news 2018

Again and again it happens that humans fall ill with diarrhoea or have to vomit because they have come into contact with virus-contaminated liquids.

Scientists have uncovered that next to estrogen receptor positive and negative there are cells with very low amounts of the receptor protein. The discovery has significant implications for the role of the receptor in the growth and development of the breast and breast cancer development. Estrogens are hormones that play central roles in the development and the physiology of the breast, but also are involved in breast cancer.

It is common among many species for individuals to move around during their lifetime in order to settle in better adapted habitats, a process known as dispersion by ecologists. In order to improve scientific predictions of the future of biodiversity in the face of global changes (such as climate change, landscape fragmentation and biological invasions) it is very important to understand the mechanisms of dispersion, which modulates the adaptation of species to their environment.

Researchers at the Institute for Rehabilitation and Performance Technology IRPT have developed novel systems that allow people paralysed by spinal cord injury to activate their muscles and propel a tricycle. The innovative work of two young IRPT researchers was recently rewarded through successful defence of their PhD theses.

Epigenetic changes can bring about new traits without altering the sequence of genes. This may allow plants to respond quicker to changes in their environment. Plant biologists at the University of Zurich have now demonstrated that epigenetic variation is also subject to selection and can be inherited.

Bits of genetic material in rivers make it possible to detect the organisms living in them - without having to collect these and examine them under the microscope. Researchers at Eawag, the ETH and the EPFL have now developed a computer model that with the help of single DNA measurements even simulates exactly where and how often the species are present in bodies of water.

Excited photo-emitters can cooperate and radiate simultaneously, a phenomenon called superfluorescence. Researchers from Empa and ETH Zurich, together with colleagues from IBM Research Zurich, have recently been able to create this effect with long-range ordered nanocrystal superlattices. This discovery could enable future developments in LED lighting, quantum sensing, quantum communication and future quantum computing.

The new version of the TWIICE walking-assistance system is not only lighter, more comfortable and more powerful, but patients can also put it on and use it themselves - giving them greater independence. It has been tested by handcycling champion Silke Pan. Silke Pan - a former acrobat who lost the use of her legs after a trapeze accident - arrives at the lab in a wheelchair.

35,000 tons of undeclared carbon tetrachloride (CCl 4 ) are released into our atmosphere every year - although applications in which this substance is released into the environment have been officially banned by the Montreal Protocol since 2010. So where does this environmental pollutant come from? Empa researchers tracked down carbon tetrachloride and found the possible sources.

Every living thing leaves behind tiny traces of its genetic material, for example in the form of dead skin cells or excrement. If one now takes water samples and decodes the environmental DNA (also known as eDNA) therein, one knows which species cavort in which waters. One thus discovers rare species that literally fall through the net during normal testing.

Diverse communities of plants and animals typically perform better than monocultures. However, the mechanisms that are responsible for this have so far been a mystery to science. Biologists have now been able to identify the genetic cause of these effects. Their findings might help to improve crop yield.

Researchers at EPFL's Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering have developed a photocatalytic system based on a material in the class of metal-organic frameworks. The system can be used to degrade pollutants present in water while simultaneously producing hydrogen that can be captured and used further.

Researchers have developed a protocol for checking that quantum computer components function as they should. That's a critical step in making the promise of quantum computing - including unprecedented computing power - a reality. Quantum computers are being developed by teams working not only at universities but also at Google, IBM, Microsoft and D-Wave, a start-up company.

EPFL researchers have developed a virtual-reality program that examines how users - equipped with a headset and sensors - react to a vertiginous stroll. The system will be presented at the Geneva International Film Festival on 5-10 November. Why do some people react more strongly than others when faced with the unknown? Researchers at EPFL's Laboratory of Behavioral Genetics, headed by Professor Carmen Sandi, have set out to learn more with a new virtual reality program.

Nicolas Thomä's group at the FMI has joined forces with the group of Benjamin Ebert at Harvard's Broad Institute to show how thalidomide analogs mediate degradation of many more proteins than previously anticipated. These proteins - zinc finger transcription factors - play a role in cancer and developmental diseases but are difficult drug targets.

Three patients with chronic paraplegia were able to walk over ground thanks to precise electrical stimulation of their spinal cords via a wireless implant. Researchers have shown that, after a few months of training, the patients were able to control previously paralyzed leg muscles even in the absence of electrical stimulation.

Bern, 30. Agroscope, the Swiss federal centre of excellence for agricultural research, is launching the first multiresistant white grape variety, Divona. The fruit of twenty years of research, Divona is resistant to fungal diseases, and well-suited for the production of high-quality wines - two characteristics that make it a popular variety for viticulture and winemaking.

By developing a method for calculating the carbon footprint of energy used in Switzerland on an hourly basis rather than as a yearly average, EPFL researchers have shed important light on an otherwise obscure industry. Despite recent advances in power grid technology, engineers still struggle to measure the carbon footprint of one kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy used in Switzerland.

A new ultrasound technique can help distinguish benign breast tumours from malignant ones. The technology was developed with support from the Swiss National Science Foundation. Ultrasound is one of the three main technologies used in medical imaging. It is more compact and affordable than nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, and safer than x-rays.