news from the lab 2016

Researchers have developed an image-reconstruction algorithm that improves the performance of ultrasound equipment. This breakthrough could have important implications in the fields of cardiology and neurosurgery. Over the past 30 years, ultrasound has become one of the most widely used imaging technologies in medicine.

ETH researchers have discovered that certain cells in the immune system suppress the development of lymphedema. Anti-inflammatory therapies could therefore be the key to treating this previously incurable condition. When the tissue fluid in our arms or legs can no longer drain properly, it begins to accumulate.

A new study has found that hydraulics determines microbial lifestyles along streams and rivers, with important implications for river health, biodiversity, and water quality. In streams and rivers, bacteria, algae, and other microorganisms form tight-knit communities that feed the ecosystem, drive its biodiversity, and purify its water.

University of Bern's Laser Altimeter BELA has been successfully tested during the last weeks and the last components will be delivered to ESA on 5 October.

Poverty, unemployment and other forms of exclusion adversely affect people's wellbeing, reveals the Swiss Social Report 2016, which is published by the Swiss Centre of Expertise in the Social Sciences (FORS), with support from the SNSF.

Sleep is vital for humans. If adults remain awake for longer than usual, the brain responds with an increased need for deep sleep. This is measured in the form of "slow wave activity" using electroencephalography (EEG). In adults, these deep-sleep waves are most pronounced in the prefrontal cortex - the brain region which plans and controls actions, solves problems and is involved in the working memory.

Biological cells can expand, contract and interact with neighbouring cells. With an advancement in a microscopy technique, ETH Zurich researchers can now readily, directly, and accurately determine which forces are at work during cell motion and where. The technique is used in areas such as cancer research.

The Rosetta mission is coming to an end, but the next expeditions across our solar system are ready for lift-off, carrying with them a number of state-of-the-art devices made in Switzerland.

ETH researchers have discovered a molecule in liver cells that controls the release of fat into the bloodstream. This 'lock keeper? is present in large quantities in overweight people and leads indirectly to vascular narrowing. Anyone attending Munich's famous Oktoberfest will know it can leave physical traces; fatty foods and plenty of alcohol cause the liver to work overtime.

We know from HIV research that around one percent of people infected with HIV form antibodies that combat different virus strains.

EPFL researchers have printed nanometric-scale sensors capable of improving the performance of atomic force microscopes. Tiny sensors made through nanoscale 3D printing may be the basis for the next generation of atomic force microscopes. These nanosensors can enhance the microscopes? sensitivity and detection speed by miniaturizing their detection component up to 100 times.

The little Swiss satellite was launched on 23 September 2009 and continues to send back regular reports.

Dominik Hangartner from UZH's Department of Political Science and the London School of Economics and Political Science teamed up with colleagues from Stanford University (USA) to compile 180,000 fict

Australia has one of the longest histories of continuous human occupation outside Africa. But who exactly were the first people to settle there? Such a question has obvious political implications and has been hotly debated for decades. The first comprehensive genomic study of Aboriginal Australians reveals that they are indeed the direct descendants of Australia's earliest settlers and diverged from their Papuan neighbours about 37'000 years ago (y.a.

Eunice aphroditois, also known as the Bobbit worm, buries its long body deep in the sand, leaving only its powerful jaws protruding above the surface. It uses these to grab hold of unsuspecting prey and drag it down into its burrow within a fraction of a second. Biologists from Basel University have taken a closer look at the gruesome hunter and its prey and noticed a fascinating behavioral pattern: prey fish defend themselves against the monstrous worm by attacking it with water jets and forcing it to retreat.

For example, lay people think that the sickest patients and those on waiting lists should be treated first, while ethicists - and to some degree medical professionals - tend to have a different set of priorities.

The electronic energy states allowed by quantum mechanics determine whether a solid is an insulator or whether it conducts electric current as a metal.

Jamie Samson and Marta Manser from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental 1Studies at UZH studied colonies of Cape ground squirrels ( Xerus inauris ) in the wild at the Kalahari Research Center in South Africa. The diurnal rodents temporarily store their food reserves in several hiding places.

Experiments performed by ETH scientists have shown that it is remarkably easy for protein-like, two-dimensional structures - amyloids - to form from basic building blocks. This discovery supports the researchers? hypothesis that primal life could have evolved from amyloids such as these. The story starts at least four billion years ago, when there was no living matter on the planet.

From never seen before X-ray images of honey bee combs, a research team from Agroscope and the Institute of Bee Health at the University of Bern (both Switzerland) could study how honey is produced. The team used computer tomography to measure sugar concentration in the wax cells, without disturbing the sensitive mechanisms of the colony.