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Scientists at EPFL, ETH Zurich and Harvard Medical School/Boston Children's Hospital have developed an implantable technology that enabled the discovery of an interaction between sensory neurons and immune cells. Pain is a protective mechanism, alerting us to danger by generating an unpleasant sensation.

Researchers at EPFL have developed remote-controlled, mechanical microdevices that, when inserted into human tissue, can manipulate the fluid that surrounds them, collect cells or release drugs. This breakthrough offers numerous potential applications in the biomedical field, from diagnostics to therapy.

Researchers at EPFL have made a surprising discovery about how bile acids act as signaling molecules to boost intestinal regeneration. The discovery sheds light on the role of bile acids as hormone-like molecules and opens new ways for regenerative therapies of the gut. Intestinal stem cells replenish the cells lining the gut epithelium, which usually renews itself every week.

Physicists propose a new path to detect infrared radiation with outstanding sensitivity, allowing detection of signals as low as that of a single quantum of light. When using our webcam or cell phone camera, we experience the tremendous capabilities of cheap and compact sensors developed in the past decades for the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Bioengineers at EPFL have created miniature intestines in a dish that match up anatomically and functionally to the real thing better than any other lab-grown tissue models. The biological complexity and longevity of the new organoid technology is an important step towards enabling drug testing, personalized medicine, and perhaps, one day, transplantations.

EPFL and MIT scientists have used machine-learning to organize the chemical diversity found in the ever-growing databases for the popular metal-organic framework materials. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of materials that contain nano-sized pores. These pores give MOFs record-breaking internal surface areas, which can measure up to 7,800 m2 in a single gram of material.

Researchers have created a single chip that combines a transistor and micro-fluidic cooling system. Managing the heat generated in electronics is a huge problem, especially with the constant push to reduce the size and pack as many transistors as possible in the same chip. The whole problem is how to manage such high heat fluxes efficiently.

Scientists have developed a non-invasive technique for unraveling the complex dynamics generated by spinal cord circuits to unprecedented detail, a first in functional magnetic resonance imaging that may one day help diagnose spinal cord dysfunction or injury. The spinal cord roughly looks like a long tube, with a diameter of only 1.5 cm, and yet this crucial part of the nervous system is essential for controlling how our arms and legs move, for giving us our sense of touch as well as a notion of where our bodies are in space.

Using computer simulations powered by machine-learning algorithms EPFL scientists have made an important breakthrough in understanding how hydrogen behaves on Saturn and Jupiter. The giant planets in our solar system are made mainly of hydrogen, mostly in a liquid state. Near the planets- surface, hydrogen exists in an insulating, molecular form - H2 - but closer to the center, it takes on a metallic form where individual atoms can move around freely.

Researchers from EPFL's Photonics Systems Lab have come up with a way of reconfiguring microwave photonic filters without the need for an external device. This paves the way for more compact, environmentally friendly filters that will be more practical and cheaper to use. Potential applications include detection and communications systems.

Researchers, working at the boundary between classical and quantum physics, have developed a method for quickly spotting molecules with particularly interesting electron properties. Laser technology is giving scientists an ever-closer look into molecular structures, and this sometimes leads to very interesting surprises.

Scientists propose that periods of unconscious processing-during which the brain integrates information-precede brief moments of consciousness. When we watch a movie or hear an orchestra playing, it seems that we perceive images and sounds as a continuous stream of information. But a new study suggests that the brain makes information conscious only at certain moments of time, which are preceded by intervals of unconscious processing that can last up to half a second.

Chemists and physicists from Switzerland and Germany have shown that the typical deformation of respiratory heme proteins also occurs in heme proteins not involved in the respiratory function. Image: A model of heme, which is an organic ring molecule surrounding an atom of iron and is a major component of hemoglobin in red blood cells.

"Jumping" sequences of DNA, known as transposable elements, partner up with evolutionarily recent proteins to influence the differentiation and physiological functioning of human neurons. The human genome contains over 4.5 million sequences of DNA called "transposable elements", these virus-like entities that "jump" around and help regulate gene expression.

Non-edible plants are a promising alternative to crude oil, but their heterogenous composition can be a challenge to producing high yields of useful products. Scientists from EPFL, the University of Cambridge, and the Bern University of Applied Sciences have developed a platform that combines different microorganisms that can make a dramatic difference.

As climate change raises sea levels, estuarine cities are facing up to the dual threat of flooding and significant erosion. Research by a joint team from EPFL and the UNSW Sydney sheds new light on the hydrodynamic forces at play and paves the way for preventive strategies. Almost 60% of the global population lives near an estuary, and the list of estuarine cities features 21 of the world's 30 biggest urban centers, including New York and Tokyo.

A team of researchers has been modeling the potential spread of the coronavirus pandemic in Italy. Using their model, they can calculate the number of exposed and highly infectious individuals and the daily isolation efforts required to bring down the epidemic curve. In April, a team led by Professor Andrea Rinaldo, the head of EPFL's Laboratory of Ecohydrology (ECHO), published a paper that presented a model for the spread of COVID-19 in Italy.

Physicists from Switzerland, Japan and Germany have unveiled the mechanism by which the first event of respiration takes place in heme proteins. Respiration is a fundamental process of all living things, allowing them to produce energy, stay healthy, and survive. In cells, respiration involves what are known as "respiratory proteins", e.g. hemoglobin in the blood and myoglobin in muscles.

One way to determine whether there is life on another planet is to look for biosignatures in the light that is scattered off its atmosphere. Scientists at EPFL and University of Rome Tor Vergata have developed an original model that interprets the results of that analysis. Is there life on a distant planet? One way astronomers are trying to find out is by analyzing the light that is scattered off a planet's atmosphere.

Scientists in EPFL's Digital and Cognitive Musicology Lab (DCML), led by Martin Rohrmeier, have used data science and statistical techniques to characterize the musical style of choro, a primarily instrumental genre from Brazil, for the very first time. The study , which was recently published in the Journal of New Music Research , identifies key stylistic traits from some 300 pieces of choro music, providing an unprecedented empirical analysis of the harmony and form of the genre, which emerged in 19 th century Brazil and is still popular today.