The abolition of daylight saving time is a frequently - and hotly - debated topic. Often, only the aspect of electricity consumption due to artificial lighting is considered. In a new study, researchers have analyzed whether daylight saving time also has an impact on the energy needed to heat and cool office buildings, and what role climate change might play in this. The results should delight supporters of daylight saving time.

Researchers have studied Vernier, a city in the canton of Geneva, as the pilot site for an interactive map that explores our relationship with the built and natural environments.

A study by researchers at ETH Zurich shows for the first time how a relaxation of Swiss spatial planning policy would affect the locations of wind turbines. If the aim is to have as few wind turbines as possible in the Alps and in Switzerland in general, it would be worth considering using windy agricultural areas on the western Swiss Plateau.

Islands are biodiversity hotspots and are home to animal species with unique characteristics, including dwarf specimens, which have evolved to very small sizes compared to their mainland relatives, and giants. An international study now reports that these species are at higher risk of extinction. The findings are supported by software developed by Daniele Silvestro of the Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics (SIB) at the University of Fribourg. The study, published in Science, also reveals a dramatic increase in extinction rates of island mammals worldwide after the arrival of modern