news

« BACK

Environment



Results 1 - 20 of 994.
1 2 3 4 5 ... 50 Next »


Agronomy / Food Science - Environment - 15.10.2024 - Today
Inducing plant resistance for sustainable agriculture
Inducing plant resistance for sustainable agriculture
Biologists who worked for several years at the University of Neuchâtel report on induced plant resistance in a special multimedia dossier published today in the prestigious journal Frontiers in Science . The method is presented as a kind of vaccination, making it possible to reduce dependence on pesticides not only to combat crop diseases and pests, but also to ensure healthier, more sustainable harvests.

Environment - 11.10.2024
Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than we thought
Catastrophically warm predictions are more plausible than we thought
Researchers developed a rating system to evaluate the plausibility of climate model simulations in the IPCC's latest report, and show that models that lead to potentially catastrophic warming are to be taken seriously. What will the future climate be like? Scientists around the world are studying climate change, putting together models of the Earth's system and large observational datasets in the hopes of understanding - and predicting over the next 100 years - the planet's climate.

Environment - 10.10.2024
Mitigating the consequences of heavy rainfall with Blue-Green Infrastructure
Mitigating the consequences of heavy rainfall with Blue-Green Infrastructure
During heavy rainfall, sewage systems are frequently overloaded, leading to untreated wastewater being discharged into surface waters. Modelling techniques used by researchers now show that the volume of such combined sewer overflows could more than triple as a result of climate change However, these studies also reveal that this increase could be avoided through the use of Blue-Green Infrastructure, such as infiltration basins, retention ponds, and porous pavements.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 10.10.2024
A peak shows the diversity of a forest
A peak shows the diversity of a forest
Its preservation benefits many others: the umbrella species. This is the role played by the white-backed woodpecker for beetles that feed on dead wood. This rare bird is therefore an indirect indicator of biodiversity, as researchers at BFH-HAFL have shown. Deciduous or mixed forests with lots of dead wood - this is the preferred habitat of the White-backed Woodpecker.

Environment - Chemistry - 10.10.2024
How personal care products affect indoor air quality
How personal care products affect indoor air quality
An EPFL study has revealed the impact of five common personal care products when they're used in enclosed spaces. Surprisingly, when they come into contact with ozone, the products spark chemical reactions generating new air pollutants. The personal care products we use on a daily basis significantly affect indoor air quality, according to new research by a team at EPFL.

Earth Sciences - Environment - 08.10.2024
Scientists explore the complexity of rocks within the Earth's crust
Scientists explore the complexity of rocks within the Earth's crust
A team of scientists has provided insight into the mechanisms at work in geothermal reservoirs located deep underground, known as supercritical reservoirs. Through a combination of computer simulations and lab experiments, they showed that rocks located between five and eight kilometers deep in the Earth's crust are also permeable to fluids.

Life Sciences - Environment - 07.10.2024
Reducing Herbivore Damage Using Biodiversity
Reducing Herbivore Damage Using Biodiversity
Pesticides aren't always necessary: researchers at the University of Zurich have conducted a comprehensive field study showing that damage from herbivores can be reduced by using biodiversity within a plant species. Different plant genotypes can cooperate to help fend off herbivorous insects. Just like humans, plants interact with the individuals around them.

Environment - 03.10.2024
Biological evaluation of water bodies in a time of climate change
Biological evaluation of water bodies in a time of climate change
Aquatic invertebrates are used as bioindicators to evaluate the quality of Swiss watercourses. However, climate change is also leading to changes in the species composition of these organisms. Eawag has now investigated the impacts of increasing temperatures on water body evaluations on behalf of the FoeN.

Environment - 30.09.2024
Cities influence precipitation and experience more intense thunderstorms than other regions.
Cities influence precipitation and experience more intense thunderstorms than other regions.
A new study from the University of Lausanne reveals how cities influence precipitation and storms, and are prone in summer to more severe and localized rainfall events than surrounding areas. This phenomenon could lead to an increased risk of flooding in the future, as urban areas expand in line with global warming.

Environment - Politics - 18.09.2024
How Ukraine can rebuild its energy system
How Ukraine can rebuild its energy system
Researchers at ETH Zurich have been working with researchers from Ukraine and Germany to investigate how to rebuild Ukraine's destroyed energy infrastructure based on renewable energy. They have determined that solar and wind energy would quickly deliver a distributed power supply system and prevent corruption.

Chemistry - Environment - 13.09.2024
New method in the fight against forever chemicals
New method in the fight against forever chemicals
Researchers at ETH Zurich have developed a new way to break down a dangerous subgroup of PFAS known as PFOS. With the help of nanoparticles and ultrasound, piezocatalysis could offer an effective alternative to existing processes in the future. What do firefighting foam, non-stick cookware, water-repellent textiles and pesticides all'have in common? They all contain perand polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS - human-made chemicals that don't break down naturally.

Life Sciences - Environment - 12.09.2024
How to select bacteria for environmental pollution control
How to select bacteria for environmental pollution control
A study by the University of Lausanne presents a new sorting method designed to optimize bacterial communities for efficient degradation of pollutants in the environment. The ability of microbes to metabolize a wide variety of compounds, including industrial pollutants of human origin, offers considerable potential for solving environmental problems.

Environment - Astronomy / Space - 10.09.2024
Happy research
Happy research
The SLF is researching permafrost and snow in Bhutan at an altitude of over 5000 meters and, together with the local population, is developing measures to reduce climate-related risks in the mountains. The Swiss National Science Foundation is funding the Cryo-Spirit project. This text was automatically translated.

Astronomy / Space - Environment - 05.09.2024
Iron winds on an ultra-hot exoplanet
Iron winds on an ultra-hot exoplanet
An international team, including the University of Geneva, has discovered that iron winds are blowing on the day side of the planet WASP-76 b. An international team of astronomers, including scientists from the University of Geneva and the PlanetS National Centre of Competence in Research, has identified the presence of iron winds in the atmosphere of the ultra-hot Jupiter WASP-76 b. This planet with its extreme conditions - over 2

Environment - Earth Sciences - 22.08.2024
From clouds to fjords, the Arctic bears witness to climate change
From clouds to fjords, the Arctic bears witness to climate change
Climate change is particularly intense in the Arctic. To assess its consequences and determine what role this region plays in global warming, two teams of scientists from EPFL have visited the area. One to gain a better understanding of the region's air composition, the other to quantify the greenhouse gases sequestered in Greenland fjords sourced by glacial water.

Environment - Life Sciences - 22.08.2024
Biological degradation of mosquito repellents only partially clarified
Biological degradation of mosquito repellents only partially clarified
Microorganisms in biofilms in rivers can break down harmful substances. Some are also able to degrade biocides, including the insect repellent diethyltoluamide (DEET) - or so it is thought. Researchers at the aquatic research institute Eawag have now discovered that DEET is degraded better when the proportion of treated wastewater in the water is high.

Environment - Life Sciences - 20.08.2024
Bacteria in lakes fight climate change
Bacteria in lakes fight climate change
Methane-oxidizing bacteria could play a greater role than previously thought in preventing the release of climate-damaging methane from lakes, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, and the Swiss Eawag report. They also show who is behind the process and how it works.

Environment - History / Archeology - 19.08.2024
Dangerous demand: how humans threaten biodiversity
The shark has survived numerous environmental disasters, but now it may be losing the battle against its most dangerous rival: the human being. A new economic analysis shows the conditions under which high demand can lead not only to the extinction of a single species, but also to a progressive, accelerating mass extinction.

Environment - 16.08.2024
Four billion people estimated to lack access to safe drinking water
Four billion people estimated to lack access to safe drinking water
More than half of the global population is estimated to lack safe drinking water services in a study published yesterday in the journal Science. The results are depicted in a map that researchers compiled using machine learning based on data from household surveys and data derived from earth observations.

Environment - 15.08.2024
Four billion people estimated to lack safe drinking water services
Four billion people estimated to lack safe drinking water services
More than half of the global population were estimated to lack safely managed drinking water services in a recent study lead by researchers. This is shown in a global map that researchers compiled using machine learning based on data from household surveys and data derived from Earth observations. Safe drinking water access is a human right and one of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals.
1 2 3 4 5 ... 50 Next »