news 2019

EPFL scientists have discovered that predatory bacteria like the cholera pathogen can steal up to 150 genes in one go from their neighbors. The study sheds light on one of the most fundamental mechanisms of horizontal gene transfer. In 2015, EPFL researchers led by Melanie Blokesch published a seminal paper in Science showing that the bacterium responsible for cholera, Vibrio cholerae , uses a spring-loaded spear to literally stab neighboring bacteria and steal their DNA.

Whether a wound heals well under a dressing cannot be seen from the outside. Empa researchers are now enabling a view through the bandage à la James Bond. The refined application of terahertz radiation could promote the analysis of multi-layered tissues for medical purposes and be used for wound treatment or the diagnostics of blood vessel plaques.

Daphnia, also known as water fleas, play an important role in the food web of lakes: they feed on phytoplankton and are eaten by predators such as fish. Their food resources show marked seasonal variation: in eutrophic waters, the summer is particularly challenging for daphnia, as the phytoplankton community is dominated by cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), which are of poor nutritional quality and often contain toxins.

A rippling stream is Jean-Marc Wunderli's favourite sound. However, his everyday research has little to do with calming natural sounds. He deals with completely different ones: noise from aircraft turbines, train noise, busy roads, wind turbines and now even drones. All these emissions are part of the research activities of Empa's Acoustics / Noise Control Lab, which Wunderli is heading since last July.

ETH researchers have developed a compact infrared spectrometer. It's small enough to fit on a computer chip but can still open up interesting possibilities - in space and in everyday life. Nowadays, a mobile phone can do almost anything: take photos or video, send messages, determine its present location, and of course transmit telephone conversations.

Can glass flow at room temperature and thus withstand hard impacts' A theory from the 1970s predicted exactly this. Empa researchers have now provided the proof. The results could form the basis for robust 3D printed glass microarchitectures. No one in the world has ever seen what we have measured," says Rajaprakash Ramachandramoorthy.

"Corrosion" comes from Latin "corrodere": to gnaw something to pieces. This refers to the gradual destruction of a substance due to the influence of other substances in the environment. Specialists at Empa take a close look at such processes and can find timely ways to prevent material failure due to corrosion - long before disasters such as those in Genoa occur.

Air pollution is the centre of debate on many fronts, from air protection measures involving road traffic, to technological innovations to reduce harmful emissions.

It can be deformed as required and is three times stronger than natural wood: the wood material developed by Marion Frey, Tobias Keplinger and Ingo Burgert at Empa and ETH Zurich has the potential to become a high-tech material. In the process, the researchers remove precisely the part of the wood that gives it its stability in nature: lignin.

Where bones fracture, surgeons often have to join the fragments with implants. Magnesium orthopaedic screws, which over time dissolve in the body, spare patients another operation after healing is completed and reduce the risk of infection. What happens inside the body during this process, though, is still largely unknown.

Using macroeconomic modeling, EPFL researchers have identified the most effective carbon tax for Switzerland to meet the Paris Agreement targets: a uniform levy on gasoline, diesel fuel and heating oil, rising steadily to 1.70 francs per liter by 2050. The Swiss transport sector has become the country's leading CO2 emitter, accounting for 41% of total emissions.

In textbooks on evolution, conceptional and mathematical models explain how a host-parasite relationship affects the genome of both organisms. This is known as coevolution. How this interaction really functions can, on the other hand, be proven in vivo for only a few genes. Studies of the whole genome of both species that also show the progression of this mutual influence over time have never been done before.

The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is limited by its astronomical electricity consumption and outsized carbon footprint. A nearly zero-energy alternative sounds too good to be true, but as School of Computer and Communication Sciences (IC) Professor Rachid Guerraoui explains, it all comes down to our understanding of what makes transactions secure.

ETH researchers use artificial intelligence to improve quality of images recorded by a relatively new biomedical imaging method. This paves the way towards more accurate diagnosis and cost-effective devices. Scientists at ETH Zurich and the University of Zurich have used machine learning methods to improve optoacoustic imaging.

Efficacy of Alecensa (alectinib) in people identified to have ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer using liquid biopsy is consistent with efficacy in those identified by tissue analysis in the pivotal Phase III ALEX study Roche will today announce positive results from a single-arm cohort of the Phase II/III Blood First Assay Screening Trial (BFAST), the first prospective study to use only blood-based next generation sequencing (NGS) to detec

Natural, human oestrogens, as well as synthetic substances such as the contraceptive pill, pesticides and industrial chemicals, are transported mainly via our wastewater into surface waters. These so-called hormonally active agents can upset the normal hormone balance of aquatic organisms such as fish, and affect their development, health and reproduction.

EPFL scientists have developed a soft artificial skin that provides haptic feedback and - thanks to a sophisticated self-sensing mechanism - has the potential to instantaneously adapt to a wearer's movements. Applications for the new technology range from medical rehabilitation to virtual reality.Artificial skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality EPFL scientists have developed a soft artificial skin that provides haptic feedback and - thanks to a sophisticated self-sensing mechanism - has the potential to instantaneously adapt to a wearer's movements.

Astronomers detected a giant planet orbiting a small star. The planet has much more mass than theoretical models predict. While this surprising discovery was made by a Spanish-German team at an observatory in southern Spain, researchers at the University of Bern studied how the mysterious exoplanet might have formed.

Rabies continues to kill approximately 60,000 people every year, mainly in Africa and Asia. In order to reach the goal to eliminate dog-mediated human rabies worldwide by 2030, integrated strategies, political will and innovations are needed. Swiss TPH is at the forefront of rabies research; from devising high-tech sensors to track dogs in urban settings and employing new mathematical methodologies to investigating blockchain for improved access to post-exposure prophylaxis.

It has recently become clear just how important membraneless organelles are for cells. Now biochemists at ETH Zurich have discovered a novel mechanism that regulates the formation of these organelles. This has laid the foundation for more targeted research into diseases such as Alzheimer's or ALS. For a long time, the contents of cells were thought to be fairly unstructured and chaotic: a mixture of proteins, DNA and a multitude of small metabolic molecules.