news from the lab 2009

Astronomers have discovered the second super-Earth exoplanet for which they have determined the mass and radius, giving vital clues about its structure.

Not so long ago, our computers had a single core which had to be boosted for performance - making each machine into a great central heating system.

CERN's Large Hadron Collider has today become the world's highest energy particle accelerator, having accelerated its twin beams of protons to an energy of 1.

Leprosy still affects hundreds of thousands of people today throughout the entire world. An international team headed by EPFL professor Stewart Cole has traced the history of the disease from ancient Egypt to today and in doing so has made a public health study essential for combating the disease.

Odours are powerful stimulants for the human brain. Now, for the first time, researchers have succeeded in demonstrating that the evaluation of olfactory perceptions actually follows a very strict order.

Scientists have identified a new neural circuit in the retina responsible for the detection of approaching objects.

SwissCube, the first Swiss satellite in history—extremely small —has been successfully launched from the Sriharikota space station in India.

Fifty years ago, a microscopic network of tubules was found in neurons. Its function was unknown.

Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes, is increasing at an alarming state with more than 180 million people affected worldwide.

Gyrase is a bacterial topoisomerase that ensures DNA readability via supercoiling. Gyrase inhibitors are being developed as antibiotics to combat infections caused by bacteria and parasites in humans.

Are freely availably scientific papers better disseminated? Many believe so, but recent research results present new evidence suggesting that the higher number of citations received by open access papers is mostly due to a difference in quality.

An international group of researchers has developed and tested a new generation of photovoltaic cells in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The human immune system activates T and B cells in the lymph nodes to protect itself from invaders. Professor Burkhard Becher and his team have now been able to demonstrate that immunity can also arise in the liver.

Stillenden Müttern wird nahegelegt, auf alkoholhaltige Getränke zu verzichten. Nun zeigen aber neuste Forschungsergebnisse, dass Wein, der über die Muttermilch zu Säuglingen gelangt, positive Effekte auf die Säuglinge hat.

BTZ043 is a new therapeutic agent to fight tuberculosis. Its target is an enzyme which produces the cell wall of the pathogenic bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

Embryologie und Paläontologie existierten bereits zu Darwins Zeiten. Der Zoologe und Paläobiologe Marcelo Sánchez hat die beiden Disziplinen verbunden und erforscht so die Evolution von Landwirbeltieren.

Oxytocin, a hormone involved in child-birth and breast-feeding, helps people recognize familiar faces.