news from the lab 2012

A research team has used a novel method to identify a gene involved in bone building. "Real life genetics" works. This research method involves observing physiological traits or metabolic disease in a large population of "wild-type" mice (those which have not been genetically modified), and then isolating the genes that could be responsible.

The European Extremely Large Telescope Project (E-ELT) has officially been launched. This enormous telescope has a diameter of nearly 40m and will be built in Chili.

Scientists have developed a rapid, precise opto-mechanical measurement system that can be embedded into a silicon chip. This new technology could revolutionize the domain of sensors and atomic force microscopy. Resonators are used to detect infinitesimal quantities of matter in the atmosphere. Here's how it works: when a microscopic string comes into with a particle or a gas molecule, it vibrates.

In cancer cells, normal mechanisms governing the cellular life cycle have gone haywire. Cancer cells continue to divide indefinitely, without ever dying off, thus creating rapidly growing tumors.

Geneva, 4 July 2012. At a seminar held at CERN today as a curtain raiser to the year's major particle physics conference, ICHEP2012 in Melbourne, the ATLAS and CMS experiments presented their latest preliminary results in the search for the long sought Higgs particle. Both experiments observe a new particle in the mass region around 125-126 GeV.

Physicists studying magnetic materials have discovered that they have some unexpected properties. Their research could lead to the development of even tinier magnets in the future. Magnets are everywhere; stuck to our fridges, used in electric motors, built into the hard disks on our computers. Scientists have studied them for centuries, but it's only recently that a team from EPFL's Laboratory for Quantum Magnetism has probed the details of their innermost structure.

Can mobile phones predict our behavior? Three students accurately predicted the place where phone users were likely to go next.

The use of composite materials is rapidly entering into the automotive industry thanks to a technique developed by a spin-off. This technique promises lighter cars that burn less fuel and, consequently, emit less CO2. In 2013, we may see car bumpers, doors, and frames made from composite materials, which are engineered or naturally occurring materials such as fiberglass made from two or more constituents with different physical or chemical properties.

All in one: A new electricity generating building component is being developed.

A research team has identified a molecule naturally present in milk and other foods, nicotinamide riboside, that has extraordinary health benefits. Their findings indicate it could play an important role in preventing weight gain and diabetes and improving muscular performance. Many natural foods, including milk and perhaps even beer, contain a molecule whose effects on metabolism are nothing short of astonishing.

Scientists wake up a dormant spinal column and restore voluntary lower body movement when stimulated. Rats with spinal cord injuries and severe paralysis are now walking (and running) thanks to researchers at EPFL. Published in the June 1, 2012 issue of Science, the results show that a severed section of the spinal cord can make a comeback when its own innate intelligence and regenerative capacity is awakened.

Scientists have proven that light intensity influences our cognitive performance and how alert we feel, and that these positive effects last until early evening. Tests conducted at EPFL have confirmed the hypothesis that light influences our subjective feeling of sleepiness. The research team, led by Mirjam Münch, also showed that the effects of light exposure last until the early evening, and that light intensity has an impact on cognitive mechanisms.

Using the most recent generation windows, architects and lighting designers can to control daylight, directing it where they want within a room.

With less than a 0.5 mm margin of error, Neuroglide, the robot developed by researchers allows for the placement of screws in small vertebrae with unequaled precision.

In an experiment carried out with rats, it was observed that aggressive behavior passed from one generation to the other, even without any between the parent and its offspring. Researchers are exploring several approaches to explain the results. Childhood traumas alone do not explain the development of domestic violence - at least in the case of rats.

Actelion announced today that initial analysis indicates that the pivotal, long-term, event-driven study SERAPHIN with macitentan, a novel dual endothelin receptor antagonist, in 742 patients sufferi

Seit Ende März werden es täglich mehr: Die Rückkehr der Schwalben ist jetzt in vollem Gang. Wo die Vögel den Winter verbracht haben, war bisher unbekannt.

Engineers have developed a new imaging technique that lets them see the insides of massive concrete bridges. Much like a sonogram, this technique provides quick, easy-to-interpret images, so that the health of these expensive structures can be assessed and monitored. The patient weighs several tons and is hundreds of meters long.

Researchers are studying the effects of climate change on the degradation of organic matter in the soil. First results underline the importance of the thermal insulation provided by an intact layer of snow on the dynamics of soil microorganisms. You'd think that during the winter, all life trapped beneath a layer of snow would shut down and wait for warmer days.

It could be the tiniest armor-piercing weapon in the biological universe: Scientists have measured a one-nanometer needle-like tip that viruses use to attack bacteria. Grouped together under the unassuming name φ92, a family of bacteriophage viruses has perfected its specialty: they attack salmonella and coliform bacteria.