news 2019

New migraine medications block αCGRP, a neuropeptide which causes vasodilation, for example in the meninges. The very same peptide, which is formed in the muscles during physical activity, protects the heart ' which is vital for people with chronic high blood pressure. The innovative migraine prophylaxis could endanger these people, as researchers at the University of Zurich have demonstrated in mice.

Researchers from UNIGE and HUG demonstrate how the fears we experience in our dreams prepare us to tackle anxiety-provoking situations once we're awake. Do bad dreams serve a real purpose? To answer this question, researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and University Hospitals of Geneva (HUG), Switzerland, - working in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin (USA) - analysed the dreams of a number of people and identified which areas of the brain were activated when they experienced fear in their dreams.

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is the most common form of cancer affecting children in Switzerland and, unfortunately, is often incurable. Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University Children's Hospital Zurich have now found a way to stop the driving force behind this type of leukemia at a molecular level and develop a targeted therapy.

In a collaboration with Swiss International Air Lines, NASA and other partners, researchers at ETH Zurich have developed eye-tracking software for use in pilot training. This allows instructors to analyse the gaze behaviour of student pilots in the cockpit. Anyone who has ever sat in a cockpit will know how mentally challenging it is to pilot an aircraft.

Crafty engineering can help solve many problems, including those we face in our own kitchens. At EPFL's Institute of Mechanical Engineering, students from three laboratories tackled some of the most common kitchen challenges as part of the first Kitchen-Inspired Engineering contest. Cooking the perfect poached egg is a lot trickier than it looks.

Two research groups from ETH Zurich have developed a method that can simulate nanoelectronics devices and their properties realistically, quickly and efficiently. This offers a ray of hope for the industry and data centre operators alike, both of which are struggling with the (over)heating that comes with increasingly small and powerful transistors.

ETH researchers are using a 3D printing method to produce complex, highly porous glass structures. The technology makes it possible to produce made-to-measure objects that may eventually make life difficult for counterfeiters. Producing glass objects using 3D printing is not easy. Only a few groups of researchers around the world have attempted to produce glass using additive methods.

A protective membrane for cardiac pacemakers developed at ETH Zurich has proved successful in animal trials in reducing the undesirable build-up of fibrotic tissue around the implant. The next step is to test the protective membrane in patients. ETH scientists have developed a special protective membrane made of cellulose that significantly reduces the build-up of fibrotic tissue around cardiac pacemaker implants, as reported in the current issue of the journal Biomaterials.

Researchers at EPFL have developed a new laser 3D-printing technique to manufacture metal components with unprecedented resistance to high temperature, damage and corrosion. The method has applications in fields ranging from aerospace to power-generating turbines. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, has revolutionized the way components are made, setting new standards in terms of production speed when geometric complexity is high.

Whether for sports, at work or in the living room - depending on activity and environment, our clothing has to meet different demands. Empa scientists have developed a model that predicts how well a given garment will keep us warm. The crucial factor is the air cushion between our body and the outermost layer of clothing.

Turning an abandoned pasture into a palm tree plantation can be carbon neutral, according to a new study by EPFL and the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). These findings, based on measurements of 56-year-old palm tree plantations in Colombia, suggest we may be able to find sustainable alternatives to deforestation for the production of palm oil - a practice currently under fire by environmentalists.

EPFL spin-off Medusoil has successfully tested its ground-stabilization process on cliffs subject to surface erosion. The company's biomineral-based solution can be used to stabilize sandy and gravelly subsoils to safeguard surrounding infrastructure. It is a long-lasting and easy-to-use alternative to industrial fluids - the production and use of which can be harmful to the environment.

Killer cells of the immune system detect and kill infected cells or cancer cells. Researchers at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Bern have now discovered that the mechanism by which certain immune cells kill their target cells can also be used to control the killer cells themselves. This finding may be relevant to cancer immunotherapy.

ETH researchers have shown that we can use the structure of urban road networks to predict their traffic capacity. This information enables urban and transportation planners to quantify how changes will influence traffic volumes. People who commute by car will have an idea of what "traffic capacity" means, drawn from their own experience: as a stream of cars heads into a city early in the morning, the flow of traffic initially increases - until a critical point is reached in terms of the number of vehicles on the roads.

EPFL scientists have developed a glass-paneled solar cooker that delivers exceptional performance. Their patented design can operate an average of 155 days a year in Switzerland's cloudiest regions and up to 240 days in its sunniest. Solar cookers - or solar-powered ovens - can be used to cook foods at low temperatures (60-120°C) for anywhere from 30 minutes up to four hours.

A new EPFL and MIT study into the interplay between mobility and the 2013 and 2014 dengue outbreaks in Singapore has uncovered a legal void around access to mobile phone data - information that can prove vital in preventing the spread of infectious diseases. Researchers from EPFL and MIT have shown that human mobility is a major factor in the spread of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue even over short intra-city distances.

The western corn rootworm, one of the world's most damaging maize pests, can use plant defense compounds to defend itself against its own natural enemies, so-called entomopathogenic nematodes. However, the nematodes can become immune against these compounds in turn, which enhances their ability to fight the western corn rootworm, as researchers at the University of Bern show.

Switching light beams quickly is important in many technological applications. Researchers at ETH have now developed an "electro-opto-mechanical" switch for light beams that is considerably smaller and faster than current models. This is relevant for applications such as self-driving cars and optical quantum technologies.

An international scientific consortium led by the cell biologists Volker Heussler from the University of Bern and Oliver Billker from the Umeå University in Sweden has for the first time systematically investigated the genome of the malaria parasite Plasmodium throughout its life cycle in a large-scale experiment.

An international research consortium with ETH participation demonstrates that marine plankton is more diverse in warm oceans than in polar seas, both in terms of species count and the biological activities of the plankton communities. Climate change could lead to a redistribution of plankton in the world's oceans.