unknown. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now demonstrated that the various areas of herbivores’ teeth differ in how susceptible they are to dental wear, detailing an exact chronology.

Increased equality has a positive effect on mothers and fathers. Thanks to greater freedom to strike an individual balance between caring for children and working in paid employment, mothers and fathers today are happier with their lives than parents were 20 or 30 years ago, a study by sociologists at the University of Zurich has shown.

A new app allows parents to playfully support their children as they explore their surroundings. They can record important motor, cognitive and linguistic milestones and receive scientifically sound information on each step. The app was developed by psychologists at the University of Zurich, who are researching the individual development of children.

Next Monday, the Fall Semester begins for about 27,000 students at the University of Zurich. The number of Master's students in particular has increased. In the arts and social sciences, students now benefit from clear and consistent degree program structures, which have been brought about by a wide-ranging study reform.

A new study by an international team headed by the University of Zurich sheds light on whether animal vocalizations, like human words, are constructed from smaller building blocks. By analyzing calls of the Australian chestnut-crowned babbler, the researchers have for the first time identified the meaning-generating building blocks of a non-human communication system.