news 2022

Chemists at ETH Zurich have found a facile method that allows a commonly used building block to be directly converted into other types of important compounds. This expands the possibilities of chemical synthesis and facilitates the search for new pharmaceutically active ingredients. Medications are continuously becoming more precise and efficient.

Millions of people depend on water from the glaciers of High-Mountain Asia. South-eastern Tibet, however, has some of the most rapidly melting glaciers in Asia. This is due to less summer snowfall, as a study led by the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research WSL shows. Unlike in the Alps, glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau receive most of their snowfall during the summer months, which are the wettest but also the warmest.

Extreme heat makes life barely bearable, especially in cities. Greenery is supposed to help regulate the temperature. Experts from the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts explain how we can go green in terms of urban climate. Planting an avenue here, greening a roof there - Peter Schwehr, Head of the Competence Center for Typology & Planning in Architecture at the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, thinks little of it.

The Paul Scherrer Institute PSI and the start-up AlphaSYNT have a common mission. By signing a cooperation and licensing agreement, they aim to commercialise a novel approach to "power-to-gas" conversion, or to be more specific: "power-to-methane". The innovative methanation process developed by PSI will allow energy to be stored as methane gas in future.

Healthy young people with just a mild Covid infection can sometimes suffer temporary post-infection consequences such as tiredness, loss of smell and taste or reduced fertility. These symptoms usually improve with time. But a new UZH study conducted with Swiss Armed Forces personnel shows that young people post Covid are likely to have increased cholesterol, a high BMI, and a reduced level of physical stamina.

Analyzing EEG measurements of almost two hundred schizophrenia patients and healthy controls, researchers at EPFL now challenge the standard paradigm underlying research in the field. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that impairs a person's ability to think, feel, and behave, often making them seem that they have "lost touch with reality".

A PhD thesis carried out at EPFL has shown that, based on realistic forecasts, the only way we'll be able to shrink the environmental footprint of residential dwelling by 2050 in Switzerland is through a joint effort between housing owners and tenants. The thesis research, performed by civil engineering student Margarita Agriantoni, is based on computer simulations of different housing development scenarios over the next 30 years (from 2020 to 2050).

With energy prices soaring, heating costs will also inevitably rise in the coming winter. In order to mitigate this, solutions for operating buildings more efficiently are needed. The Empa spin-off viboo has developed an algorithm that makes it possible to operate even older buildings with around 25 percent less energy - while user comfort remains the same or even improves.

No memory without a brain? That's not quite true, as shown by an Agroscope study of woodland strawberry: heat and other stress situations influence the DNA of the plants. The resulting changes can help forearm strawberries against subsequent stress situations - they -remember-. With ongoing climate change, plants are faced by stress situations more frequently and at shorter intervals: heat, drought, intense precipitation events, but also cold and altered soil salinity.

Researchers from the University of Bern and Inselspital provide an overview of the latest technologies in precision oncology. Translating these into clinical application is still a major challenge. With research projects, the Bern Center for Precision Medicine (BCPM) contributes to bringing technological progress to the patient.

A research team from ETH Zurich and WSL travelled to Spitsbergen this summer to take a closer look at the phenomenon of Arctic greening. Project manager Sebastian Dötterl discusses research in the face of polar bears, strikes and war. Coronavirus, war and a pilots' strike First, the coronavirus pandemic delayed the start of the project by more than a year.

Sustainable electronic components can be made from wood with the help of a novel process that uses a laser to engrave electrically conductive structures on veneers. A research team at Empa and at ETH's Institute for Building Materials has developed a practical and versatile method for making wooden surfaces electrically conductive.

Are would-be parents carrying a genetic risk of serious illnesses that they could potentially pass on to their children? In the USA, doctors recommend that couples have genetic screening before trying to conceive. Researchers at the University of Zurich have now shown that a maximal variant of this test detects the risk in 44 percent of couples who are related by blood, and in just 5 percent of other couples.

Overweight increases the risk of an imbalance in sugar metabolism and even of diabetes. A research group at the University of Basel has now shown the opposite is true as well: deficits in the body's insulin production contribute to overweight. Poor nutrition, too little movement and too many pounds on the scale - lifestyle influences the risk of metabolic diseases like diabetes.

Scientists have discovered a rare gene in the tumors of some colorectal cancer patients. This finding could lead to more accurate diagnoses and, eventually, personalized treatments that target the protein expressed by the gene. Colorectal cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in the Western world, especially in people over 50.

Compared with men, women die more frequently of a heart attack. Reasons are differences in age and concomitant diseases, which also complicate risk assessment in women. Using artificial intelligence, researchers at the University of Zurich have developed a new risk assessment that improves personalized care for women with heart attacks.

A new study by researchers reveals how a malfunctioning protein complex can lead to the buildup of toxic forms of Tau, a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease are associated with atypical proteins that form tangles in the brain, killing neurons.

Researchers at the University of Bern and Inselspital, Bern University Hospital have demonstrated how sensors that record movement patterns could help detect health problems in the elderly, including old-age depression, risk of falls or cognitive impairment, at an early stage. In the future, this could help seniors to live a self-determined life at home for longer and relieve increasing pressure on the healthcare system.

With the help of artificial intelligence, an international research team led by ETH Zurich has explored the Moon's permanently shadowed regions. The information they have obtained about the area's surface properties will help to identify suitable locations for future lunar missions. It was 1972 when the last humans landed on the Moon.

Researchers have developed a model that explains how nerve cells in the brain connect during development. Their model reveals that the crucial factor is progressive cell division. This process leads naturally to the formation of molecular addresses that lets neurons navigate. The human brain is by far the most complex organ that nature has ever produced: 100 billion nerve cells, each connected to other cells via several contact points, ensure that our skill set includes the capacity for remarkable brainpower.