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On 25 November 1996, the Center for Proton Therapy at the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI treated a cancer patient using the spot-scanning technique for the very first time - a world premiere. This technique developed at PSI scans and irradiates deep-seated tumours with a pencil-thin beam of charged particles, killing cancer cells with extreme precision while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue.
A team of EPFL engineers has discovered a strategy to shape living tissues like dough. Have you ever wondered how a sphere of cells, morula, gives rise to tissues and organs with mesmerizing shapes and architectures? The secret lies in the mechanics of embryonic tissues. They exhibit a viscous (fluid-like) and an elastic (solid-like) behavior depending on the forces acting on them.
An article in the scientific journal "Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society" describes for the first time how the European ICOS network ("Integrated Carbon Observation System") helps to better understand the function of carbon sinks and to assess the effects of climate change on them. Half of the carbon emissions released to the atmosphere by fossil fuel use are re-captured by the ocean and land ecosystems.
With the help of artificial intelligence and four collaborative robots, researchers at ETH Zurich are designing and fabricating a 22.5-metre-tall green architectural sculpture. Working with Müller Illien Landscape Architects, Timbatec and other partners from industry and research, researchers from the group led by ETH architecture professors Fabio Gramazio and Matthias Kohler are creating a green architectural sculpture for the Tech Cluster Zug.
Verbal and sexual assaults - nurses are at a high risk of being attacked by patients in inpatient psychiatry shows a study from the University of Basel. Researchers are now calling for new strategies for violence prevention. While violence by patients towards nurses is a familiar problem in inpatient psychiatry, previous studies have not succeeded in reflecting this phenomenon in all its complexity.
Infections with the novel coronavirus and vaccination lead to strong antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2. Immune responses to other human coronaviruses, which mostly only cause harmless colds, also provide some protection against SARS-CoV-2. This cross-reactive immune response is an important piece of the puzzle of how to achieve comprehensive coronavirus immunity, researchers at the University of Zurich have shown.
A new study from EPFL reveals novel insights into the ultrastructure and biochemical composition of huntingtin aggregates, the mark of Huntington's disease, pointing to new avenues for treatment strategies. Huntington's disease is a progressively debilitating brain disease that causes uncontrolled movements, psychological problems, and loss of cognition.
Solar energy plays an important role in the fight against climate change as a substitute for fossil fuels. Dye-sensitized solar cells promise to be a low-cost supplement to the photovoltaic systems we know today. Their key feature is the dye sensitizers attached to their surface. Researchers at the University of Basel continue to improve the performance with sensitizers using iron - a commonly available and environmentally friendly metal.
Phages are viruses that infect bacteria. They are an important part of many of the Earth's ecosystems and can also play a role in the fight against antibiotic resistant pathogens. A research team from the University of Basel's Biozentrum has now compiled a significant phage collection. It is available to scientists around the world for research purposes, as a biotech tool or to explore which phages are most suitable for therapy.
Chemical modifications of histones, the small proteins around which DNA is wrapped, are known to affect gene expression. In a study conducted in C. elegans , researchers from the Gasser group show that the defining modification of the tightly packed form of DNA called heterochromatin selectively blocks the expression of genes in differentiated tissues.
The EPFL Blue Brain Project has created the first digital reconstruction of the Neuro-Glia-Vascular Architecture providing a new framework to study brain function in health and disease. The study, published in Cerebral Cortex, represents a major milestone: researchers can now reconstruct the architecture of non-neuronal entities such as blood vessels and the supporting cells called glia.
Researchers at ETH Zurich have discovered major vulnerabilities in DRAM memory devices, which are widely used in computers, tablets and smartphones. The vulnerabilities have now been published together with the National Cyber Security Centre, which for the first time has assigned an identification number for it.
To form an organ, cells must communicate properly and develop their number, shape and size down to the smallest detail. A research team at the University of Basel investigates wing growth in the fruit fly and now has refuted a long-standing dogma. Contrary to what was previously assumed, the team showed that the dispersal of a signalling molecule called Dpp is not responsible for the entire wing shape and size.
By implementing artificial intelligence techniques similar to those used in autonomous cars, a team from the UNIGE and the UniBE, in partnership with the company Disaitek, has discovered a new method for detecting exoplanets. The majority of exoplanets discovered to date have been discovered using the transit method.
Spalted wood is a highly sought-after material in the high-end furniture industry. In a newly developed process, scientists have succeeded at controlling the spread of fungi in native wood types to create elaborate marblewood pictures - and even taught the fungi to write some words. Fine black lines spread elegantly across the clock face made from pale, fine-grained timber of ash, beech and maple.
When algorithms get creative
Uncovering the mechanisms of learning via synaptic plasticity is a critical step towards understanding how our brains function and building truly intelligent, adaptive machines. Researchers from the University of Bern propose a new approach in which algorithms mimic biological evolution and learn efficiently through creative evolution.
Uncovering the mechanisms of learning via synaptic plasticity is a critical step towards understanding how our brains function and building truly intelligent, adaptive machines. Researchers from the University of Bern propose a new approach in which algorithms mimic biological evolution and learn efficiently through creative evolution.
By combining two microscopy methods, researchers are able to see what is happening inside a cell and on its membrane simultaneously, giving unprecedented insight into the cellular processes that occur during infection, for example. Cells are the fundamental component of living organisms and play host to a number of complex biological phenomena.
Geophysicists can use a new model to explain the behaviour of a tectonic plate sinking into a subduction zone in the Earth's mantle: the plate becomes weak and thus more deformable when mineral grains on its underside are shrunk in size. The Earth's surface consists of a few large plates and numerous smaller ones that are continuously moving either away from or towards each other at an extremely slow pace.
Scientists from the University of Geneva show that during development, the different populations of neurons needed for connections between brain areas share similar genetic programs, but which unfold at different speeds. The cerebral cortex, located at the surface of the brain, handles the cognitive, language, and complex functions that allow us to represent the world or project ourselves into the future.
Swiss electricity generation has a very low carbon footprint. However, this is often not the case for imports. Researchers from the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) Automation, led by Empa researcher Loris di Natale, investigated how electric cars could help reduce the need for energy imports from fossil fuels.
News from the Lab is a selection of science news that are significant or interesting for a broad readership.
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