news from the lab 2017

A joint study involving Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and the Ecole polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) shows that people with a genetic predisposition to obesity are more likely to develop the condition if they find themselves in a situation of deprivation. The city of Lausanne was used as a test site by the researchers.

For more than 30 years, cancer patients have been coming to the small locality of Villigen on the Aare River.

EPFL scientists have discovered a new biological mechanism behind nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease covers a range of diseases that result from fat accumulation in the liver, but not as a result of alcohol abuse. Fat buildup can lead to liver inflammation, scarring and irreversible damage, such as cirrhosis and liver failure.

Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) The first clinical studies for a new type of immunotherapy for leukaemia are beginning at Bern's University Hospital and the Department of Clinical Research (DCR) of the University of Bern. Antibodies discovered in the laboratory should inhibit the growth of tumour cells.

Scientists at EPFL have developed a technique that can be a game-changer for genetics by making the characterization of DNA-binding proteins much faster, more accurate, and efficient. Genes hold the DNA code for producing all the proteins of the cell. To begin this process, genes require a huge family of DNA-binding proteins called transcription factors, which are of enormous interest to biologists today.

Researchers have succeeded in using X-rays to minutely observe a photosynthesis reaction and produce a movie of the event. The findings will aid understanding of similar processes in the human eye. Plants and algae are not alone in undergoing photosynthesis. Some bacteria also use energy from sunlight to grow and reproduce.