news 2023

Researchers develop an AI-driven, label-free method for studying protein aggregates, offering new perspectives in neurodegenerative disease research. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's, are a growing challenge in healthcare, affecting millions globally. They are characterized by a progressive decline in neural function and manifest in a range of debilitating symptoms.

Researchers have developed an algorithm to train an analog neural network just as accurately as a digital one, enabling the development of more efficient alternatives to power-hungry deep learning hardware. With their ability to process vast amounts of data through algorithmic 'learning' rather than traditional programming, it often seems like the potential of deep neural networks like Chat-GPT is limitless.

Numerous microorganisms, including Legionella, live in biofilms in shower hoses. A team from the aquatic research institute Eawag has now investigated and characterised such microbial communities and analysed their interaction with this pathogen. The results may contribute to a better understanding of the ecology of Legionella and support the possible development of a probiotic approach for the control of Legionella.

Researchers have shown for the first time that microvehicles can be steered through blood vessels in the brains of mice using ultrasound. They hope that this will eventually lead to treatments capable of delivering drugs with pinpoint precision. Brain tumours, brain haemorrhages and neurological and psychological conditions are often hard to treat with medication.

EPFL and Harvard scientists have developed a pioneering new method that uses deep learning and a new technique called 'targeted augmentation' to track neurons in moving and deforming animals. Recent advances allow imaging of neurons inside freely moving animals. However, to decode circuit activity, these imaged neurons must be computationally identified and tracked.

A team of researchers has revealed how to find the exact origin of a wine based solely on its chemical components. Does every wine carry its own chemical signature and, if so, can this be used to identify its origin? Many specialists have tried to solve this mystery, without fully succeeding.

Using lasers rather than scalpels and saws has many benefits in surgery. Yet they are only used in isolated cases. But that could be about to change: laser systems are getting smarter and better all the time, as a research team from the University of Basel demonstrates. Even back in 1957, when Gordon Gould coined the term "laser" (short for " L ight A mplification by S timulated E mission of R adiation"), he was already imagining the possibilities for its use in medicine.

Surprisingly little is actually known about how the knee works. ETH professor Bill Taylor plans to change this with a unique technology and a new 22-metre-long experimental facility.   "The knee is the most exciting of all the joints in the human body," says Bill Taylor, Professor of Movement Biomechanics at the Department of Health Sciences and Technology.

The SP80 team has just attached a kite to its sailboat, in another step towards its goal of breaking the current world record and reaching a speed of 150 km/h.

By analysing the lipid profiles of dozens of people, UNIGE and HUG scientists have highlighted the importance of fat in the detection and treatment of type 2 diabetes. While sugar is the most frequently named culprit in the development of type 2 diabetes, a better understanding of the role of fats is also essential.

Researchers from ETH Zurich, Empa and Stanford have taken snapshots of the crystal structure of perovskite nanocrystals as it was deformed by excited electrons. To their surprise, the deformation straightened out the skewed crystal structure rather than making it more disordered. Many a scientific and technical problem could be solved easily if it were possible to look inside a material and watch its atoms and electrons wiggle about in real time.

In a step toward more autonomous soft robots and wearable technologies, researchers have created a device that uses color to simultaneously sense multiple mechanical and temperature stimuli. Robotics researchers have already made great strides in developing sensors that can perceive changes in position, pressure, and temperature - all of which are important for technologies like wearable devices and human-robot interfaces.

Modelled on nature: researchers have developed a new material that replicates the structure responsible for the blue feathers of the North American song bird, among many other birds. It also has other striking advantages. The eastern bluebird is a special bird. The blue of its feathers is unique. However, this colour is not based on pigments but on the special structure of the feather.

Cruciate ligament injuries are among the most common injuries in sport. Researchers from the ZHAW and ZHdK have developed the ExerUp game in collaboration with a practice partner to help people return to their previous level of activity in addition to physiotherapy . A movement-based game is designed to support injured athletes after a cruciate ligament injury as part of physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

This research project explores vermifiltration as an alternative method for wastewater treatment. The aim is to fill knowledge gaps about greenhouse gas emissions, scaling-up, long-term operation, micropollutant abatement and treated wastewater reuse options. Vermifiltration is a non-sewered sanitation technology that uses a symbiotic relationship between Eisenia Fetida earthworms and microorganisms to treat wastewater.

Plant Biology Farmland often harbors a multitude of pathogens which attack plants and reduce yields. A Swiss research team has now shown that inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi can help maintain or even improve yields without the use of additional fertilizers or pesticides. In a large-scale field trial, plant yield increased by up to 40 percent.

A team from the University of Geneva has tested six psychological interventions to combat climate misinformation. It shows how difficult it is to combat these messages, which are resistant to scientific information. Melting of glaciers, rising sea levels, extreme heat waves: the consequences of climate change are more visible than ever, and the scientific community has confirmed that humans are responsible.

There is a high level of interest in small forms of housing among the Swiss population. However, there are clear differences between those who already live or have lived in such a form of housing and those who can imagine doing so in principle. These are the findings of a study conducted by Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts.

An international collaboration between astronomers using the CHEOPS and TESS space satellites, including NCCR PlanetS members from the University of Bern and the University of Geneva, have found a key new system of six transiting planets orbiting a bright star in a harmonic rhythm. This rare property enabled the team to determine the planetary orbits which initially appeared as an unsolvable riddle.

A team of experts from EPFL, ETH Zurich and a Geneva-based architecture firm has developed a new type of non-reinforced concrete made from stone offcuts. Their method, which reduces the use of carbon-intensive cement-based binders, draws on ancient techniques uncovered in historical archives. Some walls could easily be built without reinforced concrete, a material that accounts for a large share of the construction industry's carbon footprint.