news 2021
« BACK
Health - Pharmacology - 03.02.2021
Health - Pharmacology - 03.02.2021
Health - Mathematics - 29.01.2021 
On the trail of Sars-CoV-2 in cable cars
Where do the greatest risks of infection lurk? How can you protect yourself and others even better? Scientists all over the world are working to expand knowledge about Covid-19 - including at Empa. Researchers are now using measurements and simulations to take a close look at cable cars and cabins in ski resorts.
Pharmacology - Health - 28.01.2021
Life Sciences - Health - 28.01.2021 
Risk-Taking Linked to Particular Brain Features
There is a common genetic and neurobiological basis for risky behavior - the genetic disposition for risk-taking is mapped in several areas of the brain, a UZH study shows. The study combines genetic information and brain scans from more than 25,000 people for the first time. Risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, speeding, or frequently changing sexual partners result in enormous health and economic consequences and lead to associated costs of an estimated 600 billion dollars a year in the US alone.
Health - Materials Science - 26.01.2021 
Heavy charge against water germs
Removing pathogens from drinking water is especially difficult when the germs are too tiny to be caught by conventional filters. Researchers at Empa and Eawag are developing new materials and processes to free water from pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses. Water is life, biology teaches us. Reality teaches us something different: Water contaminated with pathogens causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in places where water treatment is lacking or poorly functioning.
Life Sciences - Health - 25.01.2021 
Repairing synapses to combat multiple sclerosis
A team from UNIGE, the University of Munich and the Technical Institute of Munich has discovered that the destruction of synapses in the brain's grey matter reduces the activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex and is a major factor in the progression of multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system, in which nerve cells are attacked by the patient's own immune system.
Health - 22.01.2021 
MRI helps unravel the mysteries of sleep
Scientists at EPFL and the Universities of Geneva, Cape Town and Bochum have joined forces to investigate brain activity during sleep with the help of MRI scans. It turns out our brains are much more active than we thought. Our state of consciousness changes significantly during stages of deep sleep, just as it does in a coma or under general anesthesia.
Health - Pharmacology - 21.01.2021
Life Sciences - Health - 20.01.2021
Health - Agronomy / Food Science - 12.01.2021 
Airtight corn sacks help fight hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic
Optimised on-farm grain storage boosts food security in sub-Saharan Africa, as an ETH study in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic shows. As the end of the lean season approaches, things get tricky for many smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. It's the time of year between harvests - the last one was a long time ago, but the next one is not yet due.
Health - Pharmacology - 11.01.2021 
Immune cells discovered in the lungs improve virus defense
A research team at the University of Basel has discovered immune cells resident in the lungs that persist long after a bout of flu. Experiments with mice have shown that these helper cells improve the immune response to reinfection by a different strain of the flu virus. The discovery could yield approaches to developing longer-lasting vaccinations against quickly-mutating viruses.
Health - Career - 07.01.2021
Health - Psychology - 07.01.2021 
How to mitigate the impact of a lockdown on mental health
The Covid-19 pandemic is impacting people's mental health. But what helps and hinders people in getting through a lockdown? A new study led by researchers at the University of Basel addressed this question using data from 78 countries across the world. The results hint at the pivots and hinges on which the individual's psyche rests in the pandemic.
Life Sciences - Health - 07.01.2021 
Peeking inside ’mini-brains’ could boost understanding of the human brain in health and disease
Revealing details of the internal structure of 'mini-brains' could help accelerate drug studies and may offer alternatives to some animal testing Geneva, Switzerland, 7 January 2021 - 'Mini-brains' are pin-head sized collections of several different types of human brain cell. They are used as a tool, allowing scientists to learn about how the brain develops, study disease and test new medicines.
Health - 07.01.2021
Health
Results 181 - 196 of 196.
3D-printed bioresorbable airway stent
An ETH Zurich research team is using 3D printing to produce a new type of bioresorbable airway stent. This could greatly simplify the future treatment of upper airway obstruction. Narrowing of the trachea or the main bronchi due to injury or illness can end very badly. If patients get too little oxygen, they risk suffocating and often need medical help as quickly as possible.
An ETH Zurich research team is using 3D printing to produce a new type of bioresorbable airway stent. This could greatly simplify the future treatment of upper airway obstruction. Narrowing of the trachea or the main bronchi due to injury or illness can end very badly. If patients get too little oxygen, they risk suffocating and often need medical help as quickly as possible.
Better poison dosages for better prostate cancer therapies
A given substance may be fundamental for life or may serve as a poison. All depends on the specific dose. At first glance, this somewhat paradoxical principle in medicine was first coined by the Swiss physician Paracelsus more than half a millennium ago when he stated: "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison.
A given substance may be fundamental for life or may serve as a poison. All depends on the specific dose. At first glance, this somewhat paradoxical principle in medicine was first coined by the Swiss physician Paracelsus more than half a millennium ago when he stated: "All things are poison, and nothing is without poison.
Where do the greatest risks of infection lurk? How can you protect yourself and others even better? Scientists all over the world are working to expand knowledge about Covid-19 - including at Empa. Researchers are now using measurements and simulations to take a close look at cable cars and cabins in ski resorts.
New treatment helps patients with a spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injuries disrupt the mechanism by which our bodies regulate blood pressure. A team of Swiss and Canadian scientists have developed a treatment that allows patients to regain control of their blood pressure, using targeted electrical spinal-cord stimulation. No medication is required. The team's findings were published today in Nature.
Spinal cord injuries disrupt the mechanism by which our bodies regulate blood pressure. A team of Swiss and Canadian scientists have developed a treatment that allows patients to regain control of their blood pressure, using targeted electrical spinal-cord stimulation. No medication is required. The team's findings were published today in Nature.
There is a common genetic and neurobiological basis for risky behavior - the genetic disposition for risk-taking is mapped in several areas of the brain, a UZH study shows. The study combines genetic information and brain scans from more than 25,000 people for the first time. Risky behaviors such as smoking, alcohol and drug use, speeding, or frequently changing sexual partners result in enormous health and economic consequences and lead to associated costs of an estimated 600 billion dollars a year in the US alone.
Removing pathogens from drinking water is especially difficult when the germs are too tiny to be caught by conventional filters. Researchers at Empa and Eawag are developing new materials and processes to free water from pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses. Water is life, biology teaches us. Reality teaches us something different: Water contaminated with pathogens causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year in places where water treatment is lacking or poorly functioning.
A team from UNIGE, the University of Munich and the Technical Institute of Munich has discovered that the destruction of synapses in the brain's grey matter reduces the activity of neurons in the cerebral cortex and is a major factor in the progression of multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the central nervous system, in which nerve cells are attacked by the patient's own immune system.
Scientists at EPFL and the Universities of Geneva, Cape Town and Bochum have joined forces to investigate brain activity during sleep with the help of MRI scans. It turns out our brains are much more active than we thought. Our state of consciousness changes significantly during stages of deep sleep, just as it does in a coma or under general anesthesia.
Detailed tumour profiling
As part of a clinical study involving patients from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, researchers are conducting a thorough and highly precise investigation into the molecular and functional properties of tumours. Their goal is to help physicians to better determine which treatment will best match every patient's cancer and thus be most effective.
As part of a clinical study involving patients from the University Hospitals in Zurich and Basel, researchers are conducting a thorough and highly precise investigation into the molecular and functional properties of tumours. Their goal is to help physicians to better determine which treatment will best match every patient's cancer and thus be most effective.
NAD+ can restore age-related muscle deterioration
Scientists at EPFL have discovered that Alzheimer's-like protein aggregates underly the muscle deterioration seen in aging. But the aggregates can be reversed by boosting the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ), which turns on the defense systems of mitochondria in cells and restores muscle function.
Scientists at EPFL have discovered that Alzheimer's-like protein aggregates underly the muscle deterioration seen in aging. But the aggregates can be reversed by boosting the levels of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ), which turns on the defense systems of mitochondria in cells and restores muscle function.
Optimised on-farm grain storage boosts food security in sub-Saharan Africa, as an ETH study in Kenya during the COVID-19 pandemic shows. As the end of the lean season approaches, things get tricky for many smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. It's the time of year between harvests - the last one was a long time ago, but the next one is not yet due.
A research team at the University of Basel has discovered immune cells resident in the lungs that persist long after a bout of flu. Experiments with mice have shown that these helper cells improve the immune response to reinfection by a different strain of the flu virus. The discovery could yield approaches to developing longer-lasting vaccinations against quickly-mutating viruses.
Effectiveness of protective measures in hospitals in Ticino
A study performed in Ticino in Spring 2020, on data of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests run on healthcare workers, shows that COVID-19 antibodies are detectable in up to 10% of the participants. Such a result are comparable with the ones of the Corona Immunitas study conducted on the Ticino population. More importantly, it shows that healthcare workers with exposure to COVID-19 patients have only a slightly higher absolute risk of seropositivity than those without, suggesting that the use of protective measures in hospitals aiming at reducing nosocomial viral transmission are effective.
A study performed in Ticino in Spring 2020, on data of SARS-CoV-2 serological tests run on healthcare workers, shows that COVID-19 antibodies are detectable in up to 10% of the participants. Such a result are comparable with the ones of the Corona Immunitas study conducted on the Ticino population. More importantly, it shows that healthcare workers with exposure to COVID-19 patients have only a slightly higher absolute risk of seropositivity than those without, suggesting that the use of protective measures in hospitals aiming at reducing nosocomial viral transmission are effective.
The Covid-19 pandemic is impacting people's mental health. But what helps and hinders people in getting through a lockdown? A new study led by researchers at the University of Basel addressed this question using data from 78 countries across the world. The results hint at the pivots and hinges on which the individual's psyche rests in the pandemic.
Revealing details of the internal structure of 'mini-brains' could help accelerate drug studies and may offer alternatives to some animal testing Geneva, Switzerland, 7 January 2021 - 'Mini-brains' are pin-head sized collections of several different types of human brain cell. They are used as a tool, allowing scientists to learn about how the brain develops, study disease and test new medicines.
Persistent lung damage after Covid-19
The nationwide study published today was initiated by Inselspital, Bern University Hospital with the collaboration of the University of Bern and has established for the first time: severe Covid-19 can result in prolonged impairment of oxygen uptake in the lungs even after four months. Long-term monitoring and treatment of these patients is urgent and important.
The nationwide study published today was initiated by Inselspital, Bern University Hospital with the collaboration of the University of Bern and has established for the first time: severe Covid-19 can result in prolonged impairment of oxygen uptake in the lungs even after four months. Long-term monitoring and treatment of these patients is urgent and important.
