wire - news in brief

Sleepwalkers are better at automatic walking
Sleepwalkers who are awake may have a multi-tasking advantage over non-sleepwalkers, according to recent research that uses virtual realilty. Try counting backwards from 200 in steps of 7 while walking en-route to your favourite café. Chances are, you will slow down or even freeze mid-stride, unless you are a sleepwalker.

First step towards climate-aligned financial flows
Bern, 23.10.2017 - In the context of the Paris Agreement, Swiss pension funds and insurance companies were invited by the Federal Office for the Environment FOEN and the State Secretariat for International Financial SIF to test the climate compatibility of their portfolios.

An app for rating public transport in real time
EPFL researchers have developed a smartphone app for passengers to evaluate their experience in real time and view other users' ratings.

Novartis combination adjuvant therapy Tafinlar + Mekinist receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for stage III BRAF V600 mutation-positive melanoma patients
Novartis combination adjuvant therapy Tafinlar + Mekinist receives FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for stage III BRAF V600 mutation-positive melanoma patients Breakthrough Therapy Designation ba

EPFL spin-off Abionic poised to break into the US market
The United States Food and Drug Administration has just registered Abionic's rapid allergy diagnostic system, which tests for sensitivity to four common respiratory allergens in the United States.

Embark on a cognitive revolution at EPFL
Use your brainwaves to control the workings of a machine and contribute to science at EPFL ArtLab's next art-science exhibition, "Mental Work" from October 27 th - February 11 th , 2018.

Accolade for Empa researcher
Each year, the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA) presents its Publication Award to researchers who have made an exceptional scientific contribution to the field of waste disposal. For the second time in a row, the prize has been won by the Empa researcher David Turner, this year for his analyses of the environmental effects of different methods of waste disposal.

Dean of EPFL Middle East honored by Swiss Business Council Abu Dhabi

Novartis drug Revolade shows long-term disease control for chronic/persistent immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)
Nearly 70% of patients maintained platelet counts of >=30×10 9 /L without rescue therapy for prolonged periods, reducing the overall risk of bleeding   More than one-third of patients permanently

Researchers defy the limits of streaming
Given the growing number of users and the widening range of devices, streaming is no longer viable in its current form owing to the substantial amount of power and storage capacity it requires.

New leadership for «Urban Energy

Roche to present new OCREVUS (ocrelizumab) efficacy and safety data in relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis at ECTRIMS
Roche to present new OCREVUS (ocrelizumab) efficacy and safety data in relapsing and primary progressive forms of multiple sclerosis at ECTRIMS Largest body of OCREVUS data presented at a congress to

Low-cost battery from waste graphite
Lithium ion batteries are flammable and the price of the raw material is rising. Are there alternatives' Yes: Empa and ETH Zürich researchers have discovered promising approaches as to how we might produce batteries out waste graphite and scrap metal.

From golden emperor to filled Buddha
With PSI's neutron beams, metal objects can be rendered transparent. This helps archaeologists not only to see what is hidden in their hollow spaces.

The 2015 Paris Climate Conference: For Germans, the intensive media coverage had a calming, not a mobilizing effect
Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) The 2015 Paris Climate Conference was accompanied by extensive media coverage.

Burnout: Becoming More Common among Farmers

EPFL honors its best teacher
Fabien Sorin, an assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering Section, has been awarded the 2017 Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching.

New information stations opened

An award for Dr Thibault Duretz

Horizon 2020 Health Applicants Training

Sticking instead of stitching
In spite of medical advances, wound-related complications arising after operations can still be life-threatening. In order to avoid these complications in the future, a new nanoparticle-based tissue glue has been developed by researchers at Empa. There are internal and external areas of the body where it is difficult to apply stitches.

Nobel Prize for Jacques Dubochet

Solar Decathlon: the Swiss team awaits the results
The Swiss students who went to Denver to compete in this year's Solar Decathlon are living out their dream.

994 new EPFL graduates

FDA approves Roche cobas Zika as first commercially-available donor screening test for Zika virus
FDA approves Roche cobas Zika as first commercially-available donor screening test for Zika virus Zika virus infection is linked to neurological complications in adults, and brain defects in fetuses

Instrument of ratification deposited: Paris climate agreement to enter into force for Switzerland on 5 November 2017
Bern, 06.10.2017 - Switzerland deposited its instrument of ratification in New York on 6 October 2017, making it an official party to the Paris Agreement.

EPFL spin-off Aleva Neurotherapeutics raises 13 million dollars

Alcon receives CE Mark for first-of-its-kind AutonoMe(TM) preloaded intraocular lens (IOL) delivery system with Clareon IOL
AutonoMe(TM) preloaded IOL delivery system provides easy, intuitive control for precise IOL insertion during cataract surgery   New Clareon IOL in vitro data and early clinical experience to be prese

In collaboration with Yosemite National Park, the recent El Capitan

Heineken Prize 2018

Smart Grid and Energy Storage

Mathematician Mathilde Bouvel is to receive the 2017 Marie Heim-Vögtlin Prize

CrowdAI: the open, data-science challenge platform
crowdAI, an EPFL-developed open data science challenge platform that hosts machine learning competitions, has been awarded over $100,000 from Amazon and Nvidia for its latest challenge, "Learning to Run" .

Highlighting the significance of structural analysis of biomolecules
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2017 has been awarded to Jacques Dubochet of Switzerland, U.S.-based German scientist Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson of the United Kingdom for the development of structural analysis of single biological molecules by means of cryo-electron microscopy.

An Animated Cartoon against Parasitic Worm Infections
The educational animation film 'Koko et les lunettes magiques' aims to strengthen the awareness of school-aged children and their families in Côte d'Ivoire against parasitic worm infections by showing them simple, but effective preventive hygiene practices. The animation film is the key element in an intervention study in western Côte d'Ivoire conducted by Swiss TPH, the Centre Suisse des Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire and the Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire.

Higher Agricultural Income in 2016

Clumps as temporary storage
Researchers at ETH have discovered that the formation of protein aggregates in yeast cells is reversible. This casts new light on human diseases that can be attributed to certain protein aggregates. Protein aggregates have a bad reputation. A number of human diseases, especially those of the nervous system, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), are due to the clumping of degenerate proteins in nerve cells, creating aggregates that the cells cannot dissolve.

"Astronomy has gained a new eye"
The observation of gravitational waves last year captivated professionals in the field. Experts, including at ETH Zurich, expected that this discovery would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Roche launches NAVIFY Tumor Board solution to provide decision support to oncology care teams
Roche launches NAVIFY Tumor Board solution to provide decision support to oncology care teams The NAVIFY Tumor Board solution is a new, cloud-based software solution that fundamentally changes the wa

Swiss people may be ready to live car-free
Swiss people may be ready to live car-free under certain conditions. The findings of PostCarWorld, a cross-disciplinary study into Swiss people's contradictory relationship with cars, will be presented at EPFL on 3 October.

Biosensor for heavy metals
A team of Empa scientists has developed a biosensor which allows them to detect elevated concentrations of copper in a simple, quick and economic way. Copper, like other heavy metals is problematic in high concentrations, both for the environment and for human health. It is no secret that heavy metals such as copper are dangerous substances which can have grave consequences for both our environment and for human health.

New professorship position for climate and environmental economics has been filled
Media releases, information for representatives of the media Media Relations (E) The University of Bern has created a professorship for climate and environmental economics, which can now be expanded thanks to the involvement of the Mercator Foundation Switzerland and the Gebäudeversicherung Bern.

Alcon introduces new innovations in cataract surgery at European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons 2017 annual congress
Clareon intraocular lens (IOL) implanted with a unique single-use automated pre-loaded delivery system debuts with new data presentations   Congress program highlights Alcon's 70-year legacy of innov

Making our cities greener
Branco Weiss fellow Gabriele Manoli wants to enrich urban research with quantitative models and establish a new science dedicated to creating green cities.

Political Ecology of River: Indo-Swiss Exploration of Hydrosocial D

Minamata Convention sets up office in Geneva
Bern, 30.09.2017 - On 30 September 2017, the approximately 150 States meeting in Geneva for the first Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Minamata Convention on Mercury decided to base the Convention in Geneva.

5 professors appointed
At its meeting of 28 September 2017, the ETH Board appointed 5 new professors upon application of ETH Zurich President Lino Guzzella.

"Allowing all talents to study"