The cogito foundation has supported the project KIDSinfo already in 2002 with a grant of CHF 2'000.–. During the last two years it was partially supported by the Federal Office for Equality of Men and Women. This support ends with the year 2005. However, this has to be a long-term project, since girls usually don’t even consider engineering professions when choosing their future profession because they are lacking female role models.
KIDSinfo presents the whole range of technical professions as equally attractive for boys and girls. The students are given insight into technical professions of women which they can relate with physics, chemistry, geology and the like. For the public to understand the problems of science and engineering, the basic knowledge must be conveyed at an early age.
www.kids-info.ch/an.html

"A comparative study of environmental conflicts over industrial tree plantations in Ecuador and Cameroon: What perspectives for sustainability"
Julien-François Gerber, Graduate Institute of Development Studies, University Geneva; Prof. Dr. Jean Martinez Alier, Inst. of Environmental Sciences/Technologies, University of Barcelona CHF 47’500.– for 3 years.

This grant enables a scientist to perform his doctoral thesis research abroad – in Barcelona – where he expects to get an additional education in economics and social psychology. As a scientist, he has become aware of the fact that questions of sustainability don’t have exclusively scientific components, but decisive economic and social aspects also play an important role, especially in the third world.
The grantee will study the interactions between forestry, social psychology and economics in two areas where industrial logging is being performed: in Cameroon and in Equador. The areas are similar except in one aspect: the attitude of the indigenous population.

"The Role of Emotion: its Scope in Human Actions and in Setting Social Standards”
(Continuation of Grant R-109/04)
Prof. Dr. Gerd Folkers, Collegium Helveticum, Zurich CHF 200'000.-

The project has shown a promising start during the first 6 months. The various groups have been confronted with questions that can only be answered jointly. The topic has been widened: “….. and in setting social standards” is new. New researchers have joined the group. Some aspects as seen from the different disciplines:
Social Sciences: The neuronal bases of moral emotions. This sub-project by the cogito prize winner Ernst Fehr has already led to a widely discussed publication on Oxytocin in “Nature”.
www.iew.unizh.ch/home/fehr/
Pharmacology: Mechanisms of emotional pain suppression and their consequences for the rational and “alternative” pain therapy considering social behavior and cultural backgrounds. (Prof. Gerd Folkers);
Neurology: Self organization of the brain by experience. (Prof. Hanns Möhler);
Physics: Investigations on the code of thinking and emotion. (Prof. Reinhard Nesper); History: Emotion in mass movements; historic perspectives. (Prof. Jakob Tanner).
http://www.collegium.ethz.ch/projects/emotions.de.html

"Kel Tamasheq" (Continuation to R-108/04)
Prof. Reinhard Schulze, Anna Katharina Münch, Institute for Islamic Science, University of Berne CHF 90'000.-

The project tries to find ways to let the nomadic people of the southern Sahel enjoy the benefits of modern health care.
The research will determine how they perceive illness individually and socially. The attempt to introduce much needed modern methods of preventive and therapeutic medicine is hampered by tradition and taboos. The fieldwork will be conducted by a local physician and by a Swiss Islam scientist, who, as a woman speaking the local languages, is able to win the trust of the female patients more easily.
The project is still in the phase of data collection. Considering the difficult and sometimes dramatic circumstances, this progresses surprisingly well, the only obstacle being that emergency aid sometimes gets a higher priority than research.

"Crossing the boundaries between the normal and the paranormal"
(Continuation to F-110/03)
Dr. Peter Brugger, Dr. John Palmer, University Hospital, Zurich CHF 62'700.-

The goal is a better understanding of the phenomenon of „Implicit Sequence Learning“ which is sometimes misinterpreted as telepathy.
During the first year, John Palmer und Peter Brugger have conducted several experiments, partly with surprising results. They confirmed, that people who believe in paranormal phenomena are better implicit learners. There are indications that this may have to do with the dominant brain hemisphere in the information gathering process.
Another finding: it is easy to suppress implicit learning: It works only, when the experimental subjects do not know that they are about to learn something. Many questions remain open, new ones have surfaced. They are to be addressed during the rest of Prof. Palmers stay in Zurich.

Crossing the boundaries between the normal and the paranormal

"Inducing corporeal illusions to understand self and subjectivity: Combining Philosophy of Mind and Cognitive Neuroscience"
Prof. Olaf Blanke, EPFL, Lausanne CHF 78'464.-

In cooperation with the Cognition Philosopher Thomas Metzinger, Mainz, various „Out of Body Experience“ (OB) phenomena shall be examined. On one hand, they can be understood neurophysiologically, on the other hand, they open up fundamental questions on the function of “Self”. It is planned to trigger such experiences by stimulating certain parts of the cortex of healthy subjects and of psychiatric patients (some with spontaneous OB experiences). This can be done non-invasively. By observing these events with fNMR, EEGs and interviews it is hoped to gain more insight into the enigma of self consciousness.

The stipend awarded last year by the cogito foundation led to the retraction of the tuition fee waiver by the University of Edinburgh. They were unwilling to reconsider. Considering Hoeflers success in the first year and in view of the discriminatory treatment of Swiss students in the UK, he is awarded an additional CHF 3’000.–.

A Series of Panel Discussions about “Ageing” in the framework of the Zurich Life-Science-Week from May 12 –19, 2006.
These events will present interdisciplinary topics of high actuality and public interest that are well suited to illustrate important aspects of academic research to a lay public. The topics are:
Young and Old living together, (May 12, 2006)
Medicine at the End of Life, (May 13, 2006)
Youth Cult (May 13, 2006)
They draw from many-faceted research projects under way at the Universities in Zurich on these matters.

"Permanent Protection against sickness from invasive bacteria "
Doctoral Candidate Géraldine Blanchard, University Geneva, resp. Oxford University
Stipend for 3 years in the amount of CHF 14'000.- per year.

Dissertation on the topic “Immune reactions of cells and effect of inoculations against Meningitis” at the University of Oxford with Prof. Andrew Pollard.
The work aims to better understand the reaction of the immune system to an infection with the bacterium “Neisseria Meningitidis”. In a second phase, the social and economic context of an inoculation will be examined. So, methods of natural science (cell research) and social sciences (qualitative interviews) will be combined. An implied aspect is the question how inoculations in the third world can be made affordable, simple and socially accepted.

Life Science Zurich would like to allow schools and the interested public to take part in laboratory demonstrations and workshops, thereby furthering the identification with the life sciences in the society. The Life Science Learning Center sees itself as a connecting element between the various pedagogical institutions and the natural Science Departments of the Universities in Zurich.
During the initial phase, scientist with educational experience will prepare the program on a 30% basis.