news 2023

"We will rock you": researchers are developing a gene switch that triggers insulin release in designer cells by playing certain rock and pop songs. Diabetes is a condition in which the body produces too little or no insulin. Diabetics thus depend on an external supply of this hormone via injection or pump.

A study by UNIGE and HUG scientifically demonstrates that exposure to cold outside air is beneficial in reducing the symptoms of croup. For the first time, a scientific study shows that exposure to outdoor cold air is beneficial in reducing the severity of croup symptoms in children, particularly when symptoms are moderate.

Researchers have developed an epoxy resin that can be repaired and recycled, in addition to being flame-retardant and mechanically strong. Potential applications range from coating for wooden flooring to composites in aerospace and railways. Epoxy resins are tough and versatile polymers. In combination with glass or carbon fibers, they are used, for example, to manufacture components for aircraft, cars, trains, ships and wind turbines.

The ability to utilize a mere single alternative food source is all it takes for diarrhoea causing Salmonella bacteria to bloom when a gut is already colonized by a closely related strain, according to researchers from ETH Zurich. This coexistence enables the exchange of antibiotic resistance. Bacteria are growing more resistance to common antibiotics, and one key factor contributing to this problem is the exchange of antibiotic resistance genes between closely related bacterial strains.

For his Master's project at EPFL, Mickaël Achkar compiled data on the movements of dogs to develop a robotic version of the animal that, once set in motion, can run without assistance. Engineers at EPFL's Computational Robot Design & Fabrication Lab (CREATE), headed by Prof. Josie Hughes, are coming up with new ways of building robots possessing never-before-seen capabilities.

Using high precision microfabrication and microfluidics, Clémentine Lipp has developed a tool with the potential to automate T cell screening and sorting-an essential task in immunology. Currently, it is a difficult and laborious process to place two cells in contact with each other to examine their binding characteristics.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have demonstrated the use of a specially coated metal mesh to harvest water from fog and simultaneously remove pollutants. People living in dry but foggy areas should benefit from this technology. In countries such as Peru, Bolivia and Chile, it's not uncommon for people who live in foggy areas to hang up nets to catch droplets of water.

A new method allows large quantities of muscle stem cells to be safely obtained in cell culture. This provides a potential for treating patients with muscle diseases - and for those who would like to eat meat, but don't want to kill animals. ETH Zurich Professor Ori Bar-Nur and his team grow muscle cells in the laboratory.

Even though the summer is still in progress - for many birds the migration to the African winter quarters has already begun. Among them is the wheatear, which breeds in mountainous areas. On its 4500-kilometer journey, which takes about 30 days, the small bird can climb to an altitude of more than 5000 meters.

Scientists at EPFL have successfully extended the quantum state lifetime of a mechanical oscillator, a development with vast implications for quantum computing and communication systems. Over the past decade, scientists have made tremendous progress in generating quantum phenomena in mechanical systems.

A 67-year old patient presenting with oesophageal cancer was treated today at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI with a form of radiation provided by protons, i.e. positively charged particles. This is the first time this type of radiotherapy has been used in Switzerland to treat an oesophageal tumour.

Quantum technology is promising, but also perplexing. In the coming decades, it is expected to provide us with various technological breakthroughs: smaller and more precise sensors, highly secure communication networks, and powerful computers that can help develop new drugs and materials, control financial markets, and predict the weather much faster than current computing technology ever could.

Expensive noble metals often play a vital role in illuminating screens or converting solar energy into fuels. Now, chemists at the University of Basel have succeeded in replacing these rare elements with a significantly cheaper metal. In terms of their properties, the new materials are very similar to those used in the past.

With methods of so-called geoengineering, the climate could theoretically be artificially influenced and cooled. Bernese researchers have now investigated whether it would be possible to prevent the melting of the West Antarctic ice sheet by artificially "dimming the sun". The results show that artificial influence does not work without decarbonization and entails high risks.

According to Cope's rule, today's animal species are on average larger than older species of the same genus. A large-scale study led by a researcher at the University of Fribourg has just demonstrated that this is not the case in turtles . Paleontologists have noticed that, in the course of their evolution, certain species tend to get bigger and bigger.

Corn roots secrete certain substances that affect the quality of the soil. In certain fields, this effect increases the yield of wheat planted after corn in the same soil by more than 4%. This has been demonstrated by researchers at the University of Bern. Although the findings from several field experiments show that such effects are highly variable, they could nevertheless contribute in the long term to making the cultivation of cereals more sustainable without additional fertilizers or pesticides.

An international research group with ETH professor Dominik Hangartner has found that solidarity with refugees in Europe has remained stable, despite repeated refugee crises. While there is a tendency to view refugees from Ukraine more positively, this does not come at the expense of other groups. Russia's attack on Ukraine has resulted in one of the largest movements of refugees since the Second World War.

A UNIGE-HUG team demonstrates the value of imaging to detect the presence of tau protein in the brain to predict cognitive decline due to Alzheimer's disease. Alzheimer's disease, one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, leads to progressive loss of memory and autonomy. It is characterised by the accumulation of neurotoxic proteins in the brain, namely amyloid plaques and tau tangles.

EPFL engineers propose a system-wide integration solution for carbon capturing and mineralisation in the cement production, steel manufacturing, and waste incineration sectors. EPFL engineers in Sion, Switzerland have demonstrated the potential for achieving net-zero and net-negative emissions in essential industrial sectors through the integration of carbon capture and mineralization directly into the industrial processes themselves.

Researchers at ETH Zurich have found a new attack on AMD computer chips in which the attacker plants an "idea" in the computer without it noticing. Using that attack, it was possible to leak data from anywhere in the computer's memory. Everyone has, at one time or another, experienced how dreams can influence our moods and actions.